HAVE SERIOUS PROBLEM
Results 1 to 14 of 14

Thread: HAVE SERIOUS PROBLEM

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 1999
    Location
    Valley of Sun
    Posts
    2,004

    HAVE SERIOUS PROBLEM

    I purchased a new WD 2tb. small type 3.0 USB ext drive. I transfered a lot of important data from HD to the new drive.
    Now the drive refuses to read. I tried various cables to no avail. I need to return to store for refund but am worried about the contents.
    If it goes back to factory or whatever, & get it working, it will all my personal stuff. Short of smashing it with a hammer ( but then no refund) what can I do to clear the contents??????
    Where there's a will, there's a way

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 1998
    Location
    Toronto
    Posts
    26,543
    What model no of drive? Do you get any error messages when you try to access it? Does it show up in Windows file explorer or Disk Management (run > diskmgmt.msc)?
    _____________________
    cat lovers click here

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2022
    Posts
    50
    I wish he had posted back. We all could have learned form his post.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 1999
    Location
    Valley of Sun
    Posts
    2,004
    THIS WILL THE THIRD TIME I'VE SENT THIS. I have no idea why these posts did not go through??

    Oh My! my message did not go through. I sent a reply around 1:00 AM this morning? Also it won't let me stay signed in??he request failed due to a fatal device hardware error.
    I bought this brand new at Target. I brought it home & transferred the material from the older WD 1tb to the new 2tb HD. I did a copy rather than cut & paste.
    Good thing because if I had done the cut & paste, I would have lost everything. The transfer went ok but took a while.


    Anyway, thanks fink for the reply. The new HD is a WD My Passport 2tb. I have tried DiskPart, Disk manager to no avail.
    In Disk Manager, it shows that the HD needs to be initialized, but when I try to do that I get this error message: THE REQUEST FAILED DUE TO A FATAL HARDWARE ERROR
    The computer is my wife's. It was a 4 or 5 year old all-in-one Dell . I plan to open it up & install a new HD
    I purchased a new Dell tower type to get her going. It came with Windows 11 which is going to be a headache for her.
    I happen to have a PC with Win 11 of which I am still learning to operate myself.
    Where there's a will, there's a way

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2000
    Location
    Idaho Falls, Idaho, USA
    Posts
    18,428
    It looks like Windows can see the drive. Your error could be dur to the drive, or the USB interface.

    Have you tried the Western Digital utility software to see what it might say?

    https://documents.westerndigital.com...y-passport.pdf


    You can also check the S.M.A.R.T. status.

    https://www.elevenforum.com/t/check-...ndows-11.8778/

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2000
    Location
    Idaho Falls, Idaho, USA
    Posts
    18,428
    If your drive would need to go back to Western Digital in case of a failure that you cannot repair yourself, then it is possible that your data would be recoverable. If it turns out that it is the USB interface part of the drive that has failed, then data recovery might be as easy as attached the actual drive to another interface and presto - your data magically reappears. if the drive electronics has failed, replacing that might also make your data visible.

    The usual rule for data storage on drives is that if you do not want the data to be potentially recoverable, then make sure that the confidential files, or the entire drive are encrypted, or else if the drive fails or is no longer used, then it is destroyed to prevent any access to the data that was on it.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 1999
    Location
    Valley of Sun
    Posts
    2,004
    [B]I am done with this drive. I want to destroy the contents of this drive before returning. How can I do that. [B]

    I would also like to know why I cannot stay logged on this web site. I click REMBER ME. but nothing happens. I have to relog in each time ??
    Where there's a will, there's a way

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2000
    Location
    Idaho Falls, Idaho, USA
    Posts
    18,428
    For the VirtualDr login issue, do you have any software or settings that might be clearing your browser cookies when you close the browser or log off / shut down Windows?

    If you want to return the drive for a refund, it would need to be intact. You only option would be to see if you could open it up, which might void the warranty, and then extract the drive and connect it directly to another computer interface to see if you can securely erase (not just delete) the data with software like Eraser. If that works, you could then reassemble the drive and return it.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 1999
    Location
    Valley of Sun
    Posts
    2,004
    THanks for all the input. I see no way of opening the drive without messing up the cover. I thought if I hook up a cable & sent some sort of a current dc or ac that it might destroy the contents. Would that work ??
    Where there's a will, there's a way

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jul 1998
    Location
    Toronto
    Posts
    26,543

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Arkham Asylum, Cell 13
    Posts
    11,809
    You didn't give the exact model number, but WD external portable drives often have a proprietary connector. So even opening the case probably wouldn't help.

    Did you try booting to a Linux disc like UBCD and running DBAN?

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Feb 1999
    Location
    Valley of Sun
    Posts
    2,004
    For what it's worth, the exact model number is: WDBYVGOO2OBBK-WESN. As for the linux disk etc, I have not dealt with that kind of stuff in years. I'm kinda running out of time
    on this, as you only have 14 days to return items. I'll do some more research today if possible. Right now, I have so irons in the fire, I cant think straight.
    Thanks tho, for all the help. It's greatly appreciated. If I can find a solution, I'll post back.........
    Where there's a will, there's a way

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Feb 2000
    Location
    Idaho Falls, Idaho, USA
    Posts
    18,428

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Feb 1999
    Location
    Valley of Sun
    Posts
    2,004
    I got rid of the hd. Thanks for all of the web sites. Not sure If I'll need them, But I will keep them on hand anyway....
    Many thanks for all the help......
    Where there's a will, there's a way

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •