USB backup drive enclosure fails, new adaptor shows drive not initialized

A fair number of USB to SATA/IDE adapters have embedded RAID capability, even if it is a single disk.  So if either the OLD or the new one had such capability then that would explain this.

Unfortunately, another explanation is that you fried the drive.  So I suggest attaching that HDD to a SATA port and making sure IF it has RAID to disable it, and then booting the PC to a LINUX CD or USB drive.  Then see if LINUX sees data on it.  This is safe because unless you specifically tell LINUX to install on the device then it will do a READ-ONLY mount.

Search for documentation on the USB devices and see if either mention RAID capability. That would be a major red flag.

When I would attach the USB backup drive it would give two partitions. One small partition with some kind of WD software, the other one was the usable data partition. I don't see anything related to RAID for either the drive or adapter.

I attached the drive to an onboard SATA and booted Hirens into PartedMagic and it lists the drive as "unallocated" and "unrecognized Disk Label", though "health" passed.

Not sure how I would have fried the drive but I guess anything is possible. It spins up at least. Any other ideas?
thx

maybe you don't really have a backup drive enclosure as much as a low-end appliance.  Find a link to the "enclosure" the HDD was in and post it.

Found a link to the product but haven't found a link to the enclosure adapter.
USB drive

would a photo of it help?

This device has built-in encryption, so if you enabled this feature you are screwed as far as I know.

Pretty sure I didn't enable that feature. I've used the drive on many devices.

I expect the encryption is internal to the device and the NVRAM on the controller chip inside of it.  It would be a poor design and not portable otherwise.

I'd call WDC support and ask them just in case.  They might have a utility you can run or ability to just repair/replace your enclosure under warranty or for a nominal fee.  

If I had the disk in my lab I could tell you with about 5 minutes work, but let's just see if WDC can give you a definitive ruling on the encryption and save us all time and effort of going down the wrong path.

the reason can also be a lack of power.
i suggest to test  your setup connected to the usb port on the back of the PC
or use a Powered USB hub like this : http://www.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=158910

The product page for the WD My Book Essential 2TB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive (WDBAAF0020HBK-NESN) mentions this in the details tab:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136397

Password protection and 256-bit encryption

So it looks like the enclosure has encryption built in. The PCB in the enclosure stores the encryption key, so you can't simply swap enclosures:
http://computersciencelabs.blogspot.com/2010/11/256-bit-based-hardware-encryption-on-wd.html

This user was able to get the enclosure working again by soldering the mini USB port back onto the PCB.
http://forum.hddguru.com/viewtopic.php?t=17398&f=1&start=0&sid=aa7423318a49e88cb1f7ada72291cb8c#p117982


As a final note, if you only have one copy of a file, that's not a backup. Always make sure to have at least two copies of any data you want to keep. So, all data on your internal drive, with a backup on the external, or store the data on two externals, each a copy of the other.

On close inspection it looks like two of the four metal pads that sit on the pc board are still attached to the female USB connector that popped off. Not a welding guru-  does that mean that welding is not even an option?

From the HDguru site it seems like I need an exact enclosure replacement or at least a revision that is close (one use claims it worked with a different rev).

some tutorials :
http://www.ladyada.net/learn/soldering/
http://www.aaroncake.net/electronics/solder.htm

a youtube :  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5Sb21qbpEQ

thanks