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External HDD suddenly transferring data slowly

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dodohelp

PCHF Member
Oct 1, 2017
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#1
Hi I have a 2tb WD Elements MyPassport USB2 external HDD which I've used for approx 1 year. Never had any problems with it transferring movies and music from my Windows 7 PC to it. For no reason its now become useless as its taking ridiculous amounts of time to transfer files to! I've tested a few other usb sticks and HDDs and they all run as fast as normal, so its definitely this HDD. Write speed is now 1.17MB/s. I'm transferring 1.1GB and its estimating 32 minutes to transfer it. WTF is going on? Any suggestions on how to fix it?

I've already tried to 'scan and fix issues' which took about 20 minutes and when I closed it the HDD became unreadable so I had to eject it and reconnect and its running just as slowly. Currently can access the files on there, modify and rename etc, but just takes an age to copy to.
 
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#3
Please provide a SMART report.
This is a decent tool and reads most USB drives.
https://crystalmark.info/download/index-e.html

Capture.PNG
 
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#6
Extract to a folder. Double click the appropriate version. DiskInfo64 or DiskInfo32.

Select disk. Review.
Select other disk. Review

Details not important yet. If both say "Good", then good.
If one or more says "Caution", details become important.

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#7
Thanks. My local disk is good
The external HDD in question is BAD :(

theres a red icon that says - (05) reallocated sectors count
and a yellow icon - current pending sectors count
 
#8
Exactly what I expected and 100% consistent with your initial report.

If you have data on that drive and have any desire or hope to recover that data, DO NOT POWER ON THE DRIVE.

Please confirm.
 
#11
dodohelp said:
what do you mean "do not power on the drive"? Its already on now whilst its connected to PC.
Click to expand...
That disk is close to total death. Any disk I/O might be the last function it ever performs. Maybe not.

But, simply being powered on encourages Windows to use the disk, depending on your Windows settings - and it is not worth the effort to inspect those settings at this time.
While you have it on, write down the serial number. Maybe you will get lucky on the warranty.

The confirmation I need is:
Do you need to salvage the data?
 
#14
Record the serial number. Power it off.
The Passport itself has a different serial number. Only the complete unit is under warranty. No warranty applies to the disk itself (so having the serial number is essentially pointless, but still grab it).
Move it to a secure location.

Check warranty on the Passport.
https://support.wdc.com/warranty/warrantystatus.aspx

Please describe your PC tech skills.
If the unit is not under warranty, it is best practice to remove the drive from the Passport housing and attach it to PC internally. This gives us the best chance to copy the files to another drive (once you have one).
There is a 2% chance that SpinRite can re-order the drive sufficiently to recover the files if our first effort fails.
DO NOT believe any marketing BS about ANY software that claims it can assist you in this task.

Only one thing is certain - you need a new HDD. You might be able to install it inside the Passport housing.
 
#15
thanks....

I've managed to check the warranty and its "out of warranty". The box states 3 year limited warranty and I've not owned this HDD for 3 years. I've submitted proof of purchase and will await their response
 
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#16
Ensure that you check the serial number of the Passport device itself, not just the hard drive.
Warranty applies from date of manufacture, not date of sale.
Most external hard drive assemblies are shoddy pieces of junk. HDD technology is not well suited for the form factor. If you must use one, buy your own housing (with a fan and shock absorbers). Buy your own drive - Using WD drives as an example, get the Black label version with the longer warranty.

Avoid low cost drives listed online. Many of them are pulled from external drive assemblies and sold as bare drives.

Check it out -
Search pricing of 6TB hard drives.
Search pricing of 6TB external drive assemblies.

Why are the external assemblies less costly than the drive itself? Warranty. Also, manufacturing quality control knows which batch of drive platters and complete HDDs are more/less likely to fail in a given time frame. The good ones get a 'black label', the bad ones go into external drive assemblies.
 
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#19
Antman said:
Our goal remains -
Recover the data on the failing drive.

Please describe your PC tech skills.
Click to expand...

limited tech skills tbh but Im good at following tutorials I suppose. However my father is capable of safely removing the HDD from its casing and installing it on to a PC. He's done this before when a Seagate external's casing broke. I'll get him to do this once I've bought a new HDD. Im thinking of buying a 4tb, would there be any brands/ retailers you'd recpmmend to avoid.

With regards to the warranty you have circled, Im in UK, so would EMEA apply? In which case its 2 years,
 
#20
EMEA
Check the model number. I have no way of knowing if I found the correct marketing data.

I require a budget number before I can recommend a drive. I am certain that we can find a nice HDD for under $30 per TB.

As far as retailers go, I my recommendation is limited to:
Brick and mortar. The postman is not known for his concern of your packages.
 
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