Topic: Western Digital " My Book" issues

[waltmon]

I have like 6 of the 500 GB's and now have 2 that my laptop does not "see".

       Anyone else having issues like this?  Is this fixable?  Lots of masters that aren't replaceable stored on them....everything I recorded in Jamaica the last 2 years...I am sick.



Walt

[boojum]

I would try plugging them into another computer to see if that box can recognize the MyBooks in question.  If they cannot be recognized there I would try some utility - I cannot suggest one - which can sniff out drives.  Since some work it is not the driver on the laptop.

Try another computer and let us know how that worked.

Cheers, mon.

Also, do the lights on the MyBook liight up?  If ot it is a power problem of some sort.

[waltmon]

Powerlights are on and I can hear the drive spinning.

  Great idea...will try suggestions and report back 

[twatts (pants are so over-rated...)]

After you fix 'em, run out to Office Max and buy a couple spindles of DVDRs...  Sounds like you need to do some backing-up!

I have 90% of my stuff on HDDs.  Then I have another 90% on CDR.  I'm slowly burning everything to DVDR.  Eventually I will have everything on CDR, DVDR and HDD. 

Terry

[waltmon]

3000 gb to back up...eek.

[twatts (pants are so over-rated...)]

3000 gb to back up...eek.

I know, I got 1.3tb of PH alone to do!  After that I have about another 1000 CDRs to burn...  It should take a good while, maybe the rest of my life???

Thing is, I DL things faster than they get backed-up - that's why I said 90%!!!

Terry

[momule]

3000 gb to back up...eek.

Not trying to be rude but it you put all your masters on a HD without dvd copies you are gonna be real pissed off one of these days.  Hard disc WILL FAIL its simply a matter of time.  DVD's are not perfect but there gonna outlast the cheap ass drives we can buy today. 

[waltmon]

It's starting to sink in...

[BC]

  DVD's are not perfect but there gonna outlast the cheap ass drives we can buy today. 

hmm..., maybe, maybe not. I think all we can say for sure is that both are gonna go bad sometime.

[F.O.Bean]

  DVD's are not perfect but there gonna outlast the cheap ass drives we can buy today. 

hmm..., maybe, maybe not. I think all we can say for sure is that both are gonna go bad sometime.

TRUE, but I burn MULTIPLE COPIES onto DVDR. I have EVERY MASTER backed up. Until NOW, because my DVD Burner power supply broke

[twatts (pants are so over-rated...)]

  DVD's are not perfect but there gonna outlast the cheap ass drives we can buy today. 

all we can say for sure is that both are gonna go bad sometime.

Hopefully not at the same time!

Terry

[H₂O]

Get the model numbers and search online to see if it is a recuring issue.

It could be an issue with the controller on the drive and in that case you will just need to crack the case and move the drive to a new enclosure.    Before you do this ask here first (i.e. you will want to protect against static electricity, what enclosure to get, etc).

Bad case you may need recovery software.

Badder case you may need recovery service (probably not worth the expense).

Definitely learn from this and back up masters to DVD-R or other media.    I lost a bunch of masters once and it took 2 years and $100 in recovery software to get MOST back (not all).

[nic]

are these MyBooks usb, firewire, or both?
I've noticed that my MyBook (firewire) cant not be seen on my Macs if I "eject" the drive until I power cycle the MyBook and unplug/replug the cable to the comps.
there is nothing physically wrong with the HDs...just a weird eject/power management issue.

imo, the amount of $$ you'll spend on buying spindles and spindles of your fav media dujour is better spent getting an extra HD and just periodically "mirroring" the drives.

[mikesalvo]

are these MyBooks usb, firewire, or both?
I've noticed that my MyBook (firewire) cant not be seen on my Macs if I "eject" the drive until I power cycle the MyBook and unplug/replug the cable to the comps.
there is nothing physically wrong with the HDs...just a weird eject/power management issue.

imo, the amount of $$ you'll spend on buying spindles and spindles of your fav media dujour is better spent getting an extra HD and just periodically "mirroring" the drives.

Nic I noticed the same thing. I have a 500 gb mybook, and the drive can only be powered on when plugged in.   When I eject, I usually unplug also. i guess this is just poor design?

[willndmb]

these are junk i had 3 of them and they all did the same thing between 10 days old and 6 months old
call wd and get a new one if its under 3 yrs old
ask for a upgrade to the next level of product - they gave me that one finally and so far so good

edit to add i always had mine hooked up via fw
sometimes i could get it to load via usb - long enough to rip the data
also was told it may not be a drive issue but a case issue meaning if worse comes to worse you can break it open and try hooking it up to a external case  and see if it works

[mikesalvo]

this thread scares me. Im going to buy a DVD burner TMW!

[stevetoney]

There is no digital media that is foolproof, especially by burning. 

I am having RAMPANT failures on mutiple brands of both CDRs and DVDRs that have been burned 5 or less years ago.  It was NOT my burner either because the brands are inconsitently failing, as are the burns.  By rampant, I mean maybe one failed disc in 30 or so that is no longer readable.  To me that's WAY too high a percentage of data loss.

I VERY MUCH distrust burning discs as a result...not to mention that they're a PITA to catalog, store, and they take forever to burn a large amount of data.

I totally agree with whoever said that the way to go is to mirror harddrives.  This is how the best systems are backed up at most workplaces work, so why wouldn't you do the same thing at home?

Basically, I have everything backed up onto several redundant HDs.  If I start having HD problems on a drive, no matter if it's a cheap-ass drive or the most expensive drive money can buy, I have peace of mind knowing that all of my master recordings are backed up somewhere else. 

If you're really anal, store the backed up drives in an alternate location so there can be no common mode catastrophic failures, like fire or power surges.  Then once a month or so, re-mirror the drives. 

1TB drives are $100 now and it takes less than 8 hours to mirror the full 1TB...it would probably take 40 or 50 hours to burn that much data onto DVD.

Personnally, I don't really care if they're the cheap-ass drives or not because since I have five drives under my desk, as soon as I start seeing one of the drives having problems a) I know I already have the data backed up on a second drive and, b) it's time to start backing up the second source because the first source is about to take a dump!  c) once I mirror the drive, I've now got the data in 3 places and I could care less if the first drive fails (other than the fact that it cost $100 to replace the drive.)

[spcyrfc]

1TB drives are $100 now and it takes less than 8 hours to mirror the full 1TB...it would probably take 40 or 50 hours to burn that much data onto DVD.

Personnally, I don't really care if they're the cheap-ass drives or not because since I have five drives under my desk, as soon as I start seeing one of the drives having problems a) I know I already have the data backed up on a second drive and, b) it's time to start backing up the second source because the first source is about to take a dump!  c) once I mirror the drive, I've now got the data in 3 places and I could care less if the first drive fails (other than the fact that it cost $100 to replace the drive.)

i mirror everything.  have an external 2tb raid drive. if everything fails at once, i will be fucked, but, i hate burning cd/dvd's.  that time is not well spent.  i have drives of different brands backed up by drives of different brands.  i do have to get a hold of WD, cause i've the same drive having a similar problem. 

i find i can remedy the problem (temporarily) by repowering the drive and/or computer to which it is connected.

wonder what technology will replace HD's --- solid state?