My WD Passport external disk has a problem.

[salvio]

Hi! I had two days ago a problem with my [wd passport. I take it off before windows 7 unmount it and after I wasn't able to use it once more time. I used chkdsk, but I think it made worse...

Anyway here my screenshod using CystalDiskInfo:

I used Data Lifeguard SMART test and short test (the long test using usb takes a very long time) and the results are these:

And testdisk tell me there is an error, it can't go see files and told me this:

What do you think about?

Thanks...

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Welcome to the community, Salvio!

According to the CrystalDiskInfo results, you've got 4 current pending sectors. This indicates the current count of unstable sectors that are waiting to be remapped. Depending on the situation, sometimes these sectors could be read successfully, which would make the raw value decrease (which will get your WD My Passport back to 'Healthy' state, instead of 'At Risk'). However, if errors still occur when reading the sectors, the HDD would attempt to restore the data and transfer it to the reserved disk space (spare area), which would mark the pending sectors as remapped (a.k.a. bad sectors).

I'd still recommend you to run the extended test from the Data LifeGuard Diagnostics utility and check what the S.M.A.R.T. attributes are showing there.
Either way, I'd suggest you to back up the data from the external somewhere else and make sure you have it stored on at least two different locations. Better safe than sorry, right?

Keep me posted!
SuperSoph_WD

 

[salvio]

Thank you for your answer.

I'm using R-Studio Network that is doing a deep analysis of the drive to try to get back as much data as possible. After that I'm going to store them in another drive safety.

After that I want to try to get back the hard drive using write zeroes of data lifeguard, I think it's a good idea use two drive for my data. Do you think I can perfom a write zeroes on my drive and reuse it like a reserved drive o I can only put it in a trash?

Anyway I'd like to buy another Hard Disk, do you think it's better an external usb hard disk or an internal with a case? When there are these type of problem I think it's great think can use a Sata interface for fast and less stressed long tests.

Thanks again...

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Good job with the backup, Salvio! Regardless of the storage device that it's stored on, it's highly recommended to always have at least two identical copies of your data. As I mentioned those 4 pending sectors are not necessarily bad yet. Indeed, you could try repairing them by performing the low-level format feature from the DLG tool. If you want more information about it and how to do it, you can refer to our knowledge base article here: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=6RBEqT
Keep in mind that it would erase everything, so make sure you have the data copied somewhere else beforehand. However, what did the Extended test from the Data LifeGuard say about this particular S.M.A.R.T. attribute?
The DLG utility can help you re-map & block these sectors, but if you're still concerned about the WD My Passport, you should do a warranty check on our website: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=W2gwGr
If it's still covered, you should contact our customer support and send an RMA request to get a replacement.
WD Support contacts: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=oxRrUd

As for your new hard drive:
Since you want to be able to take the HDD in and out of the enclosure whenever you want to troubleshoot something, it's better to get an internal drive with a third-party enclosure. If you get an external HDD and dismantle it, you'd be voiding the warranty and you might also encounter some access issues without the enclosure, due to a hardware encryption on some models.

Either way, I don't think you should give up on your WD My Passport just yet. Give the WRITE ZEROS option a try and then run the QUICK and EXTENDED tests again, see what the SMART attributes will show.

Hope I helped. Keep me posted.
SuperSoph_WD

 

[Josiboy23]

What if you remove the volume of the hard drive and set a new one?

Diskmgmt.msc --> right click on the disk --> remove volume ---> right click again --> set simpl volume