View Full Version : HDD failure!!!
Bigman80
29-03-2019, 09:30
Hi all,
Bit of a long question but I'm hopeful that someone will know the info to save me!!
Plugged in my WD HDD this morning to back up some pictures and it will not work! Its just making a beeping sound. I fear it's dead and taken with it the photo's. I'm gutted, So:
Question 1- Is there a way to save them?
Obviously, as I'm a numpty, and haven't got a back up, I now realise what an absolute mistake that was. I have identified one of these as a fairly priced NAS for such purposes:
https://www.wd.com/en-gb/products/personal-cloud-storage/my-cloud-home.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIgOGi2oOn4QIV1YTVCh0sbA G-EAQYBCABEgIA2PD_BwE#WDBVXC0030HWT-EESN
Obviously, being a NAS, I realised I could also store my music files on it too
Question 2: Is there any known issues connecting it to Volumio?
Thanks in advance
martian sunrise
29-03-2019, 09:33
i am in the process of sorting a similar situation. mine failed reloading from the back up to the imac with a new ssd. i have a mate trying to recover 10 years of photos. i tried a new caddy for the hdd, then he took it, downloaded some expensive software (which could see the files) and is now trying to work out how to get them off.
a data recovery place quoted £1,100 to do it! Plus VAT!
good luck.
there are companies that specialise in removing data from drives that go tits up. or you can try yourself. programs like EaseUS do them. you might need some expertise tho. i have recovered deleted data before but not tried a dead disk
WESTLOWER
29-03-2019, 09:37
The data should be able to be recovered.
Have you tried mounting it on an alternative computer?
It maybe just the mechanicals of the drive that have failed, it should be possible to take the drive out and have it mount into a carrier case and get some response.
Ive Had so many WD HDs go down it's a joke. Rarely is the data damaged though.
https://www.easeus.com/data-recovery/data-recovery-software/recover-data-from-dead-hard-drive.htm
walpurgis
29-03-2019, 09:46
Sod of a problem to have mate.
Back-up is a bit of a dilemma.
HDDs fail, SSDs fail, as do memory sticks. DVDRs deteriorate and 'cloud' storage is only as dependable as the vendor. So what's the long term safe data storage option? As far as I can see there ain't one, it's all pot luck. Back-up the back-ups!
Sod of a problem to have mate.
Back-up is a bit of a dilemma.
HDDs fail, SSDs fail, as do memory sticks. DVDRs deteriorate and 'cloud' storage is only as dependable as the vendor. So what's the long term safe data storage option? As far as I can see there ain't one, it's all pot luck. Back-up the back-ups!
alas yes.. ive my pics and music on several hdd's. i update regularly plus have many pics on a couple of clouds. google, apple, etc
Sherwood
29-03-2019, 10:13
At the risk of sounding like a broken record: it is not a question of whether your hard disk drive will fail BUT WHEN!!!!
Storage is so cheap these days that it is crazy not to have multiple backups of critical data and irreplaceable files. Ideally, you would set up your drives in a raid array but failing that there is plenty of free software that allows you to create mirror "synchronised" drives.
Also, be sure to keep one copy in a separate location. A friend's house is one option but even storing a drive in the garage in an airtight plastic box improves the chances of preserving data if the worst happens (e..g a fire or burglary).
harmonica98
29-03-2019, 10:39
There's an old adage - if you don't have data in 3 places, you don't have it. I have one primary, one backup, one offsite backup. Only tricky bit is keeping the offsite backup up to date.
walpurgis
29-03-2019, 10:42
Just checked. I only have around 700mb of saved data and none of it is really important.
Spectral Morn
29-03-2019, 10:49
Had drives fail on me, Sky+ box drive, and drive in a Yamaha HD/CD recorder fail, I replaced the Yamaha one, the Sky one I just replaced the box. I keep back ups of computer HDs but to be frank the best back ups are the original physical item, though with downloads and digital photos that is no so easy.
I have audio tapes going back at least 40 years and most I have tried seem to be still ok, but these too will fail in time :(
I have a few WD HDs not good that folks have had problems with them. Most brands seem to have issues, Seegate having maybe more than others reported.
I hope you recover your data. That Yamaha drive has lots of cool music on it, lost :(
quick count there are 5 ext hdd's in my livingroom all up:lol:
not sure which wd device you have Oli, but given that you say 'Plugged in my WD HDD' I guess it is a USB attached device. I would say that either the USB input on your computer is not 'seeing' it or the controller on your WD device has failed. I would, as a first step, try the wd device on a different usb channel or better on a different computer. If it works then great, if not than, as a second step, the controller on the wd device may have failed. If it were me I would then open up the wd device and get the hard disc out and plug it in an internal sata port on your computer (you need to get into the guts of your computer for this). Most likely, but not 100% guaranteed, the computer will now see the wd drive and you will be able to grab the files from it. Of course the actual drive may have failed in which case specialised data recovery is something you may wnt to look at.
In terms of having back ups I agree with the suggestion of having it in three places. I have all my pictures, documents, music etc either twice or three times locally and once in the cloud (unattended incremental back up to crashplan with unlimited storage).
Good luck.
not sure which wd device you have Oli, but given that you say 'Plugged in my WD HDD' I guess it is a USB attached device. I would say that either the USB input on your computer is not 'seeing' it or the controller on your WD device has failed. I would, as a first step, try the wd device on a different usb channel or better on a different computer. If it works then great, if not than, as a second step, the controller on the wd device may have failed. If it were me I would then open up the wd device and get the hard disc out and plug it in an internal sata port on your computer (you need to get into the guts of your computer for this). Most likely, but not 100% guaranteed, the computer will now see the wd drive and you will be able to grab the files from it. Of course the actual drive may have failed in which case specialised data recovery is something you may wnt to look at.
In terms of having back ups I agree with the suggestion of having it in three places. I have all my pictures, documents, music etc either twice or three times locally and once in the cloud (unattended incremental back up to crashplan with unlimited storage).
Good luck.
yup thats what i did. got a set of cables for doing it, although they i think are out of date now.
something like this might work with laptop etc and some software. you'd need to remove the disk from its enclosure
https://www.amazon.co.uk/UGREEN-Adapter-External-Converter-Support/dp/B01H1I9X60/ref=sr_1_7?keywords=laptop+sata+drive+reader&qid=1553858883&s=computers&sr=1-7
or
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B075WTVLKB/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B075WTVLKB&pd_rd_w=3v9O9&pf_rd_p=e2bfafb5-111e-4906-b089-5d691a51d45f&pd_rd_wg=P8x7D&pf_rd_r=8HJKC19X85ST0DEVDZZ0&pd_rd_r=336f978e-5216-11e9-85c1-518c014959eb
Bigman80
29-03-2019, 11:34
i am in the process of sorting a similar situation. mine failed reloading from the back up to the imac with a new ssd. i have a mate trying to recover 10 years of photos. i tried a new caddy for the hdd, then he took it, downloaded some expensive software (which could see the files) and is now trying to work out how to get them off.
a data recovery place quoted £1,100 to do it! Plus VAT!
good luck.Oh man, that's profiteering madness.
Bigman80
29-03-2019, 11:37
Ok guys, thanks for the advice.
I'll try another laptop. Seems logical!
Then I'll definitely find some alternatives to having multiple copies of files. Seems like WD are shite, after reading online.
What a pain.
Sorry to hear that Oil very bad news. Unfortunately only too common and happens to best of us. Not sure if there is a way of getting anything off if it is a HDD failure. Just try it with another computer maybe to make sure it is the drive and not some incompatibility with software you have on your computer.
Computer audio!:rolleyes:
ive 4 wd drives so dont tempt fate by saying they are shoite;)
Sherwood
29-03-2019, 11:49
If it is a usb drive then you might want to try a y-cable that uses 2 usb ports with the second port providing power. Sometimes a drive that has not been used for a while has difficulties booting up properly. Such cables are very cheap so no risk trying this out.
You could try the WD software to test the drive.
https://support.wdc.com/knowledgebase/answer.aspx?h=p2&ID=940&lang=en&p=110
I have managed to recover drives using similar software.
Bigman80
29-03-2019, 12:10
Cheers fellas, I'll be looking in to this over the weekend
Light Dependant Resistor
29-03-2019, 12:48
ive 4 wd drives so dont tempt fate by saying they are shoite;)
The best software for inspecting drives is G parted Linux which can be downloaded https://gparted.org and run off a USB
G parted can also attempt data recovery. I find it essential to see what any given issue is with a hard drive.
and its free ! Its also packaged in a Linux Mint USB which is available here - you don't have to - if you wish to install Mint rather
just run Gparted when it starts https://linuxmint.com
WD external drives are very specific with their power supply - other than that, which just requires using its plugpack and no other , the one I have has worked perfectly.
Bigman80
29-03-2019, 12:56
The best software for inspecting drives is G parted Linux which can be downloaded https://gparted.org and run off a USB
G parted can also attempt data recovery. I find it essential to see what any given issue is with a hard drive.
and its free ! Its also packaged in a Linux Mint USB which is available here - you don't have to - if you wish to install Mint rather
just run Gparted when it starts https://linuxmint.com
WD external drives are very specific with their power supply - other than that, which just requires using its plugpack and no other , the one I have has worked perfectly.Thanks for that.
Its a WD Passport
Oli, is power getting to the passport? Are you using USB power or an external power source? Are there any lights on the passport and if so do they light up? If you are using USB power try a different cable.
I assume you are using a Windows machine. Go to 'Computer management' and then to Storage/Disk Management. This is the equivalent of Gparted that Chris mentioned. If you can see the WD there that will be a very positive sign. But take care in that area don't, for example, muck around with the partitions.
Primalsea
30-03-2019, 07:59
Bummer!
Like someone said try thr HDD in another computer or a USB caddy/adapter and see if that works. The EaseUS software is good and so is Recuva which is by the same people who do CCleaner.
I use a QNAP TS-253 PRO set up for RAID1 which means the data gets mirrored onto both HDDs in the unit. I had a one fail and when I replaced the faulty HDD the NAS just mirrored the data from the good drive to the new. I have no issues with Volmio.
Synology and QNAP are probably the better brands to go for. Be careful of WD Myclouds. I’ve heard they have an encryption chip to protect the data on the drive but the chip has been known to fail and if it does it is impossible to decrypt the data on the drives. Other cheaper NAS drives are OK but the data transfere rates over the network can be painfully slow.
Bigman80
30-03-2019, 08:02
Oli, is power getting to the passport? Are you using USB power or an external power source? Are there any lights on the passport and if so do they light up? If you are using USB power try a different cable.
I assume you are using a Windows machine. Go to 'Computer management' and then to Storage/Disk Management. This is the equivalent of Gparted that Chris mentioned. If you can see the WD there that will be a very positive sign. But take care in that area don't, for example, muck around with the partitions.Light comes on but it just beeps every few seconds.
No external power source either. The cable provided doesn't have that option.
I'll try what you've suggested.
Bigman80
30-03-2019, 08:03
Bummer!
Like someone said try thr HDD in another computer or a USB caddy/adapter and see if that works. The EaseUS software is good and so is Recuva which is by the same people who do CCleaner.
I use a QNAP TS-253 PRO set up for RAID1 which means the data gets mirrored onto both HDDs in the unit. I had a one fail and when I replaced the faulty HDD the NAS just mirrored the data from the good drive to the new. I have no issues with Volmio.
Synology and QNAP are probably the better brands to go for. Be careful of WD Myclouds. I’ve heard they have an encryption chip to protect the data on the drive but the chip has been known to fail and if it does it is impossible to decrypt the data on the drives. Other cheaper NAS drives are OK but the data transfere rates over the network can be painfully slow.Good info there. I'll avoid anything WD going forward.
youtube vid on how to fix maybe.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7m5cil6KezI
AJSki2fly
30-03-2019, 08:52
Oli, sorry to hear of your HDD failure. Here is some advice and observations for what it’s worth. I have worked in IT for over 30 years and HDD especially spinning ones have a life, in my experience if used daily you’ll be lucky to get 5 years. There are several issues that can cause failure, bearing wears out causing mistracking, bearing/mechanism of read/write arm fails, electronics controlling the thing fail. The drive map is at one part of the drive this is accessed all the time causing wear to the drive.
Generally it’s the read/write head, signs of this getting passed its sell by date are longer times read and writing data, if you run tests to check the drive you will see more block errors. If this is happening it’s time to replace.
So plan to replace every 4-5 years if spinning disk drives. If it is a solid state drive(chips) these fail, they are a mass of miniaturised on/off switches put simply and after a while they will fail through use. Usually failure is catastrophic and can stop any data recovery.
If data is really important then buy a NAS drive with multiple hard drives and set up with RAID so one is a mirror of the main drive, if and when one fails you just pull the failure out and plug in the new one and RAID will then re-copy from the good drive. I would still have another external backup drive that an incremental backup is run to at least once a week.
Plug your failed drive into computer and put it to your ear, if you can hear it repeatedly clicking then the read/write mechanism has failed. If this is the case to recover data the physical drive needs to be taken out and put in another with a good read/write head. Trying to access the data with a failed read/write head may damage the disk(s).
I hope you sort it out ok
All the Best
Adrian
Bigman80
30-03-2019, 09:30
Oli, sorry to hear of your HDD failure. Here is some advice and observations for what it’s worth. I have worked in IT for over 30 years and HDD especially spinning ones have a life, in my experience if used daily you’ll be lucky to get 5 years. There are several issues that can cause failure, bearing wears out causing mistracking, bearing/mechanism of read/write arm fails, electronics controlling the thing fail. The drive map is at one part of the drive this is accessed all the time causing wear to the drive.
Generally it’s the read/write head, signs of this getting passed its sell by date are longer times read and writing data, if you run tests to check the drive you will see more block errors. If this is happening it’s time to replace.
So plan to replace every 4-5 years if spinning disk drives. If it is a solid state drive(chips) these fail, they are a mass of miniaturised on/off switches put simply and after a while they will fail through use. Usually failure is catastrophic and can stop any data recovery.
If data is really important then buy a NAS drive with multiple hard drives and set up with RAID so one is a mirror of the main drive, if and when one fails you just pull the failure out and plug in the new one and RAID will then re-copy from the good drive. I would still have another external backup drive that an incremental backup is run to at least once a week.
Plug your failed drive into computer and put it to your ear, if you can hear it repeatedly clicking then the read/write mechanism has failed. If this is the case to recover data the physical drive needs to be taken out and put in another with a good read/write head. Trying to access the data with a failed read/write head may damage the disk(s).
I hope you sort it out ok
All the Best
AdrianOk Adrian.
Thanks [emoji4]
Bigman80
30-03-2019, 09:31
youtube vid on how to fix maybe.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7m5cil6KezII'll have a watch. Thanks Grant.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5Y7BniaRXg
another one which is very similar. Should be manageable if this is the cause
That’s bad luck Oli, I would never recommend taking the lid of a hard drive unless it is the very very last thing to try. They are sealed for a reason and really should only be opened in a clean air environment but if you are stuck then you can try it but the drive is effectively junk afterwards as you cannot guarantee what particles may have got in there...don’t rely on that drive for storing any precious data!
I mostly use iCloud back up; I really can't see that failing any time soon! Obviously, not critical or personal data, that I keep backed up locally on a hard drive. First is hard drive on MBP, other is SSD device stored in my fire/flood resistant safe. Further copy held elsewhere. But iCloud is main storage/back up; all just works seamlessly and allows access across all my devices. I do love how Apple products all just get on with the job, compared to the endless faffing about I had with MS products.
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