Western Digital (WD) External Hard Drive 1 TB making loud whirring sounds, disconnecting on its own, overheating (?)?

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I bought my 1 TB WD My Passport external drive 10 months ago. A few minutes ago, I heard a loud whirring sound. Louder than the usual (usual meaning the sound you hear when you put your ear on the drive and listen). Also, the drive would disappear from the computer desktop (it would disconnect on its own). My sister told me it was the drive overheating. I checked online and most of the answers were the same.

My question now is, can this be fixed? Is the problem temporary or is it only going to get worse? If it is going to get worse, will the WD warranty work with this situation?

Tiffany T.

Posted 2014-10-11T19:27:38.200

Reputation: 3

1Go ahead with warranty. Spontaneous disconnects are reason good enough. Just try to back up your files and delete them from Passport before handing the drive away. – Agent_L – 2014-10-11T19:33:22.867

Alright, but for the overheating problem (temporary or permanent), there's isn't a solution to fix it? @Agent_L – Tiffany T. – 2014-10-11T19:35:58.767

If you didn't do smth stupid, like wrapped drive in a blanket or used wrong power brick - it's their problem not yours. – Agent_L – 2014-10-12T15:19:40.737

Answers

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Agreed with Agent_L, call WD and work the warranty first. In the meantime, set up a folder on another computer, and start backing up by copying the contents of the drive to the folder. If the drive shuts off in the middle, go ahead and unplug, wait 30 minutes (for the drive to cool) and the reattach, and continue where you left off. Be warned though that this will stress the drive, so keep an eye on the drive temperature and noise, and intervene if it is alarmingly hot or loud.

In my experience, this type of problem is rarely temporary. It may reduce the lifetime of the drive, or performance may suffer, or both. It may happen tomorrow, or it may take days, weeks, or months to become unusable. Don't wait for this though, noise is usually a sign it is on it's last legs. Backup, buy a new drive, and restore the files. Warranty the bad drive, and if that doesn't work, make sure to mark the drive with a marker, and dispose of it at an electronics recycler. You can have them degauss the drive to remove the contents, as it may still be readable by someone who was determined to get your data. Good luck, and remember to be patient when backing up. Pick a few folders at a time, alphabetically, so you can keep track of where you are.

chopsuei3

Posted 2014-10-11T19:27:38.200

Reputation: 116

Thank you so much for your great advice @Doyle ! It's PERFECT. I'll make sure to follow it! :) – Tiffany T. – 2014-10-12T06:59:43.730

Asked: 2014-10-11T19:27:38.200

Viewed: 823 times

Active: 2016-04-28T10:25:33.203