Data Clinic - Data Recovery Services
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
Call Us Free: 0800 151 2207
  • Data Recovery Home
  • Data Recovery Services
    • Hard Drive Recovery
    • External & USB Drives
    • RAID / Server Recovery
    • NAS
    • SSD
      • SanDisk SSD Data Recovery
      • Lenovo SSD Data Recovery
    • SD Cards
    • Mobile Phones & Tablets
      • >How The Process Works
      • Android Data Recovery
      • iPhone Data Recovery
      • Samsung Data Recovery
      • Sony Xperia Data Recovery
      • Nokia / Windows Data Recovery
      • Water Damaged Phones
    • CCTV & DVR
    • Macs
    • Windows Computers
    • Lost & Deleted Files
    • Advanced Forensic Data Recovery (ADR) Services
    • Forensic Investigation
    • Encrypted Volumes
      • Bitlocker
      • Check Point Endpoint
    • Tape Recovery
    • Tape eDiscovery & Conversion
    • Advanced Recovery Service
    • Spare Parts & Donor Drives
    • Disk Manufacturers
      • Seagate Hard Drive Data Recovery
      • Western Digital Hard Drive Data Recovery
      • Toshiba Hard Drive Data Recovery
    • SCSI Data Recovery
    • SQL Recovery
    • How Do Hard Drives Fail ?
  • Locations
    • Belfast
    • Birmingham
    • Glasgow
    • Leeds
    • Leicester
    • Liverpool
    • London – Chiswick
    • London – City
    • Manchester
    • Northampton
    • Sheffield
  • Help & Advice
  • News
  • About Us / Contact

Recovering Data From Encrypted WD Hard Drives

May 20, 2015 / Chris Seeley / Data Clinic Ltd, News

Western Digital hard drive with a USB connection on the motherboardWestern Digital manufacture a wide range of 2.5″ external USB portable hard drives. Rather than using a standard SATA connection on the hard drive’s motherboard, the SATA connection has been replaced with a USB connection.

Many of these drives also employ built in encryption which means data is automatically encrypted as it is written to the disk and then decrypted when it is read from the disk. This process is handled by a chip on the hard drive’s motherboard which encrypts/decrypts data as it is transferred between the hard drive and computer.

The Problem With USB

Using a USB rather than SATA connection on the hard drive’s motherboard creates a degree of difficulty for data recovery companies when there is damage to the hard drive’s motherboard.

Hard drives that use USB connections on their motherboards rather than the standard SATA connections are a lot more restrictive for data recovery companies to work on as the USB interface will not allow low level access the to hard drives firmware modules if there is damage to the motherboard. This makes operations such as reprogramming parts of the hard drive (necessary when there are password or encryption issues) almost impossible.

How to Decrypt and Recover Data From an Encrypted WD Drive with a USB Connection

It’s first necessary to substitute the damaged USB motherboard for a compatible SATA motherboard and then transfer the adaptive data from the hard drive across. Once completed, we are able to communicate with the hard drive at low level and use the information in the modules to decrypt the data whilst copying it across to a new hard drive.

Call us now on 0871 977 2525 or use the form on the right to contact us for assistance.

Comments are closed.

For an Immediate Quote
Call FREEPHONE
0800 151 2207

or, Request a Callback

Data Clinic Reviews

Data Clinic Ltd
Data Clinic Ltd
4.5
Based on 103 reviews
Write a review
Elliot Mikes
Elliot Mikes
06:29 14 Jan 21
Will Man
Will Man
15:45 13 Jan 21
Lost all my data on my iPhone, rang this company to see whether it was all retrievable. Within a week had my device backed up and all tracked with DHL courier. Definitely recommend to others who maybe experiencing issues with lost data.

LONDON
68 Lombard Street, EC3V 9LJ
Tel: 0207 111 0964

BELFAST
The Mount, Belfast BT6 8DD
Tel: 0800 151 2207

BIRMINGHAM
11 St Pauls Square, Birmingham B3 1RB
Tel: 0121 629 0436

GLASGOW
Tay House, 300 Bath Street, Glasgow, G2 4JR
Tel: 0141 301 1677

LEEDS
Building 3, City West Business Park, Gelderd Road, Leeds, LS12 6LN
Tel: 0113 254 9741

LEICESTER
3rd Floor, St. George's House, 6 St George's Way, Leicester LE1 1QZ
Tel: 0800 151 2207

LIVERPOOL
Horton House, Exchange Street East, Liverpool, L2 3PF
Tel: 0151 268 5255

MANCHESTER
The Pavilions, Bridge Hall Lane, Bury, BL9 7NX
Tel: 0161 761 0620

NORTHAMPTON
Victory House, 400 Pavilion Drive, Northampton Business Park, Northampton, NN4 7PA
Tel: 01604 529356

SHEFFIELD
The Balance, 2 Pinfold Street, Sheffield, S1 2GU
Tel: 0114 208 6027


(c) 2020 Data Clinic Ltd - Data Recovery Services. Click to visit Data Clinic's DATA RECOVERY homepage.