URGENT: Broken WD Black 4TB SATA Controller/PCB

[UmerF]

Hello folks,

 

So .. while setting up my water loop today I pulled out my WD Black 4TB hard drive from the hot-swap bay in 900D, I was used to 800D being connected to the PCB instead of SATA cables individually thus I pulled it hard and broken it's piece (reference to the image below.) So I want to know if I take off that PCB controller from my 500GB Seagate SATA drive and put it on my WD Black 4TB, will it work the same or I'll run into any issue? Any help on this will be much appreciated please.

 

This is the bit that I broke off, the plastic surrounding of it came off and stuck in the SATA cable now while the pins are just still there.

 

Please let me know if you have any questions at all regarding this, thank you.

[Guest]

It wont work

[UmerF]

It wont work

 

Welp, thanks for a quick response.

 

What is my best bet? Send it to repair shop or send it to Western Digital locally and hope they can replace the PCB for me? I doubt local shops will have the same PCB as WD Black 4TB anyway but I'd rather go with something more official like WD Local Dealer.

[Atmos]

well, try pluging it back in. if it works, awesome. if it doesnt, thrn theres nothing you can do.

[UmerF]

well, try pluging it back in. if it works, awesome. if it doesnt, thrn theres nothing you can do.

 

Already did, lol. Very very carefully I tried to place those pins back in that place but the SATA cable is just all loose and it doesn't look like it worked .. I'll try few more times but if it fails what's my best bet?

 

Sending it back to WD and hoping they can fix it for me for a charge or ordering another PCB from them online and replace it myself?

[UmerF]

It's gunna cost more to have that piece rebuild than just replacing it in most cases.  You aren't going to find parts to do it, and only the makers have the parts to do it.  So, either waste a ton o' money, hope for the best it still connects, or just replace it?  

 

Replace it as in get a new one, right? That's going to be my last resort option if I cannot get it repaired somehow. Luckily, I didn't have much on it but 1500-2000GB worth of games installed so not losing that much ...

 

You could try, but I don't think user screw-ups are covered under warranty.  I doubt they would fix it.

 

That's why I said for a charge, they should be able to replace the PCB and charge me for it right?

[mikat]

@Captain_WD

[Guest]

Welp, thanks for a quick response.

 

What is my best bet? Send it to repair shop or send it to Western Digital locally and hope they can replace the PCB for me? I doubt local shops will have the same PCB as WD Black 4TB anyway but I'd rather go with something more official like WD Local Dealer.

Can you take a pic of the damage?

If you have really important data on it there are websites that sell those pcb-s for every specific hard discs and prices are around 40-50$

[UmerF]

Can you take a pic of the damage?

If you have really important data on it there are websites that sell those pcb-s for every specific hard discs and prices are around 40-50$

 

The cost of new drive will be around $250 for me, I bought this one about a year ago ... but I'd probably try PCB mainly just because of not wanting to download all that data and I think some of my VM data was there as well. Games can be redownloaded with a click of a button on Steam and other clients but that other data if it's there then it will get tricky for me.

 

I'll take a detailed picture later on and share it with you guys but I doubt it's repairable this way unless with hot glue or something .. I could try it some way but I'd rather just get a new PCB at this point lol.

 

However, I wish WD would be kind enough to send a new PCB if I pay for it? I'm in Pakistan so they'll either have to import it unless they already have it locally available at their repair center.

 

New one to the first part, and you'll have to ask them.  They may or may not do it.  I'm use to Seagate and WD telling me no over the years for that.

 

Ah, sucks. Thanks for your input though, mate. Much appreciated!

[Guest]

The cost of new drive will be around $250 for me, I bought this one about a year ago ... but I'd probably try PCB mainly just because of not wanting to download all that data and I think some of my VM data was there as well. Games can be redownloaded with a click of a button on Steam and other clients but that other data if it's there then it will get tricky for me.

 

I'll take a detailed picture later on and share it with you guys but I doubt it's repairable this way unless with hot glue or something .. I could try it some way but I'd rather just get a new PCB at this point lol.

 

However, I wish WD would be kind enough to send a new PCB if I pay for it? I'm in Pakistan so they'll either have to import it unless they already have it locally available at their repair center.

 

 

Ah, sucks. Thanks for your input though, mate. Much appreciated!

http://www.hddzone.com/western-digital-sata-pcb-c-18.html

http://www.onepcbsolution.com/

http://www.hdd-parts.com/wd-prote-ge.html

if you need links

[UmerF]

Can you take a pic of the damage?

If you have really important data on it there are websites that sell those pcb-s for every specific hard discs and prices are around 40-50$

 

Here is the picture of the damage, hope it helps.

 

 

http://www.hddzone.com/western-digital-sata-pcb-c-18.html

http://www.onepcbsolution.com/

http://www.hdd-parts.com/wd-prote-ge.html

if you need links

 

Great, I only knew about OnePCBSolution so thanks a bunch for mentioning others. Now here's some good news guys ..

 

I ghetto connected the hard drive to my system, transferring all the data from WD Black 4TB to my WD Element 4TB as a backup, I could try using glue to permanently attach the SATA cable with the hard drive that way whenever that drive is moved the cable goes with it which is not much of an issue IMO considering as long as it works I shouldn't have an issue.

 

That way even if WD can help in this case or any other way, I can simply take off the PCB and replace it with new one and I'll only lose the SATA cable which is already lost anyway considering the plastic part is still stuck in it. To my surprise, even though I totally broke off one of the golden pins on that SATA port on the very right .. it still functions properly. I fixed that bent pin and made it work, so far it's going strong and 4 more hours to go before the data is totally transferred and I'm getting normal speeds of around 120-150 MB/s sometimes coming all the way down and then sometimes all the way up, that happens all the time with me anyway .. I assume it's the certain files that transfer very slow but average being around 135-145 MB/s. Please let me know if you require any further information at all.

 

Hopefully @Captain_WD can chime in on this as well.

[Guest]

Here is the picture of the damage, hope it helps.

 

-img-

 

Great, I only knew about OnePCBSolution so thanks a bunch for mentioning others. Now here's some good news guys ..

 

I ghetto connected the hard drive to my system, transferring all the data from WD Black 4TB to my WD Element 4TB as a backup, I could try using glue to permanently attach the SATA cable with the hard drive that way whenever that drive is moved the cable goes with it which is not much of an issue IMO considering as long as it works I shouldn't have an issue.

If you have some spare hdd that does not work you should try to re-solder that sata connector. 

[Captain_WD]

~snip~

 

Hey there UmerF,

 

Getting a PCB from a different drive from yours won't work, let alone a different manufacturer. If you are attempting to swap the PCB have in mind that this would void your warranty and is not guaranteed that it would work. In order to work you'd need to get the same drive preferably from the same batch in order to have some chance for success. 

I'd contact our live support and see what the guys there have to say: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=QPNnw7

You may be able to find examples of people who successfully attached the broken piece back to the drive in order to get the data, but I cannot say if it can work or not. I believe this topic would be useful: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/513880-sata-connector-on-my-hdd-broke-rip/#entry6840294

 

Post back if you have questions! 

 

Captain_WD.

[UmerF]

If you have some spare hdd that does not work you should try to re-solder that sata connector. 

 

Ahh, I'd rather not .. don't have the necessary tools neither a will to do that really lol. For something like that, I can give it to local repair shop?

 

 

Hey there UmerF,

 

Getting a PCB from a different drive from yours won't work, let alone a different manufacturer. If you are attempting to swap the PCB have in mind that this would void your warranty and is not guaranteed that it would work. In order to work you'd need to get the same drive preferably from the same batch in order to have some chance for success. 

I'd contact our live support and see what the guys there have to say: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=QPNnw7

You may be able to find examples of people who successfully attached the broken piece back to the drive in order to get the data, but I cannot say if it can work or not. I believe this topic would be useful: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/513880-sata-connector-on-my-hdd-broke-rip/#entry6840294

 

Post back if you have questions! 

 

Captain_WD.

 

 

Ah, thanks a bunch for your input brother. Is there any possibility for WD to fix it on their own, my local dealer here or something? Isn't the warranty already void by now considering I destroyed the SATA port of it? which sucks because I just bought it about a year ago or so .. lol.

 

I guess best option is to contact the Live Support and see if I can get a replacement part from you guys either directly shipped to me or to my local official WD dealer so I can collect/purchase it from them or something?

 

I do think that if I run the drive for couple of days, all ghetto connected and if it works fine .. while gaming and all I could consider gluing the SATA cable permanently to the drive so it doesn't move at all lol and never touch it again and just put it in the bay of 900D down there and let it work as long as it works. Good thing I use that drive for games only, for work and everything else I use WD Reds in my system and all of them are working solid.

 

Thanks a bunch for your input, mate. Much appreciated!

 

EDIT: Thanks a bunch for that thread share btw, will be going through it shortly.

[UmerF]

@Captain_WD, @AleksaNS, @valdyrgramr.

 

So, I've been running my drive ghetto connected like this for past couple of days and it seems to be working fine. I'll do some gaming on it and if it works, I think gluing the cable that way with the drive itself should do the trick that way I don't ever have to touch it again and just keep it down in the 900D bay.

 

[Captain_WD]

~snip~

 

You are most welcome Sadly, we don't fix drives but rather exchange them for re-certified ones. Check what the guys from the live support would say about this and if the drive is eligible for the RMA procedure or not.

I'm glad to see you've found a workaround and manage to access your files. I'd do a backup just in case the solution fails or causes the drive to fail.

 

Captain_WD.

[bking]

It's gunna cost more to have that piece rebuild than just replacing it in most cases.  You aren't going to find parts to do it, and only the makers have the parts to do it.  So, either waste a ton o' money, hope for the best it still connects, or just replace it?  

 

There is a company on EBay that sells replacement PCBs for WD drives. Used them in the past and they were fast shippers, great support , and worked every time.  Can't remember their name, but the listings had a link to some pretty decent support pages that helped you buy the right item. Price was < $25 for the PCBs I needed.

[Captain_WD]

~snip~

 

A note from me: have in mind that any other hardware maintenance different from the official WD RMA procedure voids the warranty. There are people who have successfully replaced their PCBs but this voids the drive's warranty if there's any left. I would recommend taking advantage of the RMA procedure and if you are out of warranty then attempt other things such as PCB replacement.

 

Captain_WD.

[cragger89]

If you NEED the data, buy the same drive and take the controller board from it and fit it to your broken one.

 

If there is a way to buy the PCB on its own, do that. Either way, this is salvageable and you haven't lost everything.

[ericlee30]

I had this happen to me in 2007 with one of my WD drives, what I ended up doing is, straighten out all the pins, then took a SATA cable and super clued the cable and the pins together by cluing the outside of the SATA cable to the hdd chassis , this method lasted 2 years before the drive finally gave up, it worked fine tell then though.

 

PS, this is if you are not under warranty, WD has one of the best warranty procedures out there, so i would take advantage of it if the drive is still covered, other wise try the method I method above.

[TheProfosist]

If you NEED the data, buy the same drive and take the controller board from it and fit it to your broken one.

If there is a way to buy the PCB on its own, do that. Either way, this is salvageable and you haven't lost everything.

Has to be the same firmware and everything or you'll need to flash it. There are many revisions of drives.

[UmerF]

 

You are most welcome Sadly, we don't fix drives but rather exchange them for re-certified ones. Check what the guys from the live support would say about this and if the drive is eligible for the RMA procedure or not.

I'm glad to see you've found a workaround and manage to access your files. I'd do a backup just in case the solution fails or causes the drive to fail.

 

Captain_WD.

 

 

Ah, sorry for late reply but I ended up doing what I said I will and I glued the drive and SATA cable together and finally tested it today and seems to be working just fine!

I might still reach out to that live chat thing just to see if replacement with re-furbished drive is possible since it's still under warranty, considering the other replies on this thread it might fail on me down the road so why take a risk if something more solid can be done but until then at least this seems to be pretty good solution for now, eh?

 

I did backup all the data right away to my WD Elements 4TB when I ghetto connected it the first time, lol. Once again, thanks a lot for your input in this matter. Sometime soon, I'll reach out to the WD Live Support and see what they have to say as well like you suggested!

 

 

@AleksaNS, @valdyrgramr ^ Look .. I made it, lol.

 

There is a company on EBay that sells replacement PCBs for WD drives. Used them in the past and they were fast shippers, great support , and worked every time.  Can't remember their name, but the listings had a link to some pretty decent support pages that helped you buy the right item. Price was < $25 for the PCBs I needed.

 

Luckily it won't come to that, and if it did .. I'd be more keen towards getting a refurbished drive as an RMA process from WD as compared to doing the process myself and voiding the warranty cause apparently the drive still seems to be valid for warranty probably, lol.

 

Albeit, thank you so much for your input and time as well.

 

 

A note from me: have in mind that any other hardware maintenance different from the official WD RMA procedure voids the warranty. There are people who have successfully replaced their PCBs but this voids the drive's warranty if there's any left. I would recommend taking advantage of the RMA procedure and if you are out of warranty then attempt other things such as PCB replacement.

 

Captain_WD.

 

 

Definitely won't be trying to replace the PCB myself as long as the device might still be valid under warranty for RMA process, it'd be totally last resort if WD Live Support tells me there's nothing they can do but hopefully it won't come to that.

 

If you NEED the data, buy the same drive and take the controller board from it and fit it to your broken one.

 

If there is a way to buy the PCB on its own, do that. Either way, this is salvageable and you haven't lost everything.

 

That was the first thought but since most of the data was just games and what not and I was able to recover the other data to my external drive such as pictures and what not, I think if I buy a new one I'll just use that and keep this one as a paper weight lol but things seems to be looking pretty good for me so far and HDD might still be valid for RMA process.

 

I had this happen to me in 2007 with one of my WD drives, what I ended up doing is, straighten out all the pins, then took a SATA cable and super clued the cable and the pins together by cluing the outside of the SATA cable to the hdd chassis , this method lasted 2 years before the drive finally gave up, it worked fine tell then though.

 

PS, this is if you are not under warranty, WD has one of the best warranty procedures out there, so i would take advantage of it if the drive is still covered, other wise try the method I method above.

 

Hahaha, that's pretty much exactly what I did .. if you go through the pictures I shared in this thread you'll see the condition from start to me ghetto connecting the drive to recover the data and running as test and then gluing the SATA cable directly with the drive lol.

 

I still have the drive under warranty and I'll reach out to them to see what they have to say regarding the RMA process as @Captain_WD suggested.

 

Has to be the same firmware and everything or you'll need to flash it. There are many revisions of drives.

 

True as well as even better chances if it's from the same batch it seems, luckily I won't need to go down that road. Too much hassle!

 

--

 

Thank you everyone for your time and input, so far it seems to be good and next step is to reach out to WD Live Support to see if RMA process is still valid for this drive and then will consider sending it for replacement. I'd be really surprised if they actually entertain this though, it'd be mad props to them to be doing RMA on a unit that was a user mess up.

[Captain_WD]

~snip~

 

Good job on the backup part. Do post back when you contact our support with some results. Feel free to ask if you happen to have other questions! Thanks for the update.

 

Captain_WD.