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WD Elements drive prolems (sorta)

Tags:
  • Western Digital
  • Power Up
  • Storage
  • External Hard Drive
Last response: in Storage
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October 14, 2014 4:12:51 PM

So the other day I was backing up some data to my WD Elements 1tb drive and the next day when I go to power up the drive Windows says that the drive isn't working properly ( scan drive for errors pops up ), and the WD logo from the drive comes up as a missing icon. I can still get to the data and everything but I'm wondering if the drive will die soon, or something else happening to the drive.
Any ideas as to whats wrong?

More about : elements drive prolems sorta

a b G Storage
October 14, 2014 11:39:58 PM

Hey there, Goomb4_!

I'm really sorry to hear about your issue with the WD Elements.
If you can still access your data, then I'd suggest to back it up ASAP.
Afterwards you can proceed with some troubleshooting steps to determine what the problem is.
The first thing I'd do after the backup would be an extended test on the drive with Data LifeGuard Diagnostics tool:
http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?groupid=810
Here's also the how-to: http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/940
If the tests results pass, then I'd re-format the drive, because you might have accidentally transferred some corrupted data on it.
You can do that through Disk Management in Windows or you can use the DLG tool mentioned above to write zeros (perform a full erase) on the drive.

Hope this helps and keep me posted! :) 
SuperSoph_WD
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October 16, 2014 4:04:13 PM

Well I already had the Life Guard tools and tested the drive, passed all the tests, even S.M.A.R.T. I'm hesitant to back up as I don't have any other storage available to fully back up the drive. Everything seems fine as there's no performance decrease or any bad sectors. I don't think there's corrupted data on the drive, and if there is, then it's the drives fault, as most of the data is mainly game-play footage and pictures. Any other ideas?
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a b G Storage
October 17, 2014 1:36:43 AM

Hi again, Goomb4_

Maybe there's some sort of a connection problem.
I'd suggest to try the WD Elements on another computer, see if it gets detected properly.
A different USB cable in a different port might do the job as well and resolve this issue.
However, don't be hesitant about the backup. Unfortunately, HDDs are so sensitive you can never know what might happen.
I encourage you to do a backup, at least of your most precious footage and pics, better be safe than sorry.

Hope this helped.
SuperSoph_WD
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