Forums | MacLife

the_riotgirl · 2009-10-09 4:02 pm

i got a 250GB Western Digital USB 2.0 external drive last year. it broke down last month, the hard drive disk utility also couldnt repair it, then it wasnt even recognised after mounting anymore.
So i rescued all the data with data rescue 2 (best programm ever, anyways). that already took several nights on a 8GB RAM MacPro. Now i erased it (with the hard drive disk utility) and wanted to reload all the data on it. that gets the mac to brake down every time.

maybe that is a stupid idea (im a girl and this is the first time i tried this instead of just buying a new one: not because im not into tech, but because normally the external drives failed after some years when they were already outdated and i had my eye on a new one already :-)) and you are already shaking your heads over me:
but this looks like the hardware itself is broken, right? i am not sure if i could have guessed this before, i had figured it could have been a data reading problem too
* looking down, drawing things in the sand with my toes being embarrassed *

QUESTION:
is there a way to find out if the disk itself is kaputti (broken) or is there no way it wouldnt have been that in the first place?

Sorry for all spelling and grammatical errors, english is not my first language (its german).
i am not good with the terminal application but maybe there is a way to check that out there? (sending a "hello" to the disk or something?)

thank you for your help!

ukimalefu · 2009-10-09 5:17 pm

I can tell you that yes, Hard Disk can die.

And your description does make it look like the disks hardware failed.

Lucky for you, it seems you were able to get the data back.

Also, welcome to the forums.

D'Eyncourt · 2009-10-09 6:35 pm

The survival of hard drives usually follow what is known as a bathtub curve: early on there are a number of failures which flattens out to a long period of time when there are few failures and is followed by a gradual increase in failures. It is possible that your hard drive was one of the unfortunate ones that failed early in its lifespan.

There is the possibility that the problem may be in the drive enclosure rather than the drive itself. You can test this by swapping the hard drive into the the new enclosure and see if the problems stay with the hard drive--if so, then trash the drive; if not, then buy and try another enclosure.

the_riotgirl · 2009-10-10 10:55 am

i just mentally put the stupid drive to its grave. yes, it is dead.
and yes, i do know that drives die mister moderator, i just wasnt sure if they die everytime or if the could be cleared and then repaired and used again like an internal drive.

it was recognised after i cleared it and showed up normally on the desktop, but i launched disk utility twice and the second time it wasnt able to repair it. so today it will start its new life as a frisbee as my office is on the 4th floor with quite a good view over a shopping street in vienna

fun fact at the end: the western digital my passporthttp://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=western+digital+external+drive&cid=1511146636294374210&sa=image#p now has a 3 years warranty: mine only lasted one

so thank you all again * kotau and curtsey*

ukimalefu · 2009-10-10 12:52 pm

Uh... when they die, they're dead. I you can repair it, it was not dead.

And as D'Eyncourt said, it could be the enclosure, so yes, it can be made to work in a new enclosure, or mounted internally.

And if you do throw the dead HD out the window, would you take a video of it and post it? big_smile

sturner · 2009-10-10 12:54 pm

I have two drives, whose enclosures died, the drives themselves are fine. Either get a new enclosure or get a device or cables to connect them. other world computing has these devices, and enclosures.

johny · 2009-10-12 4:40 am

hi.......
tongue eek
click here to know more

ukimalefu · 2009-10-12 8:06 am

That's your first post? really?

user · 2009-10-12 11:21 am

I have an external drive whose power supply failed. I assumed it was a failed disk, but a new dongly thing fixed it right up.

the_riotgirl · 2009-10-12 3:05 pm

TADAAAAAAA!!!!!!!

because someone suggested to me to look for a ssd drive now (if i buy a new one), i checked around and western digital is producing them so i stumbled over their warranty check on their website:

guess what, it is still eligible!

i am so used to trowing away computer-related stuff i paid hundrets of bucks a year ago that i had totally given up the idea that there might actually be something like customer care!

*shake my booty to the left, shake it to the right, doing some hula moves* yeah!!!

so now video of it sailing away into the sundown, sorry :-)

ukimalefu · 2009-10-12 5:43 pm

SomeOneOrOther · 2009-10-12 7:35 pm

Right on!

dv · 2009-10-12 8:36 pm

Yay Warranty!

the_riotgirl · 2009-10-18 10:57 am

thank you all for the support and all the nice thoughts.
Ya waaranty indeed!

*kotau to forum helpers*

Forums | MacLife

#1 2009-10-09 4:02 pm

How do i find out if the hardware of my external disk is kaputti?

#2 2009-10-09 5:17 pm

Re: How do i find out if the hardware of my external disk is kaputti?

#3 2009-10-09 6:35 pm

Re: How do i find out if the hardware of my external disk is kaputti?

#4 2009-10-10 10:55 am

Re: How do i find out if the hardware of my external disk is kaputti?

#5 2009-10-10 12:52 pm

Re: How do i find out if the hardware of my external disk is kaputti?

#6 2009-10-10 12:54 pm

Re: How do i find out if the hardware of my external disk is kaputti?

#7 2009-10-12 4:40 am

Re: How do i find out if the hardware of my external disk is kaputti?

#8 2009-10-12 8:06 am

Re: How do i find out if the hardware of my external disk is kaputti?

#9 2009-10-12 11:21 am

Re: How do i find out if the hardware of my external disk is kaputti?

#10 2009-10-12 3:05 pm

Re: How do i find out if the hardware of my external disk is kaputti?

#11 2009-10-12 5:43 pm

Re: How do i find out if the hardware of my external disk is kaputti?

#12 2009-10-12 7:35 pm

Re: How do i find out if the hardware of my external disk is kaputti?

#13 2009-10-12 8:36 pm

Re: How do i find out if the hardware of my external disk is kaputti?

#14 2009-10-18 10:57 am

Re: How do i find out if the hardware of my external disk is kaputti?

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