Can I use the HDD inside my WD Mybook in my pc?

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Wcschuyler

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Oct 23, 2013
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i have a 3tb wd mybook, would it be possible to take it out of the case and put in in my atx case and hook it up like a standard hdd with sata?
 
Solution
SuperSoph_WD
Hey there, Wcschuyler!

Unfortunately, you cannot use your HDD out of the enclosure. :(
There is no way to disable the hardware encryption on your MyBook. Taking the HDD out of the enclosure will void its warranty and will make the drive useless. Hardware encrypted drives can't be accessed from a different enclosures or outside of their original ones.
Even if you don't have a password or software encryption to access the drive, the data can only be read through that enclosure.

If you have a particular problem with the drive, I suggest you contact our tech support for further assistance:
http://support.wdc.com/contact/contact.asp?lang=en

Good luck!
SuperSoph_WD
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SuperSoph_WD

SuperSoph_WD

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Jul 30, 2014
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Hey there, Wcschuyler!

Unfortunately, you cannot use your HDD out of the enclosure. :(
There is no way to disable the hardware encryption on your MyBook. Taking the HDD out of the enclosure will void its warranty and will make the drive useless. Hardware encrypted drives can't be accessed from a different enclosures or outside of their original ones.
Even if you don't have a password or software encryption to access the drive, the data can only be read through that enclosure.

If you have a particular problem with the drive, I suggest you contact our tech support for further assistance:
http://support.wdc.com/contact/contact.asp?lang=en

Good luck!
SuperSoph_WD
 
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fzabkar

Judicious
Sep 22, 2010
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@SuperSoph_WD, Wcschuyler did not say whether the My Book was an Essentials model (encrypted) or an Elements (not encrypted). That said, a 3TB My Book is configured with a 4KB sector size, in which case removing the drive from its enclosure would expose its native 512e sectoring, rendering the data inaccessible, even if not encrypted.

If Wcschuyler does not wish to preserve the data on the My Book HDD, then it can be repartitioned and reformatted inside the PC as a normal drive. There is nothing special about it in this regard.
 
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SuperSoph_WD

SuperSoph_WD

Glorious
Jul 30, 2014
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I'm sorry, @fzabkar but actually all My Book products incorporate a hardware encryption. As for WD Elements, it is not a part of the My Book series, it's just a WD external drive without a hardware encryption as you can see in the products' page on our website:
All of them fall under the 'External storage' column but they are different products. :)
http://wdc.com/en/

This is exactly why taking the HDD out of a My Book is not a good idea at all and will make the drive unaccessible and useless.
I'd really encourage @Wcschuyler to take the issue to our tech support, so that they will help him resolve it.
http://support.wdc.com/contact/contact.asp?lang=en
If it's still under warranty, he could RMA it and get a replacement:
http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/8

Good luck!
SuperSoph_WD
 
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fzabkar

Judicious
Sep 22, 2010
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@SuperSoph_WD, whether the drive is encrypted or not, removing it from its enclosure will not "will make the DRIVE inaccessible and useless". It will make the DATA inaccessible. The drive can still be repurposed for internal use, just like a standard WD Green SATA model.

I take your point regarding WD's model names, but experience in various storage forums has taught me that users and sellers often refer to 3.5" Elements drives as My Books.
 
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Wcschuyler

Honorable
Oct 23, 2013
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10,510
I did take it out and plugged it in through sata, you do loose all of the data on the drive but i transfered it all off before i did it and then put it all back on after i put it in my pc
 
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SuperSoph_WD

SuperSoph_WD

Glorious
Jul 30, 2014
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Hi again, Wcschuyler!

It's great that you managed to save your data! That's the important thing!
Having backups is the way to go when you want to protect your files.
I'm glad you've solved your issue!

Best of luck and happy computing! :)
SuperSoph_WD
 
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