Hard drive stops getting recognized

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MrHood22

Supreme [H]ardness
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Aug 21, 2007
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Sometimes my external hard drive(s) stop getting recognized by my computer. If I go to my computer it will show "Local Disk (I:)" in there but it will not have the bar under it showing how full it is and it won't let me access it. It usually takes a few minutes for it to become accessible again. It's always one of my 1TB Western Digital External's. Just a few minutes ago all of them became unrecognizable for about 30 seconds. What could be causing this? Could it be heat related?
 
I believe this is a function of the externals power management shutting the drive off to save power.
 
drescherjm said:
I believe this is a function of the externals power management shutting the drive off to save power.
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It does sound like the power saving feature; from wd's site:

Power miser - My Book external drives are designed to save energy. WD GreenPower Technology™ lowers internal drive power consumption by up to 30%, a sleep mode reduces power during idle times, and a power-saving feature turns the drive on and off with your computer.
Click to expand...
 
drescherjm said:
I believe this is a function of the externals power management shutting the drive off to save power.
Click to expand...

That's a possibility. However, it does this even when i'm using it. For example, I may be listening to music or watching a movie and it does it. Let me just clarify that the movies/musics location is on the external drive.

Could it be because it's too full? I had like 20 gigs left on it.
 
If the enclosure warm to the touch? I would think if heat were the issue, you'd be able to feel it through the enclosure.
 
Could it be because it's too full?
Click to expand...
Probably not.

It could be the drive or the case interface going bad.

Had you "rolled your own" external drive it would be easy to remove the drive from the case and determine which was at fault.

But since you purchased a prebuilt this option is no longer avaliable unless you wish to void the warranty.

Check the WD site for drive testing of your unit.

Good Luck!
 
Could it be because it's too full? I had like 20 gigs left on it.
Click to expand...

No. If this is not a power saving issue it is most likely either the hard drive going bad or the external enclosure.
 
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