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Community Newsletter: Q&A: Help! My external hard drive isn't responding
- 1/31/08 9:51 PM
bad external harddrive
by eaganman - 1/26/08 8:14 PM In reply to: Help! My external hard drive isn't responding by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
you should be able to open up the case and take the hasddrive out.Then set it up in your cpu as a 2nd harddrive to get the info off and reformat it if necessary.Or you can purchase another external case and put the harddrive in it if it is a good harddrive.
external hard drives and transferring info between them
by m121j - 1/26/08 11:12 PM In reply to: Help! My external hard drive isn't responding by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
it is simple to move information stored on one portable hard drive to another, to completely move it or simply make another back up. you can daisy chain them. plug the first hard drive into the computer and plug the second hard drive into the first hard drive, you can continue by plugging a third hard drive into the second and a fourth hard drive into the third and so on. each one will show up on your computer as a different drive (such as hard drives D, E,F etch) and you can move things from one drive to the other. hope this helps. please let me know
m121j@yahoo.com
EXTERNAL H-DRIVES FIX (maybe)
by Jimmy The Lip - 1/27/08 5:45 AM In reply to: Help! My external hard drive isn't responding by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
One of the very few faults of my iMac is the amount of memory supplied (250 plus's) upon/at purchase so I bought an external hard drive (Maxter 500GB), then a second (LaCie 500GB), then I purchased three 3.5 external storage cases to put some of my old PC Hard Drives to work (120, 60 and 40GB). They installed without any difficulty whatsoever. Not knowing how the or what the insides of your Western Digital looks like I would only be assuming that hard drive itself can be detached from all the wiring connectors (only two connection, power and data) if such is the case, then disassemble, then go out and purchase an external 3.5 drive case (about $20.00, comes with own power cord, USB cable and driver dsk). Reassemble with your Wes. Dig. 200 GB inside. My Mac picked up the externals no problem as well as did my PC (XP Prof.) with all the ones that I had installed the hard drives in.
All internal drives, power and data connections are the same, if this does not work then I would assume the drive is toast and it was not the one of the wired connections. Depending on what's on the drive and if it's something that's a matter of life and death then it's not worth the cost, if it is then maybe one of those professional data recovery places maybe able to help. Using an external drives as storeage devices are fine but there's no guarantee that what's on the drive will always be recoverable, that why they sell DVD's that's good advice that I haven't heeded to as well, take care? JAL
It'll be okay
by Mike Pawluk - 1/27/08 9:15 AM In reply to: Help! My external hard drive isn't responding by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Hi Helene,
First of all, it's going to be okay. Take a breath. No really, I'm going to keep going on like this until you take a breath, and while you're at it: smile. Okay. Now take another breath. Okay. This might take a bit, but I know you can stay with me: we'll get through this.
I understand your frustration with a product that lacks quality, flakes and then fails. I understand your frustration with "Tech Support" that doesn't.
Fortunately you have options, but like anything you have a few considerations to weigh.
First of all, do you even want a replacement? You may want to google the product name/model number and see if you can find forums and FAQs with users having similar issues. Is there a comparable product on the market that you can replace this one with? You can check your receipt and return policy of the point of purchase to see if you can get a refund. It may be good to check this before exercising any further options.
This is also a good time to think about recovering your data. You mentioned that you can't back up. Does this mean you can't perform a backup to the device or you can't back up data from the device? If you can't back up to the device but you can copy what's on it to another drive then just copy all of the data to another location (preferably burning it to DVD as well just so you have a solid backup), and you're in the clear. If you can't copy what is on the drive this might be a little trickier, because if the drive is still under warranty one of the conditions that invalidates a warranty is opening the device. The hard drive in the case itself may need to be accessed, which will involve opening the enclosure, so be sure to check the policy first to ensure you can without invalidating the warranty. Alternately if the data on the drive is more important than possible replacement cost, warranty may not be a consideration to you. The reason I'm stressing this point is that Western Digital is not responsible for your data and once you send in the drive for repair or replacement you can be pretty sure you will not get your data back.
The point of purchase may be your best initial contact, even if they don't give you a refund. Even if they only have a 30 day return policy, you can still ask about their RMA process. RMA stands for Return to Manufacturer Authorization, and is the process that is used to return defective merchandise to a manufacturer. There are certain things you will most certainly require in order to have an RMA processed.
You will need of course the defective part. Usually it's a good idea to have the original packaging in good shape, and that includes all documentation, software, cables, bags - everything that came with it when you took it home from the store. If you want a refund this is probably mandatory.
You will need the bill of sale. The original bill of sale, although sometimes a copy is acceptable, but the original is preferable.
If the store is unable or unwilling to help you you'll have to go back to Western Digital. You're going to do things a little different this time though.
You'll want to get the serial number and model number of the product. Write this down.
Now go here: http://support.wdc.com/warranty/selection.asp?custtype=end
this URL is the support URL for Western Digital. You can do the online warranty check to see if your product is still in the warranty period. If it is they are obliged to replace or repair the drive. Once you have established the warranty status you can then create your RMA request. You'll probably have to fill out an online form that will require the serial and model numbers you wrote down earlier. You did write them down, didn't you? Good.
When you are done, you will be issued a number and some instructions for shipping the defective part back. In many cases Western Digital offers an advance replacement option, which means they will send you the new part before you have to send the old part in (requires credit card). When you ship you should use an anti-static bag to put the drive in and you should also wrap it in a few inches of bubble wrap, and find a small box to put the wrapped drive into. If you choose the advanced replacement option, just use the same box they send the replacement drive in.
Now if for whatever reason you're not going down the warranty road, and you've decided another option suits you better, then you have other options. You can see if it's just a bad button or solder point. if it's just a bad button you can probably pick up a cheap button at an electronic supply store for a dollar or less. You can buy another enclosure and swap out the drive if the drive is still good. Be sure to know if the drive is SATA or IDE - most enclosures only support one or the other. If you don't know what the connectors look like, google some images (look up SATA IDE). Usually these enclosures are easy to take apart. They usually require one of those small Phillips (star) head screwdrivers like you use to fix a pair of glasses. You can get a name brand kit of these screwdrivers at a big chain store for cheap if you don't have or can't borrow them, so don't spend a mint on tools. There are usually between 4 and 6 screws, and the drive usually slides out, or may be attached to a tray. The new enclosure will have easy instructions and the whole transplant shouldn't take anyone more than 20 minutes. Depending on if the drive is 2.5" or 3.5" (standard desktop size) enclosures can range in price from $20 to $100. Don't get too caught up in features and cost: I bought an off-brand 2.5" enclosure on sale for $20 or less - it does USB and eSATA and I throw it around and it gets beat up and keeps coming back for more and it's great! And the drive in there is a Western Digital, so not all of their products are bad. 
If the drive itself is still working though, you will want to go to the support area of the Western Digital website and download their diagnostic software so you can test if the drive is about to fail (and if you can do this prior to buying the new enclosure, all the better!).
Well, there's a few things to ponder, but I hope I have been able to answer some questions without creating new ones!
Good luck!
Western Digital buttons
by rockcrow - 1/27/08 9:29 AM In reply to: Help! My external hard drive isn't responding by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
My WD3200 320gb My Book premium had similar problem- I went to wdc.com and downloaded spindown utility. After running this, I could then shutdown power to external drive by unplugging usb cable or at PC shutdown. Never had problem after that switching to laptop or other PC's to move files or back up, with that utility on each machine. Hope this helps! BD
Western Digital Costomer dis-service
by cruzansailor - 1/27/08 9:35 AM In reply to: Help! My external hard drive isn't responding by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Hi Helene, Sorry to hear about your troubles, (and your buying another inferior WD product). WD is legendary about their not giving a damn about customer service. I returned an external drive, probably the same type of unit you have, only to have it sit on the dock for 3 months, at their end, and then they claimed it had been tampered with.
I followed the instruction to the letter, when returning my unit, got no response to my many e-mails, and when I finally got a phone contact, they lied to me repeatedly, then sent me pictures of someone elses harddrive... So, you are on your own! (With a little help from your friends) I all likelyhood, your harddrive is fine, but the little circuit board that controls the buttons is flawed, as most of them had a cold solder joint on them, leading to premature failure.
I am certain that the content of your harddrive is salvageable, as I did this several times, with various Harddrives. Should you have great difficulties, I may be able to assist you, by copying your lost drive to DVD's or another HD. I ended up with a LaCie 500GB external drive, that is awesome.
Note to everyone: Western Digital had become a crappy company to do business with, and I highly recommend ANYTHING BUT WESTERN DIGITAL !
They are competing with ACER for the bottom rung, on the customer service ladder.
Jamie Douglas
cruzansailor(at)g.mail.com
Simple Reply
by winsleuth - 1/27/08 11:13 AM In reply to: Help! My external hard drive isn't responding by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
If I understood you, YES. I have two externals now after a disaster of my own stupid making and mine have no buttons. Everything is done with software. If all works but the buttons I would give up on their techs, good tip that Maxtor doesnt respond, shocker. I would transfer all data to the new one you bought using software only then clean it out just for your identities sake, then return it for a refund. Simple as that. There is no need for a model with buttons unless something I am not understandning here.
Dave
Extenal Hard Disc Failure
by Roy Summerfield - 1/27/08 12:22 PM In reply to: Help! My external hard drive isn't responding by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I believe your Hard Disc is probably OK, the power switch is to probably too blame.
Power up the external drive put your hand on the case you should feel a slight tremble when the disc is running, or leave for 10 minutes to see if the case is warm. If neither, then this suggests a power failure. To replace a switch could be problem.
I think the easiest solution would be to buy a Hard Disc Enclosure with or without a switch. Remove the Hard Disc from its Western Digital case and install it in the new enclosure, if the disc is ok, everything on it should still be accessible and should be running as normal (with all your backup data intact).
If you’re unable to do this yourself find a friend who would carry out this task for you it shouldn’t be too difficult.
I would try this first it’s the easiest solution if it is a power problem, bearing in mind that it could be something entirely different.
I hope this helps.
Roy
It may not be the drive itself but the Enclosure or PS
by ProToolsGeek - 1/27/08 2:46 PM In reply to: Help! My external hard drive isn't responding by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
This isn't an advertisement, but the company I work for sells lots and lots of external hard drives. These drives have three basic parts: the enclosure which is the box with the buttons and lights, the drive itself which is the unit that records the data, and the power supply which might be built into the enclosure.
Usually from all the failures I've seen, it's not the drive itself but the enclosure that fails. You might think this makes no sense, but almost 95% of the failures have been the enclosures and this is usually due to heat buildup in non-fan cooled units or power surges. You DO use a power surge protector, right?
This could be good news, for if the internal drive was put into a new enclosure, it should by past history work fine.
Also, many of the external wall wart type power supplies fail due to crappy connectors. If your unit has one of these, it could be the power supply, and not even the drive or enclosure.
If no lights turn on at all, most likely it's the power supply. The internal drives themselves are pretty standard and should fit and operate into any enclosure like the Avastor or even Glyph enclosures.
This isn't any kind of guarantee, just an indication from past history and short of the external drive falling or getting whacked while operating, the drive itself is usually going to be OK in a new enclosure.
Have you consulted your dealer?
by Gerdd - 1/27/08 3:25 PM In reply to: Help! My external hard drive isn't responding by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Helene,
(you are only four years older than me, so don't worry ...)
unless you mail ordered this device from WD's web site, you should have a recourse from your dealer. 90 plus days is too short a time for a disastrous failure like this. You say "the buttons quit", and I can only guess if that literally means some buttons on the drive enclosure or if it reflects the drive itself malfunctioning. In any event, if your drive is okay it is a breeze to migrate it into a new enclosure which you could buy for not too much money - and it doesn't have to be WD again ... You could then fight your battle with the manufacturer for as long as you want, starting with registered letters etc.
If, on the other hand, the drive itself is faulty, then all the warranty in the world is not getting you your data back, but you should at least get a new drive out of this. Meanwhile you want to make sure you have some other means of backing up your data while it is still okay on your computer's internal drive ...
I suggest you see if you can find a helpful geek in your neighborhood who will help you test and migrate your drive - we do come in all ages, you know!
Ball's in WD's Court, no?
by justusderdv - 1/27/08 3:29 PM In reply to: Help! My external hard drive isn't responding by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
You'll probably get some great technical answers here, but to my mind, no technical solution will solve the problem. You purchased a piece of equipment from a reliable company, and that equipment failed. You ought to be talking with them.
I know you sent them emails, but email isn't always the best way to communicate with people. Try a phone call, or better yet, a business letter. I feel confident that once you get ahold of someone on their end, they will guide you through a process that will make you happy with the final outcome.
More info needed
by TheBigOldDog - 1/27/08 5:41 PM In reply to: Help! My external hard drive isn't responding by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Helene,
When you say the buttons quit working, do you mean the power button or the "one touch backup button?"
If you can't power it on, check the power cord. Make sure it is plugged into the back of the drive completely and also plugged into the outlet.
Most external cases have a light on the transformer (the brisk-like part of the power cord).
If the light is lite and the drive wont power on (no lights on the case light and you can't hear it spin up (whine), then there is a problem with the drive or the case. It sounds like it is beyond your ability to troubleshoot further at that point so you need to find somebody to help you either at WD or a tech center.
If you can power on the drive and it's the "backup" button that does not work, go to "My Computer" and see if there is an icon for the external drive. If there is, click on it and you should be able to see all your files. If not, make sure the USB cable is plugged into the case completely and plugged into the computer completely, and try again. If still no drive icon, Power down the drive and change the usb port you are using on your computer, power the drive back up and try again. Again, if it fails, you need to seek expert help. If it works, you can copy your files to another external drive just like you were copying from one folder to another on your computer.
Now, assuming you can see the icon and the files and it's just the "backup" button that's not working, try uninstalling the backup software that came with the drive and reinstalling it using the instructions that came with the drive. That make get the button working again. If not, the button is broken but your files are safe and can be used as discussed above.
If you can't get to the files, the question becomes, is there anything on that external drive that isn't on your computer? If not, just get a new external drive and backup ASAP - you've lost nothing but time as WD will replace the defective drive.
If you have files on there that aren;t on your computer then you've got a real problem that requires some technical expertise. I'd start by putting the drive in a new case and see if I could get it working. The first thing you need to know is the interface type of the drive in that case. Is it SATA or IDE and that helps you pick the case you need. You can also buy a device from places like Newegg that allow you to use the drive be it IDE or SATA without a case, but again, it may be beyond your technical capability. A tech should be able to help you with it. If it turns out the drive has a catastrophic failure (can't be just plugged into another case and used) then you have to send it to a professional data recovery firm who will extract the data by basically temporarily rebuilding the broken portion of the drive.
I hope this helps. If you can provide answers to some of my questions we can help you out even more.
Good luck
TBOD
Nice question! Maybe not so nice an answer?
by chaissos - 1/27/08 6:15 PM In reply to: Help! My external hard drive isn't responding by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Hi Helene! Thanks for allowing us to assist with your issue.
So that I understand what's happening, you've got an external drive (I'm assuming it's a USB drive?) that you back-up your system to.
There are a couple things to check first. The drive most likely came with software, which you would have installed so that the buttons work. Check to make sure (with the manufacturer) that the software is still current. Often, an update (either by Microsoft or some other software vendor you have) may have disabled the functionality of the device. Hit the websites in question and check.
There are a couple system things we can check, too...
First step is to actually check to make sure it's plugged in, both to power - if applicable - and to the computer itself. Be sure to disconnect it, and then reconnect it to make sure it shows up.
Right-click "My Computer", and select "Manage". In the window that pops up, select "Devices" in the right hand pane. That will list the devices your computer *thinks* it has attached. Look for any yellow question marks. Those are devices it doesn't understand how to talk to.
If the above steps don't work for you, try:
-Start
- Settings
- Control Panel
- System
- If System isn't available, you may have the new look, so hit the "Performance and Maintenance" link, then look for "System"
Hit the "Hardware" tab, then click the "Device Manager" button. Again, look for the question marks.
If there are no question marks, check also for anything with a red "X" on it. That indicates a device with a problem. If your external drive is listed in either of these categories, that's something to look into. My first step would be to disconnect the drive, remove the software, and start again with it.
If you don't have any devices with issues listed, then we go on. Can you see the drive listed when you open "My Computer"? It should be listed as a drive you can access. If it's not, it's possible the drive is conflicting somewhere with regards to the drive letter. To check this is really pretty simple:
Get into System Management again (Right-click "My Computer" and select "Manage"). Down the list under "Storage", select "Disk Management". The system should tell you the drive is there, in the bottom on the right, and what drive letter it is. If you have a drive letter in the "My Computer" window that *should* be your external drive, but isn't, this is where you fix it. Right-click the drive in the bottom, right window you want to change, and select "Change Drive Letter and Paths...". As an aside here, you should set your permanent disks further down the alphabet than your removable, but be sure and leave "C" alone!
Well, that was all in an effort to fix it, and make it work correctly. Now to answer the rest of your question...
Yes, if the drive itself is indeed dead, then you can swap it out. Regardless of the box it came in, WD provides more than a 90 day warranty with it's products. Open the case - if you're sure it's dead - and merely look at the drive. Then head to WD's warranty support website (http://support.wdc.com/warranty/index.asp) and click the "Warranty Check" link on the left. You'll need the serial number on the drive itself (not the housing it came in). They'll quickly tell you whether it's still covered or not. Most of them have 1 or 3 year warranty's, so most likely, you'll be OK.
There are a couple programs there to help you figure it out and check the drive itself, but those also require you connect it to your computer to test. If you're not comfortable with opening your case and hooking it up, ask a friend for some help. Many people will be happy to assist for nothing more than a glass of water...or milk and cookies
The programs they'll ask you to run take a while to run, so download them, and get the instructions all ready before you ask for the help. You'll be much more prepared that way. Then run the tests WD wants you to run, and once you've got an error code, you can go back to the support page and ask for an RMA.
Unfortunately, if the drive is indeed gone, it's unlikely you'll get any data off it without spending a great deal of money. There are some companies that can recover data from dead drives, but they're not cheap, and I'm sorry, I don't have any links to give you.
Hopefully, this is enough information to at least get you started in the right direction.
Good luck!
Scott
Western Digital Equipment
by briceone - 1/28/08 12:19 AM In reply to: Help! My external hard drive isn't responding by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Hi Again
Its great to see all the help that is being offered from the caring
Members of CNET and CNET themselves.
BUT! Are we not missing a vital point here?
I strongly suggest(Providing it is all true what we are saying)why? don't we start to anti blog the real culprit WESTERN DIGITAL what a shower of S***. They should not be in business if they treat their clients this way. Responsible companies honor their committment and solve the problems. All the various media open to our use can be used to bring WESTERN DIGITAL to their knees if they do not help by simply replacing their defective components.
I feel that this is the real truth of what Helen deserves
Regards and LETS GO!
Suggestion to Helene S. regarding hard drive troubles
by hetha08 - 1/28/08 2:01 PM In reply to: Help! My external hard drive isn't responding by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Hi Helene, I am unable to help you with the technical side of your question, but I am the same as you & fairly new to these computers & also thought of upgrading to an external hard drive but then read an article which told me that although you get the added Gb in the external drive it is still run by the internal and didnt seem to be any benefit to me. There are 3 different ways of using the external drive & one of them corrupts your internal drive if you have any problems. Does anyone actually get all the information before we buy these expensive toys. I was thinking WOW 250Gb external hard drive - I am going to get one of those - but then fortunatly for me I came across the article and no way am I going to buy one.
So, Helene, I would suggest you check out external hard drives on the cnet website & question the dealer that sold it to you & ask them why you werent given any information when you bought it - they are serious trouble. Hopefully someone more technical minded can help you out.
Good luck
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