How to modify a 2016 Western Digital "My Book" to use any other Drive inside the Case 

Bought mine from WD in 2019 and had to remove PIN 7 AND PIN 8, now it works!

You sir deserve a medal

Today i tried to upgrade my WD Elements 3TB with an 16TB Toshiba Drive. Same issue. No Initialisation. After some research i stumbled accross your video. Usually i do not cut wires, based on an youtube video. But i had nothing to lose, i did not really need the case itself. And i can say: it worked! I cutted pin 8 from the chip Pm25LD020 and now windows is showing the drive as ASMT 2105 USB Drive. BIG THANKS TO YOU!

Bought an WD 8TB MyBook in 2019. As stated below, removing PIN 8 AND 7 did the trick. Thanks & shout out to the great community here!

Did the fix for the board in my 8 TB (sharp corner) case (P/N WDBBGB0080HBK-NA). Separated both 7 and 8 pins and now works wonderfully with other drives. Vielen Dank!

I was preparing to put in the trash the my book external case because the original drive has gone bad.... thank you it worked with only removing pin 8 Now you have saved me an external case... thank you very much

This (removing pin 8) worked for a different but similar chip (pm25ld020) on a different but similar board (4060-705149-000) from a WD MyBook that had a WD 3 TB drive. Your English was no problem at all, and needs no apologies! THANK YOU for making and posting this useful video!

Thank You, I have My Book 4TB, V3, the 2018 version. I had to break pin 8 AND 7 for it to work!

Thank you! I was about to throw away the enclosure but then I saw your hack and decided to give it a try, Pin 8 removed, works like a charm! Feels good to re-use this instead of throwing it in the bin!

Great job! I cut just pin 8 and now it works. By the way, your English is just fine. I understood everything and now my 4TB drive replacement to a 3TB drive is purring like a kitten. Thank you.

Vielen Dank !!! You saved me a lot of headache, I have two old USB 3.0 1TB WD My Book drives and free green WD 3TB and 2TB, couldn't get them to be recognized more than 1TB, there was no error in my case just 1TB instead of the real capacity. I've searched the net alot with no success, today I was lucky to find your video my dear man. On the WD 1140 controller the flash chip is Pm25LD020, and since pin 8 on your chip and pin 8 on my chip are the same, Vcc, so I went for it and removed the leg and now thanks to you I have 2 new external drives, 2TB & 3TB. Thanks a lot David.

I used a 4TB WD drive from a My Cloud in my 8TB 2020 My Book - I had to remove pin 7 and 8 and it worked. I tried with just pin 8, and did need to remove 7. Many thanks for this!

You are truly a hero for this

My 8TB WD My Book also needed me to break pins 7 and 8 before it would work, but is now happy connecting to a spare SSD I had lying around,. The HDD is inside my new NAS! Thanks for the guide

Thank you man, really helpful. On my 2TB WD my book I have slightly different EEPROM Pm25LD020. However the PCB looks identical, the IC is on the same place. So I desoldered it and immediately I see my new 3TB installed. It is a 3TB red WD, so I was really surprised that initially it didn't worked. Although I found in internet that there are some drawbacks (no auto sleep) of this method it works perfectly for me. Thanks one more time.

Just to chime in - I had a WD MyBook 2019, pins 7 and 8 were required for me as well. I did one at a time and tested. Thanks for this vid!

I bought an 8tb wd easystore, and I can confirm this works. I just had to remove pin8, not 8+7. I used some micro snips and it worked great. Thanks!

Came across this video while I was watching the shucking tutorials and I had the similar idea of wanting to reuse the case for another drive. For the WD 10 TB Easystore drives, it is not actually necessary to remove pin 8 in order to put another drive inside (or at least not for the single WD 750 GB drive I tested, it might be different for other manufacturers). You can simply put your other drive inside and it'll come right up in Windows. (I was curious about the specific chip in question so I looked it up and found it's datasheet. Winbond 25X20CLVIG 1752. It is a 2 MB RAM chip, presumably for saving configurations from the USB controller. The 8th pin is the VCC (power) control. So removing the 8th pin is effectively, removing the power from the chip.)

Thank You, You've solved my big problem with two My Book 6TB. With the 2019 edition (the one with squared design) I had to cut pins 7 and 8, as suggested by other members.

Just to mention, it also worked with a different chip marked as: PM25LD020, also with just cutting pin 8.

Just did this on my 10TB WD MyBook and it worked by cutting pins 7 & 8. At first I only cut pin 8 like you said, but windows gave the same fatal error so I read the comments and cut pin 7 too. Now it works great! Thanks!

I can confirm this does work. Backup your data first. You'll have to reformat your drive that came with the My Book in order to use it.

Thank you for this video. Like some others, I had to also remove pin 7 in addition to pin 8 and now both my two My Book's work with different drives.

*I have also did the same Solution plus also disconnect the Pin 7 and now it is working. Thanks dear "du hast mich gerettet"*

Your English is very good. Better than some Americans who I have met. Also great information as I am buying a couple of the 8TB drives soon to add to my storage space on a server.

confirmed, it worked by cuting the 7th and 8th pin, huge like, cheers from Venezuela

Thanks for the vid! I have a 2020 6TB My Book and like many of the other comments I had to cut 7 + 8 and it worked!!!

Cool! Your English was just fine as I understood your instructions on how to disable pin 8. Thanks!

This is interesting thank you, apparently the ASMT chip reads it's configuration from the flashrom 2Mbit memory and pin 8 is the power supply. You might be able to accomplish the same thing by grounding pin 7, so solder a wire from 7 to 4 and you can undo it later without cutting the leg.

thank you so much guys from cold cold russia. you fixed 4 of my old disks for me.

This worked for a 2011 Western Digital My Book Essential USB 3.0 (3TB) - the chip is in a different place on the board - pin 8 only 👍

Thanks! I have an old WD Elements (4TB) external drive that I had shucked years ago. Got the parts out. It has a smaller control board, snipped pin 8 and didn't work yet so then snipped pin 7 also and surprise - it's working with any drive now!

Your English was great , thanks for the video it really helped. Mine was from 2019 and I had to remove Pin 7 and 8 Thankyou!

Hi all! I had to remove two pins: 8 AND 7 for it to work.

2021 4TB MyBook 7/8 Pins removed It works! Thank you for this!

Thanks a lot, it work for me, just a needle needed! 8th pin hack, now it works with a small 2.5" HDD, genius!

This worked, I had to do 7 and 8 but it worked. Thank you!

I took my 8TB My Book drive out and put it in my HTPC desktop computer for incredibly quiet operation. And then used this method to reuse my WD Red 8TB which was super noisy even after getting a replacement from WD. There definitely is a big difference in the weight and build quality, likely the My Book drive won't last as long. But it's so so quiet and perfect for a near silent build

Did this today on a 3tb MyBook that I found in the goodwill bins a few years ago. Wanted to replace the 3tb with a new 4th. Just clipped the pin, drive showed right up. It didnt show before. Thanks for helping out! Suck a fat one Western Digital.

Thank you very much for sharing. Your English is very good and your accent is noticeable but is quite easy to understand.

Worked great with my 2016/2017 WD easystore 8TB USB 3.0 Drive Model WDBCKA0080HBK! Only needed to remove Pin 8. Thank you!

Many thanks from the UK all sorted now only pin 8 cut thanks again.

Totally confirmed, this absolutely works. Awesome stuff. I was starting to think the 6tb drive I bought was bad. THANK YOU

Super, vielen Dank. :) DAs war die perfekte Lösung. Ich habe 2 Leergehäuse sehr günstig gekauft (nun weiss ich ja auch warum :) für meine "nackten" Festplatten. Zuerst hatte ich immer den beschriebenen Fehler. Dank Dir und Pin 8 kann ich nun die Gehäuse doch nutzen. Klasse.

Hey, you are mistaken, your English is great! thank you for this video!

Not sure how I was recommended this one, but my thanks as I have a working enclosure now! I removed the whole IC as just pin 8 did not work

Thank you for sharing! And you do very well with your English!

Greetings ! Incredible ! Thank you so very much for this reveal ! 😁😀😆 I have a 3 TB version & when I got it, I disassembled it & tried to connect a 4 TB WD Red onto the controller, but it wouldn't accept the drive. Now I know ! 😉😆😎 Thanks again.

Thanks for the Video, a WD Mybook (2016) also needs to cut pin 7 & 8 on the same chip.

awesome tip!! I have the dec 2016 version. I had to break pin 8 AND 7 for it to work!

Great tip, I ahad one of this devices in the past to replace the disk and I was unable to do it. Now I now. Thanks so much!

I have bought the 10TB WD MyBook 2019/2020 External Drive. Another disk was not functioning with this enclosure. Then I removed the pin 8 but still not working. Then I removed the whole chip and disk was recognized and showed up correctly in "Disk Manager" and "Win Explorer". So if some of you have no luck with pin 8, you can try removing the whole chip. Do it on your own responsibility. I'm just giving a hint. Again I have the 2019 Model. Black plastic box with sharp edges. Top half glossy and shiny, bottom half waved pattern. Grill on the top and the bottom of the drive for air circulation. And if some disks are not working, using a 2A - 3A (Ampere) power supply might help. In some cases, a 1.5A is not enough. Be careful. I don't take responsibility. A little later: Yes guys, I just did my second drive and can only confirm. For this specific external drive removing or disabling the pin 8 does not work. But removing the whole chip worked once again for me.

Confirmed, works. tested with a samsung 1TB

Yep it's work, big thanks 🎉

Hi, Today 2023, it works! thanks !! a lot. I need to remove pin 7 and 8 WD Mybook 25ee case USB.

This worked for me as well on 1TB. My question is this: Will it also work on a 16TB My Book DUO Desktop RAID USB 3.0 ENCLOSURE? So I am not forced to replace a 8TB with a WD Red, but could use a black or another brand drive???? Sure would love some help with this.

My book 2012 model, i had to remove pin 8 and then 7 to make it work thankyou 😊

Thank you, just what I needed. Works great!

Excellent info! Once it's out of warranty, I may try this! Thanks!

just wanna say thank you to you :)

Be careful, it doesn't work anymore. I did it successfully on 4 drives in the past (all WD80EZAZ), but on the two I got today (WD80EDBZ) removing the pins kills the controller card. The older version uses ASMEDIA controller chips (just next to the Winbond chip), the newer a JMS579 chip.

pin 7 and 8 on the new 6TB (shingled drive)with NAS logo 2021 from walmart. thanks that was great !

if I want to extract the data from the Drive what should I do

25x or PM25... chip is simply a flash chip. probably with WD specific program in it. Removing pin 8, which is the voltage supply pin to the chip basically disable the chip. My guess is WD use a program to make sure only specific WD drive is installed.

Thank you! Work fine on my wd my book 1140 with EEPROM Pm25LD020

Wow!.. Thank you so much!. yes I am using the chassis with other hard drives.

LIFE SAVER THANK YOU!!!

Big thx. Remove of PIN 7 and 8 did job :)

Great Hack! It works on my boards. Thanks for the video!!!

Thanks a lot! Easy trick, works perfectly!

On a controller from an 8tb wd easystore bought in July 2017, I had to break legs 7 and 8 for it to work. Tried just 8 at first, and was not enough.

Yes the drive works after this tweak but it does not spin down. Was hoping to use it with my synology setup, the spinning sound is irritating if ur in the same room trying to sleep.

I removed PIN 8, then the Problem was just like before (disc starts, but doesn't get recognized correctly). So i removed PIN 7, just like some wrote. Now the disc doesn't start anymore and diden't get recogniced also. It's a wd red 3TB. The "usb-adapter" was from a new 2019 My book. Suggestions? In english or german please.

Thanks Broo!!, for the latest WD My Book 8TB 2020 also remove PIN 7 & 8 to work..

Hi Spoin0815 Awesome video,,, and quite good english,,,, I am surely going to try to copy your trick!! Thanx!!

Wow, thank you, that easy. It worked for me with two MyBook devices. :)

Hero . Thanks VERY MUCH !

I desoldered and removed pin 8 and it worked. However, the drive no longer goes to sleep and remains running even when the usb cable is unplugged. At least I can get some use out of it though.

I had to remove both pin 7 and 8 as @JulianGoesPro said. Just took a needle and wedged the point under the legs so they bent loose. 5 Second job!

Thanks...

Brilliant... thanks a million for sharing this info.

i have a WD drive that slipped off the shelf...it powers up ok..but the drive never shows up after plugged into usb now..how can i get the data off the drive?? i think WD uses some sort of encoding on all the data..

You're right man, THX a lot for this tip and great video

Hey! I recently got a My Book Duo, the newer USB-C version, and I wondered if you know if a similar modification is possible?

Does this work the same on a WD My Book Duo .

My Book 4TB controller-adapter board (the odd shaped board that plugs into the internal HDD) died last week, so I removed the full size HDD inside the My Book case and installed it into a HDD docking station - back in business. And threw away the bad controller-adapter.

had to cut pin 7 and pin 8 of mine to get it to work even tho im still using the hard drive that the control board came with

Is there a size cap in hard drive space if I choose to use a new drive. My current 1 TB My Book hard drive is screeching, possibly indicating failure coming soon. I was wondering one could put in an 12 TB hard drive replacement? Obviously after doing this trick mentioned in the video.

I desoldered the whole chip. This makes it easier to solder it back on (just in case). It works without the chip.

Hi, thanks for this. It works... but only with a similar/smaller drive? I have the 2tb model and it wont see a seagate 4tb I've plugged in- its showing as unallocated. Is there any way around this?

wd book 2021 bought 25x20clvig (2038) removed pin 8: not working removed pin 7: not working removed whole chip: not working anyone know why?

is it true that by removing pin 8, it can be used for any other hardisk manufacture?

Hi, Is it possible that the hard drive is somehow "hard coded" (via e.g. Serial Number, Part Number, just general Model Name) to that IC-chip ? 🤔 So, by example removing the original drive & putting in a different one, the new one won't be recognised because the IC has information that is pointing to a different hard drive then the one that was added. Maybe you could reprogram that IC with one of those cheap eBay EEPROM programmers (e.g. CH341A) with the data of your new drive that you want to put in. 🤔 But first you'd even have to read the contents of the IC & see the structure. Best Regards,

Moin Ich hätte da mall eine Frage Ich habe auf Meinem bord ein Anderen chip drauf,kann ich den trotzdem killen oder nicht. Bitte schreib mich mall auf RU-vid an wen du das oder ein anderer der mir Helfen kann. ich bedanke mich jetzt schon mall.. Lg Niklas.Polatzek

So the drive inside WD my book is actually an internal drive put in an external casing ?

Does WD Smartware software still work after making this procedure?

Hi. I shuck my 8TB and try to use the disk as internal drive, but it is not recognised by the system. Do I missed anything or it just my mainboard doesn't support 8TB?

Well.. it worked, but now the connection isn't as reliable and the HD disconnect quite often. I don't know why

After I have replaced my old 2tb hdd with new 8tb hdd in my WD My Book attached to Asus router, my book 8tb will not go to sleep anymore. Do you have any advise?

My WDBWLG0050HBK-04 didnt power up, so found out common problem. Bought a new case WDBWLG0050HBK-0B but my old data are not accessable. If i follow your instruction do you think i would get access again ? Thank you !