Chosen Solution

My WD Elements Portable stopped functioning after a drop. It still powers, it still connects and is detected by the PC in device manager and a Disk Drive is assigned to it. Then I get the message “X:/ is not accessible. The request failed due to a fatal device hardware error.” Using their Diagnostic Tool (Data LifeGuard), A Quick Test passes, while an Extended Test fails with “Too many bad sectors detected” Because I dropped the device, I’m thinking that it may all be the result of a loose connection, which I have no idea how to resolve. WD doesn’t to repair services and the alternative is to spend hundreds on a data recovery system. My guess is to buy another hard drive, pop both open, swap out whatever parts I can see, but I’m worried then about compatibility.

Hi shadowfoxex Sorry to hear about it. Hard Disk is a fragile and sensitive product. When it has been fallen from a height, there is a probability that the head might be misaligned with the platter / or scratch on it. For WD Element Portal HDD, it is not as straight forward to just dismantle and replace with another working drive. There are many consideration, e.g.

  1. cleanroom environment to fix
  2. the USB connection is embedded together with the hard disk, not like the traditional sata to usb board.
  3. firmware and model differences. Try to use another PC and see if you are able to access, backup data ASAP. You might need to use a live linux bootable OS to access your data.