Possible Failed Drive...any options?

L

libdoggy

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Joined
Dec 29, 2006
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I had an external 1TB hard drive that I used for backups. During the last backup it just sat there for hours. The software never gave any errors and the drive was still spinning (wasn't clicking or anything) but I finally disconnected it from the USB port and powered it down.

I tried re-connecting it and it would show in Windows but I couldn't access it. It would just hang Windows for about 30 seconds. I tried formatting it but again it would just hang during the formatting process. I finally tried deleting the volume in disk manager and formatting it with a new one but again it just hangs.

Should I just assume the drive is cooked? Or is there anything else I can do?
 
Did you make sure the connections inside the casing is good?
 
pull it out of the enclosure, wire it up straight to your system and try seatools on it
 
Thanks for the advice. Pulled it out and Seatools says it's dead.

Out of warranty.

:(
 
I couldn't believe how hot the drive was when I pulled it out of the enclosure...I don't know if that's because it was dying or that's normal but it was blazing.
 
a lot of external enclosures are poorly ventilated, consider one of the WD green drives as a replacement, they are cool running
 
Thanks, I have a couple of the WD green drives. They are very decent for the price.

I'm considering getting a SATA hot swap setup so I can just be done with external USB drives. I've killed a few of them over the years and honestly I don't do anything but backup a couple of times per month. I think I'd rather just be able to swap out internal HDs for backup.
 
Many external enclosures tend to cook the HDD inside it as they have zero ventilation or ability to transfer the heat to the outside. If the HDD then operates at full speeds for hours on end, it will impact its longevity significantly.

If this is your usage pattern it might be an idea to look for enclosures which heatsink the HDD or use forced cooling via a fan.
 
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