The original post: /r/datahoarder by /u/wyan2_0 on 2024-12-09 00:18:31.

Link to images: https://imgur.com/a/dBQklqC

Around Black Friday, I purchased 3 of these bad boys: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/wd-easystore-20tb-external-usb-3-0-hard-drive-black/6500985.p?skuId=6500985

I shucked them and put all 3 of them into this DAS: https://a.co/d/abISr5a and powered them on. 2 of them were recognized by my PC, no issues. The third one, however, was unrecognized by my PC. I tried the “good” drives in every bay in the DAS and there were no issues, as well as trying the “bad” drive in every bay and it was not recognized in any of them.

I read online about the 3.3V pin issue, so thought to myself huzzah - that must be it. An easy fix, woohoo. I purchased this tape: https://a.co/d/2lMxwsA and covered the first 3 pins (images here). Yet when I attempt to power on the drive, it is still not recognized.

As an additional step, I attempted using a USB-to-SATA adapter: https://a.co/d/c4SGLQY (not really sure what I was trying to prove here) and it was still not recognized.

Does anyone have any additional diagnostic tips or guidance? Is this drive hosed? My next thought was to completely remove the third pin from the drive with a knife but I’d rather solve this by other means if possible.