1TB external hard drive issues: power supply or something else?

So, I’ve got this WD 1TB external hard drive that holds all my precious stuff—I'm talking "don't lose this" levels of important. Yesterday, while I was working, the room suddenly started smelling funky, like something was burning. About an hour later, I went to plug the drive back in to get some work done, and nothing. Dead silence. No power, no spinning, absolutely nothing. It's still under warranty, so I took it over to Best Buy to see if they could fix it. They told me they're shipping it off to their service center in Washington, D.C., this coming Monday. Some people suggested I check if the power adapter died instead—which I haven't actually tried yet—while others told me I should try plugging it directly into a computer to pull my data off before sending it in. Apparently, people have had bad luck where the repair shop just wipes everything clean because they didn't back it up first. If I try to crack open the casing myself to take a look, is that going to void the warranty? I really don't want to lose that protection.

Here's the model number:

WD 1000 GB MY BOOK ESSENTIAL USB 3.0 5400 3.5 inch

About two years ago, a similar WD drive kicked the bucket on me too. That one was in a plastic housing. Honestly, I've gone through about 12 different hard drives over the last 15 years, and not a single one has ever failed me until these last two recent ones decided to quit.

If anyone has advice, especially if you've dealt with something like this before, please let me know. I’m terrified of sending it to a service center only for them to mess things up even worse or just wipe all my data.

Thanks in advance for the quick help!

Look, if you’ve still got a valid warranty, don't you dare go poking around or cracking open the case yourself. Last time I took my drives down to Best Buy for a repair, they actually had the decency to ask if I needed them to handle my data with care. Seriously—where even is your backup for all that precious info? 🙂

Benjamin King2 said:Look, if you’ve still got a warranty, don't go poking around or cracking open the case yourself. Every time I take my drives into Best Buy for a repair, they always ask if I need them to worry about my data. Where even is your backup for all that precious info? 🙂

hahah well I don't have a backup, that's the whole point—if I did, it wouldn't be an issue