WD External Drive Kapoot?

[Tom NJ]

Since you guys were so nice in helping me solve my router problem, I thought I'd push my luck with another problem.

I have a WD MyBook 160 GB external drive, model WD16001032, which has abruptly stopped working. Its light comes on and it makes a whirring noise, but my computer (XP) does not recognize it. When I plug the USB into my computer, Windows Explorer shows a new drive with a question mark on it, and then this disappears after a second or two.

Does anyone know how to fix this? Is there a way to recover my data? Is this common for WD MyBooks (a friend said he lost two the same way)?

If WD is prone to problems, what is a good brand? I don't need much storage (only using 40 GB on my computer now) and have resorted to backing up critical data on a flash drive.

Thanks!

Tom NJ

 

[Drew99GT]

Noise is usually an indicator of a failed drive not booting. You could try and take it to a competent computer shop and see if they can get the data off it. You can also try putting the drive into your freezer for a while. Surprisingly, many times that will allow one more boot so you can capture your data. Someone mentioned that to me here when I posted about my failing HD, and it worked!

WD from what I've seen used to be one of the best HD manufacturers, but like many things, their status and stature has dropped off along with their quality.

I've had good luck with Seagate and Apricorn drives.

 

[Virtuoso]

I'm a big fan of WD drives, but I haven't had much luck with most of their externals. Next time I'll make my own using one of their bare drives and an enclosure of choice. YMMV

 

[Rand]

Unless its making a clunking noise, chances are the drive is fine and the enclosure went bad instead

 

[ATS-V]

WD has been nothing but problems in my experience. Try the freezer trick then open up the enclosure and replace the drive with a Seagate.

 

[Tom NJ]

How long should I leave it in the freezer? And should I let it warm back to room temperature before booting it, or try it while still cold?

Tom NJ

 

[Kruse]

Originally Posted By: Tom NJ
How long should I leave it in the freezer? And should I let it warm back to room temperature before booting it, or try it while still cold?



My cousin had data on an old drive that ran continuously. A power outage stopped the hard drive and it wouldn't re-start. I told him about the freezer trick and had him put it in there overnight. He plugged it in, it took off and got all the data off of it before the drive was retired. In his case, I told him not to let it warm up at all.

 

[Drew99GT]

Originally Posted By: Tom NJ
How long should I leave it in the freezer? And should I let it warm back to room temperature before booting it, or try it while still cold?

Tom NJ


Before doing the freezer trick, I'd consider taking it to a professional who specializes in data recovery, as one of the tools they use is freezing the drive. They might also find that it's a problem in the drive that can be fixed.

From what I've read, you need a decent amount of freezer time, like 6 or more hours. Don't let it warm up - immediately try and get it to boot and have provisions on hand to transfer data!

If you're working with Windows XP, you could try using Driveimage XL to create a disk image of the drive. That's what I did for my failing drive. Or, if it's just an external drive for backing up basic data, just transfer it to your main drive.

http://www.runtime.org/driveimage-xml.htm

 

[Rand]

The enclosure itself might be bad. Pull the drive out and hook it up directly before doing the freeze trick.

 

[TooManyWheels]

I second Rand's recommendation. I had my own WD external go bad, and research showed that the whole Windows external drive connection chain is flaky, but particularly the chipsets inside the enclosures which translate USB (or firewire) to SATA or IDE.

Said drive is now running happily in a MacAlly brand enclosure. I don't remember the chip maker, but it was chosen specifically because of higher failures with other brands. My specific enclosure is the PHR-100A. That may not be appropriate for your drive, but it may be of use to research who made that crucial chip.

Edit - The manufacturer of the chipset in my MacAlly enclosure is Cypress.