2TB WD SATA2 WD20EARS should I RMA?

I bought this drive a couple of weeks ago. The issue I have is that it randomly disappears in Windows. The only way to rectify is a reboot. I have the Intel SSD that I bought at the same time as my boot drive & the WD for archiving. I have tried it with a different cable & on a different sata port but still get the same issue. I contacted WD support & asked for a firmware update or similar & they weren't too much help. Told me if I had issues just to RMA it. Have always rated WD drives but not too sure now.

Have googled & read somewhere about the head parking issues or similar?
BTW title should say 2TB WD20EARS

Its an advanced format drive, I had to align it for use in XP.
Don't know if that needs anything changing or updating for your Win7x64 or BIOS? Supposedly it should work unaltered but worth reading up on it if its giving you grief.

Other drives will work fine on those ports/cables right?

thanks for your comments will read up on this

well in i read up on it & download the acronis tool to see if my drive was enabled for the advanced format & it is. So any chance of some feedback from someone at Scan?

I have done a low level format on the drive, tried it in different port with different cables & the result is always the same - when my HTPC resumes from 'sleep' the drive isn't detected until I reboot.

No response here so am submitting an RMA request on your webste

Hi Alistair--

I had the exact same problem you described on my WD15EARS, the 1.5TB version of the drive you have. I found some information that led me to this Microsoft hotfix: < support.microsoft.com/kb/977178/ >. After installing the patch, the problem went away completely.

--dmahr

thanks for this . Will reinstall the drive & give it a try

dmahr

working a treat - thanks for al your help :thumbsup:

I have a very similar issue now. Reboots usually fixed it but rarely fixes it now. Also, my computer does not go to sleep and the drive just disappears at, seemingly, random times. Should I still try that MS hotfix? I ask because the problem, as defined on that page, is due to hibernation and then it reads: "this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. "

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I just tried to download the hotfix just in case. I filled out the boxes, MS emailed me a link, I clicked, and now the ftp asks for a "user name" and password. I was never given that info nor a chance to set it up. How do I get past this?

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Originally Posted by titanik

I have a very similar issue now. Reboots usually fixed it but rarely fixes it now. Also, my computer does not go to sleep and the drive just disappears at, seemingly, random times. Should I still try that MS hotfix? I ask because the problem, as defined on that page, is due to hibernation and then it reads: "this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. "

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I just tried to download the hotfix just in case. I filled out the boxes, MS emailed me a link, I clicked, and now the ftp asks for a "user name" and password. I was never given that info nor a chance to set it up. How do I get past this?

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I no longer need the hot fix, I guess the issue has been sorted in a windows update as when i tried to apply it after a fresh install & update it told me it wasn't required. Never had any issues since tbh.