How can u tell when you external is dead ?

[razer121]

Yes, that's bad....snip... compamny. Expect to pay at least three figure sums, possibly more if the drive hardware is trashed.

This, i was going to suggest the same thing, but the boss beat me to it

Anyway, did you happen to catch where the smoke came from exactly? i mean the exact point?

[melon]

Yes, that's bad. If it is the drive and it is under warranty, send it back for a replacement, and restore the data from your backup.

If it is the enclosure, then you can get the data off the drive by using the other enclosure.

You DO have a backup....?

If not, AND the data is irreplaceable, there is a high risk strategy you could try. Backup the good disk. Verify the backup. Then remove the cct boards from the drives (assuming that the drives and boards are identical part and revision numbers) and put the good board on the other drive. You might get some or all of the data back (best result). Worst result is that you end up with two dead drives.

If you have deep pockets, you could try a data recovery compamny. Expect to pay at least three figure sums, possibly more if the drive hardware is trashed.

If you mean another external yes but im not sure i like the idea of having it all on the same drive for the same reasons this one went awol..

im going to try taking the control unit out and replacing it from the one that does work, but i'll need to get another external i feel first , as I only have 1 TB WD ( digitial book ? ) just now having switch from seagate since these issues, and tbh im not big fam of WD either.

The 450 and 650 gb freeagent models i have are both same aside aside from the memory difference, so I assuming it would be ok to swap ?

any recommedations for storage , perhaps even small SD cards would be a good idea for backing up multiple hard copies of less demanding data like text ?

melon

[peterb]

Just to be clear - did the smoke come from the board on the drive, or the controller board in the enclosure?

As for backing up - you could use an SD or CF card, or even a large USB stick. Otherwise DVD, or cloud storage like dropbox.

[melon]

This, i was going to suggest the same thing, but the boss beat me to it

Anyway, did you happen to catch where the smoke came from exactly? i mean the exact point?

No but im assuming it was round the top because its was it was partially open at the time and any smoke from further down surely would of had to produce a lot , to make it all the way up to where the power switch was.

m

[melon]

Just to be clear - did the smoke come from the board on the drive, or the controller board in the enclosure?

As for backing up - you could use an SD or CF card, or even a large USB stick. Otherwise DVD, or cloud storage like dropbox.

Im not entirely sure like I said i think it was the controller board ( enclosure one ) because when it came out it was faint so im assuming it must of been near the front and not further down where then drive was ...

I dont see any signs of anything blown like fuse anywhere though.

m

[razer121]

Have you tried ur hdd in your pc then??

[melon]

Have you tried ur hdd in your pc then??

no I', still waiting for the cables...

I thought it was them today and got packet through the post with nothing in it.....

nicely wrapped but with plastic casing and nothing but wrapped padding inside, i almost expected to see a timer or something with cute pink or green envelope

This is the damm external i have ( the only remaining one now )
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Western-Digi...2306716&sr=8-1
which i shamelessly purcahsed from amazon

m

[melon]

no I', still waiting for the cables...

I thought it was them today and got packet through the post with nothing in it.....

nicely wrapped but with plastic casing and nothing but wrapped padding inside, i almost expected to see a timer or something with cute pink or green envelope

This is the damm external i have ( the only remaining one now )
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Western-Digi...2306716&sr=8-1
which i shamelessly purcahsed from amazon

m

Well , I just tried my cables / hooked everything up but as soon as I do the pc wont start at all, any one wih any suggestions as to why ?


m

[melon]

Have you tried ur hdd in your pc then??

yes , Ive tried but my pc wont power on at all when i connect them ,any ideas why ?]

cheers,

m

[peterb]

yes , Ive tried but my pc wont power on at all when i connect them ,any ideas why ?]

cheers,

m

That is looking very much like a completely borked hard drive. My guess is that plugging in the hard drive is causing the PSU to shut down because of a fault.

However it is worth changing the power cable and any adapter you are using, just in case it is a fault in the power leads rather than the drive itself.