Yay! My Western Digital External HD stopped responding

[Casual_Shooter]

Ok, I'm laying the sarcasm on pretty thick in case you couldn't tell.

Have had a Western Digital external drive at work for a couple of years (at the most?) and keep back-ups and my music on it.

A couple of weeks ago, I thought it sounded a little more noisy than usual so I picked up a 2tb Seagate something or other and copied everything off the Western and changed my back up settings to map them to the Seagate.

A week or so ago, I tried to access the WD and got nothing. Lights are on (literally) but no one is home.

Interestingly enough, I was listening to an AM talkshow and the guy was telling the audience that external drives are really only good for 2-3 years.

I understand HD's fail, but it's pretty annoying to have your "back up" drive fail.

Just venting I guess. Perhaps it's time for me to investigate the Cloud options. We use Crashplan as one of our back up options and they offer an online service. Haven't really looked seriously into it yet, though.

[tradecraft]

Always keep a backup of your backup. External drives fail if you stare at them the wrong way.

[Casual_Shooter]

But what happens when my backup for my backup fails.... I could never have enough backups. It's like a bad movie set on constant loop.

[Oshiat]

I had a WD external drive fail. Some research showed that the usb converter is the weak point. I pulled it from the case and connected a SATA cable and it responded. It's worth checking out before you trash it.

[sevensix2x51]

I have never trusted WD. Guess I still got a sour taste from like 10-15 years(geez, I'm getting old) back when every WD that rolled off the line would go up in smoke at random. I heard they got better, but I still give them the squinty-eye serious face when I walk past them at Fry's.

Good luck with backing up the backup to your ba... nevermind. God speed.

[MA2]

I really think most die out because of overheating.
There is no air flow in those tiny enclosures.

Oh, you can check it it is still under warranty...worth a try:

http://websupport.wdc.com/warranty/serialinput.asp?aspsid=346937430&custtype=end&requesttype=warranty&lang=en

[felixthecat1]

I had a WD external drive fail. Some research showed that the usb converter is the weak point. I pulled it from the case and connected a SATA cable and it responded. It's worth checking out before you trash it.

Great advice, works lots of the time. Problem is, if you heard weird noises, it was probably a mechanical failure with the disk(s) itself. good thing u heard it, and bought a new drive in time.

Always keep a backup of your backup. External drives fail if you stare at them the wrong way.

ANother problem I see a lot, is that people put all their stuff on an external drive, and call it their "backup drive" Backup means you have it all in a primary location, and are storing it to this drive ALSO, as a BACKUP. Some people will put it all on the external drive, without having another copy somewhere else, which is not a Backup. Think of it like this, an important document that you only have one of. You put it in the safe, but don't have another copy anywhere else. Something happens to your safe, and your screwed. Same thing with an external drive.

I really think most die out because of overheating.
There is no air flow in those tiny enclosures.

It is true than most enclosures do not have sufficient airflow. To top it off, many of the smaller enclosures which have even worse airflow, are often times put in locations that further hinder their cooling, like under the desk in the corner, or on a bookcase sandwiched between two not so cool books.

[ExtremeX]

Always keep a backup of your backup. External drives fail if you stare at them the wrong way.

haha +1

I have a small raid array to help with issues like this on my main desktop, but I still keep a backup of my array on an external drive.

Biggest issue with externals are heat, and frequent transportation.

I like externals, but I dont trust em.

[Casual_Shooter]

I had a WD external drive fail. Some research showed that the usb converter is the weak point. I pulled it from the case and connected a SATA cable and it responded. It's worth checking out before you trash it.

Good idea... thanks.

I really think most die out because of overheating.
There is no air flow in those tiny enclosures.

Oh, you can check it it is still under warranty...worth a try:
http://websupport.wdc.com/warranty/s...rranty&lang=en

Great link. Thanks. Looks like the warranty expired in June.

[resident-shooter]

My external WD failed after less than a year. Seagate has served me for over 4 years now...

[paul0660]

Cavalry makes a two HD dock that works well. Occasionally Newegg has them for sale with a 1 TB drive for a little more than the cost of the drive. Takes care of the cooling issue, and mine has worked fine.

[bender152]

But what happens when my backup for my backup fails.... I could never have enough backups. It's like a bad movie set on constant loop.

RAID

I had a similar problem recently, my storage drive started making clicking noises, which made me very uncomfortable. I decided to bite the bullet and go with a network attached raid system.

There are a few options out there, but I went with Synology.

[ExtremeX]

Cavalry makes a two HD dock that works well. Occasionally Newegg has them for sale with a 1 TB drive for a little more than the cost of the drive. Takes care of the cooling issue, and mine has worked fine.

Mines made by Thermatake but its pretty much the same thing.

I have a few bare drives I use for various things are these things save me a lot of time and money from not having to open a PC to buying external exclosures.

I recommend it if you know how to handle a bare drive.

[paul0660]

I recommend it if you know how to handle a bare drive.

Meaning don't drop it and avoid static electricity? Anything else?