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Western Digital data recovery

WD Blue, Black, Red, Purple, Gold and Ultrastar drives, from old Caviar models to helium-filled 26TB units. We recover them all in our Temecula lab.

  • Free evaluation
  • No recovery, no charge
  • Free shipping to the lab

Western Digital hard drive recovery in Temecula

Western Digital is the largest hard drive brand we see on the bench. Since February 2025 WD has been a hard-drive-only company, with its flash and SSD business split off as Sandisk. If your WD drive is an SSD, see WD and SanDisk SSD recovery. For My Passport, Elements and My Book, see WD external drive recovery.

WD drives we recover

WD Blue
Desktop and 2.5-inch laptop drives. Most 2.5-inch and many 3.5-inch Blue models use shingled recording.
WD Black
Performance desktop and laptop drives.
WD Red, Red Plus and Red Pro
NAS drives. Plain Red models are shingled, Red Plus and Red Pro are conventional. This matters when an array rebuild has failed.
WD Purple and Purple Pro
Surveillance drives from DVR and NVR recorders.
WD Gold and Ultrastar DC
Enterprise and data-center drives, helium-filled from 8TB up, now reaching 26TB conventional and 32TB shingled.
Older families
Caviar, Scorpio, VelociRaptor, Green, RE and AV drives on SATA and IDE.

Faults typical of WD drives

Slow-responding drives
The drive is detected and then takes minutes to read anything. The cause is usually a fault in the firmware service area and not the heads. Reading it with ordinary software makes it worse.
Unique ROM on every board
Each WD circuit board holds adaptive data matched to that one drive. A board from an identical model will not work until the ROM is transferred.
Shingled translator corruption
An SMR drive that suddenly shows as unallocated or full of zeros after a power cut.
OptiNAND drives
Recent high-capacity models keep part of their metadata in a flash chip on the board. Board damage on these needs extra care.
Head and media failure
Clicking after a drop or after years of wear. Helium drives need exact donor matching and dedicated tooling to open.
Power surge damage
Burned protection diodes or motor controller on the board.

Western Digital models we recover, 2013 to 2026

Examples of the model numbers we see most often, grouped by the years each range was sold. On a WD drive the model number is printed on the top label after "MDL:" or "Model:", for example WD40EFRX, often followed by a dash and a suffix such as -68N32N0.

YearsRangeModel numbers
2011–2015WD Green, 3.5-inchGreen line merged into WD Blue in 2015WD10EZRX, WD20EARX, WD20EZRX, WD30EZRX, WD40EZRX
2012–2019WD Red NAS, 3.5-inch (CMR)8TB and larger are helium-filledWD20EFRX, WD30EFRX, WD40EFRX, WD60EFRX, WD80EFZX, WD100EFAX
2012–2026WD Blue desktop, 3.5-inch (CMR)WD10EZEX, WD20EZRZ, WD40EZRZ, WD60EZRZ, WD40EZAX, WD80EAAZ
2012–2026WD Blue, Black and Red, 2.5-inch laptopWD10SPZX and WD20SPZX are shingled (SMR)WD5000LPVX, WD10JPVX, WD7500BPKX, WD10JFCX, WD10SPZX, WD20SPZX
2013–2026WD Black / WD_BLACK, 3.5-inch 7200rpmWD1003FZEX, WD2003FZEX, WD4005FZBX, WD6003FZBX, WD8002FZWX, WD101FZBX
2013–2026WD Re, WD Se and WD Gold enterpriseWD4000FYYZ, WD4000F9YZ, WD4002FYYZ, WD8004FRYZ, WD181KRYZ, WD241KRYZ
2014–2026WD Purple and Purple Pro surveillanceWD40PURX, WD40PURZ, WD82PURZ, WD43PURZ, WD85PURZ, WD221PURP
2014–2026WD Red Pro NAS, 3.5-inch 7200rpm (CMR)WD2002FFSX, WD6002FFWX, WD8003FFBX, WD121KFBX, WD161KFGX, WD221KFGX
2017–2026Ultrastar DC HC310 to HC57010TB and larger are helium-filledHUS726T4TALE6L4, HUS728T8TALE6L4, HUH721212ALE604, WUH721414ALE6L4, WUH721816ALE6L4, WUH722222ALE6L4
2018–2026WD Red and WD Blue, 3.5-inch (SMR)Shingled (SMR)WD20EFAX, WD40EFAX, WD60EFAX, WD20EZAZ, WD40EZAZ, WD60EZAZ
2020–2026WD Red Plus NAS, 3.5-inch (CMR)WD40EFZX, WD60EFZX, WD40EFPX, WD80EFPX, WD120EFBX, WD140EFGX
2023–2026Ultrastar DC HC580 / HC590 / HC690, Red Pro and Gold 26TBHelium-filled; HC690 is host-managed UltraSMRWUH722424ALE6L4, WUH722626ALE6L4, WSH723220ALN6L4, WD260KFGX, WD261KRYZ

Not listed? These are examples, not limits. If your model is missing we almost certainly still recover it. Give us the number when you start a case.

Getting your WD data back

RMLD stocks donor drives and parts for Western Digital models, which lets us carry out head and board work quickly. From a straightforward data transfer to firmware repair or a head replacement in the clean room, we use the method that gives the best result for the fault.

If your WD drive is not recognized, clicks or grinds, freezes the computer, or shows the wrong size, stop using it and call RMLD on (951) 595-8065. You can also start a case online. We accept drives delivered to our Temecula lab or sent by post or courier.

How a case works

Six steps from the first call to your files. You approve the quote and check the results before paying.

  1. Tell us what happenedCall or start a case online. A technician reviews it and tells you how to send or bring the device.
  2. Ship it or drop it offShipping to the lab is free. You can also hand it in at Temecula or London.
  3. Free evaluationWe diagnose the fault and send a firm quote. Nothing is charged for this.
  4. Recovery in our labOnce you approve, the work is done in-house. Your device never leaves our company.
  5. You check the filesYou receive a list of what was recovered and confirm it before paying.
  6. Data returnedOn a new drive, your own drive, or by encrypted download. No recovery means no charge.

More recovery services

Talk to a technician before you try anything else

The evaluation is free, and the first advice you get can decide whether the data comes back.

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