Must replace the drive inside in (older version of) MPW 1 tb drive

WD External and Portable SSD My Passport Wireless SSD
1

Hi,

I have to replace the drive because of a drop.

I have many drives around that could fit.

Do I have to use the same kind of drive with the same capacity, or I can just pop in ANY SATA III drive into it?
Thinking of to use a 1.5, 2 or 4 TB unit (even if it not fits in the original plastic case) or an SSD.

Is there anything I have to do with the new HDD, or it is a PnP solution?

THX in advance

2

If it were me, I would kiss the damaged MPW goodbye and replace with a new one.

A brand new MPW was announced this week with an SSD instead of a mechanical drive with moving parts. Available in Feb. It also has a protective rubber cover. Check the main WD site for info.

3

I have many drives laying around.
It would be nice to ā€˜updateā€™ one of them to the wireless functions and so on.

The question is:
Can I just snap one of them without any special stuff and good to go, or there is a ā€œmagical processā€ to get one of my 320GB-4TB drive working with the MPWā€™s PCB (I might even use a different enclosure if I can make it work with a 4TB drive that is 15mm tall)

This indicates it is an easy thing, but Iā€™m not sure

THX

4

What do you have to loose, so try it.

5

Will do it for sure!

I just wanted to know if it supports bigger capacity, or limited to the given (1TB) capacity or any other workaround info BEFORE it gets done!

Some says it works, other says it does not!
So I hope there is someone else will show up and gives a yes or no answer or a working solution if the drive itself needs some ā€˜magic sauceā€™ to make it working.
THX in advance

6

Original drives were up to 2TB, and that is what I have.

7

Firmware is same regardless of drive size so a larger size should not be an issue. The linked thread suggests a possible link between firmware and drive identifier which might limit what manufacturers drives can be used. If you have an old unit with a dodgy drive, it would certainly be worth trying to swap out the drive.

8

I would be curious if this worked. . . .but frankly I agree with Mike that salvaging the hardware may not be worth the effort. The 1st generation device was definately. . . first generation.

I saw the announcement about the new SSD MPW. . .and I now see refernces to the new toy in the WD mycloud app. Normally - > I would jump on this type of thing. . .but it sure seems both pricey and bulky. (I sort of expected the hefty price. . .but not the bulk).

9

I was able to get the logic board of the old MPW for a bargain (9 USD)

So Iā€™m waiting it to get delivered.
Since I have a looooot of HDDā€™s around me and I bought plenty of iPad mini 2ā€™s, I have to ā€˜upgradeā€™ their low capacity in some sort of way.
This looks like the cheapest solution.
Other would be the lightning to usb cable that have a micro sd card reader integrated (also 9 usd), but it can serve only 1 device at the time.
I jus tope it will be a Pā€™nā€™P solution with any of the drives collecting dust at the moment

10

WD store it boot contents on a flash. The HDD is for storage. There is nothing special need to be install on the HDD. You should install the 4TB HDD if you want to. To be sure, remember to use WD HDD when you want to replace your old HDD.

11

THX.

I got the PCB today.
It works with every HDD around, HGST, or whatever.
Iā€™m happy I have this.
There are many ways to hack the linux stuff on it, and many forums about it.
So it can be improved also, but for now Iā€™m happy what I have, will use it like this until I run into any limitation.
THX a lot WD for this product!

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