WD my book essentials headache

[Adamrl018]

OK.... so i have a WD my book essentials 2tb "WD20EARS" "Rev. 13R" that is not being recognized by my windows 7 machine.
I looked it up and it seems to be a common issue with these. It shows up in device manager but not in "my computer"
It shows in disk management, but it gives me a i/o error when i try to initialize it.
Ive read that you can replace the usb controller board with another so i ran to Fry's and picked up another hard drive for 100 bucks. This one however is a WD20EARX with a "Rev. AD" board.

I've tried swapping the usb controllers.
new drive starts with the old "Rev. 13R" controller and IS recognized
old drive runs and clicks with the new "Rev. AD" controller not recognized

Ive tried swapping the hard drive boards and both hard drives are still not coming up.
new drive old board - clicking and isn't recognized.
old drive new board - clicking and isn't recognized.

so this tells me theres a problem with the old drive's board or the heads.

My question is...
What are my options?
Try and find a new board to match this drive?
Risk 100 bucks and try to swap the heads?


anyway..... I learned my lesson "ALWAYS BACK UP YOUR DATA"!

What do you guys think?

 

[fzabkar]

You cannot swap HDD PCBs, even between working drives. That's because each PCB has unique, drive specific data stored in flash memory. These data need to be transferred from patient to donor.

That said, the problem sounds like an internal fault.

 

[Adamrl018]

so its the heads? i read that the WD20EARS and the EARX the only difference is a faster transfer rate.
Could i use the EARX's heads?
Or buy a EARS off ebay then use it's heads?

 

[Adamrl018]

im looking for a donor hard drive on ebay now. What do i need to look for to make sure the heads match up with the patient?

 

[fzabkar]

A head swap is not a realistic DIY proposition.

This thread should answer some of your questions:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/297851-32-chip-transfer

That said, often an internal fault can be the result of damaged firmware modules in the hidden System Area on the platters. Repairing these modules requires commercial software tools and a knowledge of how to use them. But you still need to find copies of the damaged firmware.

There is a tool called AFF Repair Station that is claimed to repair the firmware area (for a fee of US$50), but I have yet to see any reports of success. A diagnosis is free, though.

One simple test you could do to narrow down the fault would be to install the drive's PM2 jumper. This will configure it to Power Up In Standby (PUIS). It should then identify itself using the information on the PCB. The model number field may be blank, but it should at least show up in BIOS (if connected via SATA).

 

[Adamrl018]

Best answer selected by Adamrl018.