🚀 go-pugleaf

"muzician21" <muzician21@yahoo.com> wrote in message 
news:807ac7a0-4fce-414a-a3db-f8884fef9bcc@f19g2000yqo.googlegroups.com...
> I've got this WD 500 gb Firewire  external My Book drive I've been
> using to store mostly video files for a big video project. It doesn't
> have an on/off switch, it powers up when power is first applied, goes
> dormant after a period of inactivity and restarts when you try to
> access it. It's worked flawlessly until today.
>
> Normally the blue light in front dances up and down during boot up as
> well as whenever there's data transfer but now I notice the light
> flashes briefly when power is first applied, the drive makes some
> noise like it's starting to spool up but then shuts down. The couple
> of h/d's I've had die in the past gave me some warning, made weird
> clicking noises for a while before crapping out. This one was working
> perfectly normally until now. I wouldn't think overheating would be an
> issue with this drive, the case is extensively vented unlike most
> external drives I've seen. It doesn't get used that much.
>
> Anyone have experience with these drives? Any chance there's a power
> supply inside the case that's causing the problem and can be swapped
> with another from an identical drive? Would be a huge
> Aaaaargggghhhhh!!!!!! to lose the hundreds of gigs of files. Any
> chance WD would do such a repair?  I don't want another drive, I need
> THIS drive to work.
>
> Thanks for all assistance.
>

Q1. Can you connect it to another comp............I ask this because the 
Firewire port on my laptop is iffy and only sees the drive when it wants to. 

Tom E wrote:
> "muzician21" <muzician21@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:807ac7a0-4fce-414a-a3db-f8884fef9bcc@f19g2000yqo.googlegroups.com...
>> I've got this WD 500 gb Firewire  external My Book drive I've been
>> using to store mostly video files for a big video project. It doesn't
>> have an on/off switch, it powers up when power is first applied, goes
>> dormant after a period of inactivity and restarts when you try to
>> access it. It's worked flawlessly until today.
>>
>> Normally the blue light in front dances up and down during boot up as
>> well as whenever there's data transfer but now I notice the light
>> flashes briefly when power is first applied, the drive makes some
>> noise like it's starting to spool up but then shuts down. The couple
>> of h/d's I've had die in the past gave me some warning, made weird
>> clicking noises for a while before crapping out. This one was working
>> perfectly normally until now. I wouldn't think overheating would be
>> an issue with this drive, the case is extensively vented unlike most
>> external drives I've seen.

Unless a drive has a decent volume of air moved across the PCB, it's doomed 
to a short life.

USB caddies are death for any drive.
Unless the PCB has a fan on it, even a tower spells death - unless maybe the 
drive sits on the floor of the tower rather than the confines of a 3.5" bay 
... and even then it'll struggle.
Best thing anyone can do for a caddied HDD, is give it it's freedom by 
cutting the PCB side off the caddy box and attaching an 80mm fan (and 
grille) - that or remove it from the caddy completely.


 It doesn't get used that much.
>>
>> Anyone have experience with these drives? Any chance there's a power
>> supply inside the case that's causing the problem and can be swapped
>> with another from an identical drive? Would be a huge
>> Aaaaargggghhhhh!!!!!! to lose the hundreds of gigs of files. Any
>> chance WD would do such a repair?  I don't want another drive, I need
>> THIS drive to work.
>>
>> Thanks for all assistance.
>>
>
> Q1. Can you connect it to another comp............I ask this because
> the Firewire port on my laptop is iffy and only sees the drive when
> it wants to. 

"muzician21" <muzician21@yahoo.com> wrote in message 
news:807ac7a0-4fce-414a-a3db-f8884fef9bcc@f19g2000yqo.googlegroups.com...
> I've got this WD 500 gb Firewire  external My Book drive I've been
> using to store mostly video files for a big video project. It doesn't
> have an on/off switch, it powers up when power is first applied, goes
> dormant after a period of inactivity and restarts when you try to
> access it. It's worked flawlessly until today.
>
> Normally the blue light in front dances up and down during boot up as
> well as whenever there's data transfer but now I notice the light
> flashes briefly when power is first applied, the drive makes some
> noise like it's starting to spool up but then shuts down. The couple
> of h/d's I've had die in the past gave me some warning, made weird
> clicking noises for a while before crapping out. This one was working
> perfectly normally until now. I wouldn't think overheating would be an
> issue with this drive, the case is extensively vented unlike most
> external drives I've seen. It doesn't get used that much.
>
> Anyone have experience with these drives? Any chance there's a power
> supply inside the case that's causing the problem and can be swapped
> with another from an identical drive? Would be a huge
> Aaaaargggghhhhh!!!!!! to lose the hundreds of gigs of files. Any
> chance WD would do such a repair?  I don't want another drive, I need
> THIS drive to work.
>
> Thanks for all assistance.




Is it this one?
http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=351

3 possibilities

1 The AC adaptor has died, check with a voltmeter or subsitute adaptor.

2 The Firewire electronics have died in the MyBook or your PC.
Try the unit on another PC and if possible another firewire unit on your PC.
(check the cable too)

3 The drive itself has died.
Check this by opening the case and mounting the drive inside your PC as a 
slave drive.
You may have to add a PCI adaptor if it's SATA and you don't have SATA 
inside your PC.

If this last one doesn't work then it's off to the data recovery 
specialists.
If the drive does show up as a slave drive then you can make the backups you 
should have made in the first place!!!!!!!!!!!

Best
Paul. 

"PeeCee" <abuse@local.host> wrote in message 
news:gr9nui$bdb$1@news.albasani.net...
> "muzician21" <muzician21@yahoo.com> wrote in message 
> news:807ac7a0-4fce-414a-a3db-f8884fef9bcc@f19g2000yqo.googlegroups.com...
>> I've got this WD 500 gb Firewire  external My Book drive I've been
>> using to store mostly video files for a big video project. It doesn't
>> have an on/off switch, it powers up when power is first applied, goes
>> dormant after a period of inactivity and restarts when you try to
>> access it. It's worked flawlessly until today.
>>
>> Normally the blue light in front dances up and down during boot up as
>> well as whenever there's data transfer but now I notice the light
>> flashes briefly when power is first applied, the drive makes some
>> noise like it's starting to spool up but then shuts down. The couple
>> of h/d's I've had die in the past gave me some warning, made weird
>> clicking noises for a while before crapping out. This one was working
>> perfectly normally until now. I wouldn't think overheating would be an
>> issue with this drive, the case is extensively vented unlike most
>> external drives I've seen. It doesn't get used that much.
>>
>> Anyone have experience with these drives? Any chance there's a power
>> supply inside the case that's causing the problem and can be swapped
>> with another from an identical drive? Would be a huge
>> Aaaaargggghhhhh!!!!!! to lose the hundreds of gigs of files. Any
>> chance WD would do such a repair?  I don't want another drive, I need
>> THIS drive to work.
>>
>> Thanks for all assistance.
>
>
>
>
> Is it this one?
> http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=351
>

No, the OP stated it is a firewire drive, the link you posted is to a USB 
drive... 

"muzician21" <muzician21@yahoo.com> wrote in message 
news:807ac7a0-4fce-414a-a3db-f8884fef9bcc@f19g2000yqo.googlegroups.com...
> I've got this WD 500 gb Firewire  external My Book drive I've been
> using to store mostly video files for a big video project. It doesn't
> have an on/off switch,

Yes it does, the switch is on the rear panel, but.....

> it powers up when power is first applied, goes
> dormant after a period of inactivity and restarts when you try to
> access it. It's worked flawlessly until today.

If as implied, you are powering it from the firewire connection
then you are very lucky it ever powered up.
Clarify: The WD 500gb firewire drive would have been supplied
with it's own dedicated AC power unit, do you use that or is it
drawing(draining) it's power supply via firewire?

>
> Normally the blue light in front dances up and down during boot up as
> well as whenever there's data transfer but now I notice the light
> flashes briefly when power is first applied, the drive makes some
> noise like it's starting to spool up but then shuts down. The couple
> of h/d's I've had die in the past gave me some warning, made weird
> clicking noises for a while before crapping out. This one was working
> perfectly normally until now. I wouldn't think overheating would be an
> issue with this drive, the case is extensively vented unlike most
> external drives I've seen. It doesn't get used that much.

Plenty of recent threads on externally connected HDD's, did you read
any of them?
The simple steps first:
Have you checked Device Manager to see if the drive is flagged as
problematic - exclaimation or questionmarks?
There is nothing in your post to indicate operating system, but your
google groups post indicates XP in headers, so...
Do you have the "Safely Remove Hardware" icon on display in the
notification area or taskbar? If not:
RIGHT click in the area
A dialog appears "Customize Notifications"
Scroll and locate "Safely Remove Hardware"
Use the drop down to select "Always Show"
Click the OK buttons and close that dialog
The icon is now available and use it to remove the Firewire drive.
Then goto Device Manager and UNInstall the firewire drive.
Do NOT uninstall any associated software that came bundled
with the drive - leave all that installed.
Shut down your computer.
Disconnect the firewire drive.
Find, purchase, steal a dedicated power supply for your firewire drive.
Restart your PC without the firewire drive DISconnected
Download and install WD diagnostic tool (firwire version):
http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/Hard-Disk-Utils/Western-Digital-Data-Lifeguard-Diagnostics.shtml
Fully shut down your computer
Reconnect the WD 500gb firewire HDD with it powered from a dedicated
power supply.
Restart your PC.
Windows "Found new hardware" wizard will detect the connected
firewire HDD and will correctly reinstall it.
Check in "MyComputer" that it has beed assigned a drive letter.
Check in Device Manager that it is not flagged with an
Exclaimation or Questionmark.
Now run WD's diagnostic tool which will check it's health and
try to repair any problems found.

"Band" <invalid@witheld.invalid> wrote in message 
news:gNCdnR8sFr3xEUXUnZ2dnUVZ8oOdnZ2d@bt.com...
>
Whoops, please re-read for correction -

>
> Plenty of recent threads on externally connected HDD's, did you read
> any of them?
> The simple steps first:
> Have you checked Device Manager to see if the drive is flagged as
> problematic - exclaimation or questionmarks?
> There is nothing in your post to indicate operating system, but your
> google groups post indicates XP in headers, so...
> Do you have the "Safely Remove Hardware" icon on display in the
> notification area or taskbar? If not:
> RIGHT click in the area
> A dialog appears "Customize Notifications"
> Scroll and locate "Safely Remove Hardware"
> Use the drop down to select "Always Show"
> Click the OK buttons and close that dialog
> The icon is now available and use it to remove the Firewire drive.
> Then goto Device Manager and UNInstall the firewire drive.
> Do NOT uninstall any associated software that came bundled
> with the drive - leave all that installed.
> Shut down your computer.
> Disconnect the firewire drive.
> Find, purchase, steal a dedicated power supply for your firewire drive.

> Restart your PC without the firewire drive DISconnected
(That of course should read to restart with the firewire drive fully 
DISconnected)

> Download and install WD diagnostic tool (firwire version):
> http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/Hard-Disk-Utils/Western-Digital-Data-Lifeguard-Diagnostics.shtml
> Fully shut down your computer
> Reconnect the WD 500gb firewire HDD with it powered from a dedicated
> power supply.
> Restart your PC.
> Windows "Found new hardware" wizard will detect the connected
> firewire HDD and will correctly reinstall it.
> Check in "MyComputer" that it has beed assigned a drive letter.
> Check in Device Manager that it is not flagged with an
> Exclaimation or Questionmark.
> Now run WD's diagnostic tool which will check it's health and
> try to repair any problems found.
>
>
>
>
> 

On Apr 5, 6:48 am, "Band" <inva...@witheld.invalid> wrote:
> "muzician21" <muzicia...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>
> news:807ac7a0-4fce-414a-a3db-f8884fef9bcc@f19g2000yqo.googlegroups.com...
>
> > I've got this WD 500 gb Firewire  external My Book drive I've been
> > using to store mostly video files for a big video project. It doesn't
> > have an on/off switch,
>
> Yes it does, the switch is on the rear panel, but.....


Put it this way, there's not a switch I can turn to on/off. It's
internal and self actuated.


> If as implied, you are powering it from the firewire connection


No, there's a separate external wall wart for power.

"Centre Parting" <nokia.account@ntlworld.com> wrote in message 
news:73r4uoF10icg5U1@mid.individual.net...
snip
> Unless a drive has a decent volume of air moved across the PCB, it's 
> doomed to a short life.

snip

Google's research suggests otherwise:

From http://research.google.com/archive/disk_failures.pdf
<quote>
Contrary to previously reported results, we found
very little correlation between failure rates and either
elevated temperature or activity levels.
</quote>

http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/18/massive-google-hard-drive-survey-turns-up-very-interesting-thing/ 
notes:
<quote>
there is less correlation between drive temperature and failure rates than 
might have been expected, and drives that are cooled excessively actually 
fail more often than those running a little hot
</quote>


best
Paul. 

PeeCee wrote:
> "Centre Parting" <nokia.account@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
> news:73r4uoF10icg5U1@mid.individual.net...
> snip
>> Unless a drive has a decent volume of air moved across the PCB, it's
>> doomed to a short life.
>
> snip
>
> Google's research suggests otherwise:
>
> From http://research.google.com/archive/disk_failures.pdf
> <quote>
> Contrary to previously reported results, we found
> very little correlation between failure rates and either
> elevated temperature or activity levels.
> </quote>
>
> http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/18/massive-google-hard-drive-survey-turns-up-very-interesting-thing/
> notes:
> <quote>
> there is less correlation between drive temperature and failure rates
> than might have been expected, and drives that are cooled excessively
> actually fail more often than those running a little hot
> </quote>
>
>
> best
> Paul.

Not my experience.

I used to run my drives fanless.
Had about 5 failures over 2 years.
Since then (about five years ago) I've been running another 5 or so with 
fans .... and not a SINGLE failure.
All were and continue to be on high quality PSU's and mobo's.

Coincidence ?
Doubtful. 

"Band" <invalid@witheld.invalid> wrote in message 
news:svidnSE49NmnGEXUnZ2dnUVZ8tyWnZ2d@bt.com...
>
> "PeeCee" <abuse@local.host> wrote in message 
> news:gr9nui$bdb$1@news.albasani.net...
>> "muzician21" <muzician21@yahoo.com> wrote in message 
>> news:807ac7a0-4fce-414a-a3db-f8884fef9bcc@f19g2000yqo.googlegroups.com...
>>> I've got this WD 500 gb Firewire  external My Book drive I've been
>>> using to store mostly video files for a big video project. It doesn't
>>> have an on/off switch, it powers up when power is first applied, goes
>>> dormant after a period of inactivity and restarts when you try to
>>> access it. It's worked flawlessly until today.
>>>
>>> Normally the blue light in front dances up and down during boot up as
>>> well as whenever there's data transfer but now I notice the light
>>> flashes briefly when power is first applied, the drive makes some
>>> noise like it's starting to spool up but then shuts down. The couple
>>> of h/d's I've had die in the past gave me some warning, made weird
>>> clicking noises for a while before crapping out. This one was working
>>> perfectly normally until now. I wouldn't think overheating would be an
>>> issue with this drive, the case is extensively vented unlike most
>>> external drives I've seen. It doesn't get used that much.
>>>
>>> Anyone have experience with these drives? Any chance there's a power
>>> supply inside the case that's causing the problem and can be swapped
>>> with another from an identical drive? Would be a huge
>>> Aaaaargggghhhhh!!!!!! to lose the hundreds of gigs of files. Any
>>> chance WD would do such a repair?  I don't want another drive, I need
>>> THIS drive to work.
>>>
>>> Thanks for all assistance.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Is it this one?
>> http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=351
>>
>
> No, the OP stated it is a firewire drive, the link you posted is to a USB 
> drive...
>


OK so it's more likely this one 
http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=355

Same comments apply

P. 

"Centre Parting" <nokia.account@ntlworld.com> wrote in message 
news:73sq4bF10rtd4U1@mid.individual.net...
> PeeCee wrote:
>> "Centre Parting" <nokia.account@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
>> news:73r4uoF10icg5U1@mid.individual.net...
>> snip
>>> Unless a drive has a decent volume of air moved across the PCB, it's
>>> doomed to a short life.
>>
>> snip
>>
>> Google's research suggests otherwise:
>>
>> From http://research.google.com/archive/disk_failures.pdf
>> <quote>
>> Contrary to previously reported results, we found
>> very little correlation between failure rates and either
>> elevated temperature or activity levels.
>> </quote>
>>
>> http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/18/massive-google-hard-drive-survey-turns-up-very-interesting-thing/
>> notes:
>> <quote>
>> there is less correlation between drive temperature and failure rates
>> than might have been expected, and drives that are cooled excessively
>> actually fail more often than those running a little hot
>> </quote>
>>
>>
>> best
>> Paul.
>
> Not my experience.
>
> I used to run my drives fanless.
> Had about 5 failures over 2 years.
> Since then (about five years ago) I've been running another 5 or so with 
> fans .... and not a SINGLE failure.
> All were and continue to be on high quality PSU's and mobo's.
>
> Coincidence ?
> Doubtful.
>




<quote>
The data in this study are collected from a large number
of disk drives, deployed in several types of systems
across all of Google's services. More than one hundred
thousand disk drives were used for all the results presented
here.
</quote>

So your 10 drive 'experience' is more valid than the "more than one hundred 
thousand' Google used in their research.
I don't think so.

Yes it is good practice to have good ventilation for a PC in general.
But freezing the balls of a Hard drives logic board is no guarantee it is 
not going to die.
In fact if you 'read' the Google document and observe Figure 4, you should 
note that cooling the drive to much is likely to 'increase' the failure 
rate.

Paul. 

PeeCee wrote:
> "Centre Parting" <nokia.account@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
> news:73sq4bF10rtd4U1@mid.individual.net...
>> PeeCee wrote:
>>> "Centre Parting" <nokia.account@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
>>> news:73r4uoF10icg5U1@mid.individual.net...
>>> snip
>>>> Unless a drive has a decent volume of air moved across the PCB,
>>>> it's doomed to a short life.
>>>
>>> snip
>>>
>>> Google's research suggests otherwise:
>>>
>>> From http://research.google.com/archive/disk_failures.pdf
>>> <quote>
>>> Contrary to previously reported results, we found
>>> very little correlation between failure rates and either
>>> elevated temperature or activity levels.
>>> </quote>
>>>
>>> http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/18/massive-google-hard-drive-survey-turns-up-very-interesting-thing/
>>> notes:
>>> <quote>
>>> there is less correlation between drive temperature and failure
>>> rates than might have been expected, and drives that are cooled
>>> excessively actually fail more often than those running a little hot
>>> </quote>
>>>
>>>
>>> best
>>> Paul.
>>
>> Not my experience.
>>
>> I used to run my drives fanless.
>> Had about 5 failures over 2 years.
>> Since then (about five years ago) I've been running another 5 or so
>> with fans .... and not a SINGLE failure.
>> All were and continue to be on high quality PSU's and mobo's.
>>
>> Coincidence ?
>> Doubtful.
>>
>
>
>
>
> <quote>
> The data in this study are collected from a large number
> of disk drives, deployed in several types of systems
> across all of Google's services. More than one hundred
> thousand disk drives were used for all the results presented
> here.
> </quote>
>
> So your 10 drive 'experience' is more valid than the "more than one
> hundred thousand' Google used in their research.
> I don't think so.
>
> Yes it is good practice to have good ventilation for a PC in general.
> But freezing the balls of a Hard drives logic board is no guarantee
> it is not going to die.

Freezing ?
Even with a fan, they're still quite warm.

But ultimately, you appear to be unaware of the class action suite bought by 
the US gov.t against IBM for HDD failures.
And totally oblivious to the vested commercial interests at play here.
This study was not conducted by any kind of academic institution - or 
subject to any kind of peer review.

We have no knowledge of who funded it - or any way of qualifying its 
veracity.
Anyone can claim to have conducted a massive study - and go on to draw 
whatever conclusions they choose.

I would rather believe the evidence of my own experience than some bullshit 
'study' (read : commercial propaganda).
Other than which, any overclocker will tell you that nothing kills a chip 
faster than heat.
Try removing the heatsink from your GPU.
It's common sense, if nothing else.


> In fact if you 'read' the Google document and observe Figure 4, you
> should note that cooling the drive to much is likely to 'increase'
> the failure rate.
>
> Paul. 

muzician21 wrote:

> I've got this WD 500 gb Firewire  external My Book drive I've been
> using to store mostly video files for a big video project. It doesn't
> have an on/off switch, it powers up when power is first applied, goes
> dormant after a period of inactivity and restarts when you try to
> access it. It's worked flawlessly until today.
> 
> Normally the blue light in front dances up and down during boot up as
> well as whenever there's data transfer but now I notice the light
> flashes briefly when power is first applied, the drive makes some
> noise like it's starting to spool up but then shuts down. The couple
> of h/d's I've had die in the past gave me some warning, made weird
> clicking noises for a while before crapping out. This one was working
> perfectly normally until now. I wouldn't think overheating would be an
> issue with this drive, the case is extensively vented unlike most
> external drives I've seen. It doesn't get used that much.
> 
> Anyone have experience with these drives? Any chance there's a power
> supply inside the case that's causing the problem and can be swapped
> with another from an identical drive? Would be a huge
> Aaaaargggghhhhh!!!!!! to lose the hundreds of gigs of files. Any
> chance WD would do such a repair?  I don't want another drive, I need
> THIS drive to work.
> 
> Thanks for all assistance.

can you take the hard drive out of the case and hook it up internally ?

muzician21 <muzician21@yahoo.com> wrote in
news:807ac7a0-4fce-414a-a3db-f8884fef9bcc@f19g2000yqo.googlegr
oups.com: 

> I've got this WD 500 gb Firewire  external My Book drive
> I've been using to store mostly video files for a big video
> project. It doesn't have an on/off switch, it powers up
> when power is first applied, goes dormant after a period of
> inactivity and restarts when you try to access it. It's
> worked flawlessly until today. 

Without reading the rest, or the replies, I will just say one 
thing.

HD's fail, especially external ones (3x the price for the $10 
Chinese box and a $2 Chinese power adapter with the same drive 
inside that you could have put inside you machine).

DVD's (or expensive tape drives used by corporations) are the 
only way to backup safely.

thanatoid wrote:
> muzician21 <muzician21@yahoo.com> wrote in
> news:807ac7a0-4fce-414a-a3db-f8884fef9bcc@f19g2000yqo.googlegr
> oups.com:
>
>> I've got this WD 500 gb Firewire  external My Book drive
>> I've been using to store mostly video files for a big video
>> project. It doesn't have an on/off switch, it powers up
>> when power is first applied, goes dormant after a period of
>> inactivity and restarts when you try to access it. It's
>> worked flawlessly until today.
>
> Without reading the rest, or the replies, I will just say one
> thing.
>
> HD's fail, especially external ones (3x the price for the $10
> Chinese box and a $2 Chinese power adapter with the same drive
> inside that you could have put inside you machine).
>
> DVD's (or expensive tape drives used by corporations) are the only way to backup safely.

Wrong, as always. 

"Centre Parting" <nokia.account@ntlworld.com> wrote in message 
news:73tmb3F10opn6U1@mid.individual.net...

 class action suite bought by
> the US gov.t against IBM for HDD failures.


I take it there is some sort of heat related failure? do you have a url?
Most of the searches I did found financial securities and other business 
actions.


> I would rather believe the evidence of my own experience than some 
> bullshit 'study'


Fair enough, one can only live life as one has experienced it.

On that basis however 'my' experience tells me having a fan blowing on a 
Hard drive does not extend it's life.
In fact just the opposite.
(Unfortunately my sample has only two failed drives out of 14 installed. 
This covers 7 PC's from 2002 to 2009. )

In case #1 the single drive in the case had a fan directed at the underneath 
from new, it died at about 24 Months.
Case #2 has 3 drives in it, two had a front mounted fan blowin air over them 
(again from new), the third was buried in a 3.5" cage under the floppy 
drive.
On this machine it was a drive in the fan air stream that died, again at 
about 24 months.
Cases 3 to 7 didn't have any drive failures and none of those had a fan 
blowing over the hard drives.

Paul. 

PeeCee wrote:
> "Centre Parting" <nokia.account@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
> news:73tmb3F10opn6U1@mid.individual.net...
>
> class action suite bought by
>> the US gov.t against IBM for HDD failures.
>
>
> I take it there is some sort of heat related failure? do you have a
> url? Most of the searches I did found financial securities and other
> business actions.
>
>
>> I would rather believe the evidence of my own experience than some
>> bullshit 'study'
>
>
> Fair enough, one can only live life as one has experienced it.
>
> On that basis however 'my' experience tells me having a fan blowing
> on a Hard drive does not extend it's life.
> In fact just the opposite.
> (Unfortunately my sample has only two failed drives out of 14
> installed. This covers 7 PC's from 2002 to 2009. )
>
> In case #1 the single drive in the case had a fan directed at the
> underneath from new, it died at about 24 Months.

Manufacturing defect ?
That heat causes HDD failures does not somehow exclude other factors from 
doing so too - as you are inferring.

The Google study presumably polled a lot of PC users about HDD failures.

Unfortunately, there is a component of the population that refuses to accept 
things they cannot understand - a typically left-brain-dominant 
characteristic that derives from an ability to see the bigger picture.
Techies are predominantly left-brain thinkers and as such, frequently 
express frustration when unable to understand WHY something happens.

This is frequently manifest as an autistic-like, stubborn refusal to accept 
what they see before them - indeed, it can even be manifest as a need to 
prove the opposite of what they see before them, so irksome do they find 
their failure to understand.
But then, left-brainers are not big on understanding because they lack the 
vision and imagination required to see the wood for the trees.

Of the laptops I have to repair, I'd say 80-90% are down to failed HDD's.
My desktop repairs have nothing like this failure rate.

Draw your own conclusions.


> Case #2 has 3 drives in it, two had a front mounted fan blowin air
> over them (again from new), the third was buried in a 3.5" cage under
> the floppy drive.
> On this machine it was a drive in the fan air stream that died, again
> at about 24 months.
> Cases 3 to 7 didn't have any drive failures and none of those had a
> fan blowing over the hard drives.
>
> Paul. 

Centre Parting wrote:
> PeeCee wrote:
>> "Centre Parting" <nokia.account@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
>> news:73tmb3F10opn6U1@mid.individual.net...
>>
>> class action suite bought by
>>> the US gov.t against IBM for HDD failures.
>>
>>
>> I take it there is some sort of heat related failure? do you have a
>> url? Most of the searches I did found financial securities and other
>> business actions.
>>
>>
>>> I would rather believe the evidence of my own experience than some
>>> bullshit 'study'
>>
>>
>> Fair enough, one can only live life as one has experienced it.
>>
>> On that basis however 'my' experience tells me having a fan blowing
>> on a Hard drive does not extend it's life.
>> In fact just the opposite.
>> (Unfortunately my sample has only two failed drives out of 14
>> installed. This covers 7 PC's from 2002 to 2009. )
>>
>> In case #1 the single drive in the case had a fan directed at the
>> underneath from new, it died at about 24 Months.
>
> Manufacturing defect ?
> That heat causes HDD failures does not somehow exclude other factors
> from doing so too - as you are inferring.
>
> The Google study presumably polled a lot of PC users about HDD
> failures.
> Unfortunately, there is a component of the population that refuses to
> accept things they cannot understand - a typically left-brain-dominant
> characteristic that derives from an ability

EDIT : - inability

 to see the bigger picture.
> Techies are predominantly left-brain thinkers and as such, frequently
> express frustration when unable to understand WHY something happens.
>
> This is frequently manifest as an autistic-like, stubborn refusal to
> accept what they see before them - indeed, it can even be manifest as
> a need to prove the opposite of what they see before them, so irksome
> do they find their failure to understand.
> But then, left-brainers are not big on understanding because they
> lack the vision and imagination required to see the wood for the
> trees.
> Of the laptops I have to repair, I'd say 80-90% are down to failed
> HDD's. My desktop repairs have nothing like this failure rate.
>
> Draw your own conclusions.
>
>
>> Case #2 has 3 drives in it, two had a front mounted fan blowin air
>> over them (again from new), the third was buried in a 3.5" cage under
>> the floppy drive.
>> On this machine it was a drive in the fan air stream that died, again
>> at about 24 months.
>> Cases 3 to 7 didn't have any drive failures and none of those had a
>> fan blowing over the hard drives.
>>
>> Paul. 

muzician21 wrote:

> I've got this WD 500 gb Firewire  external My Book drive I've been
> using to store mostly video files for a big video project. It doesn't
> have an on/off switch, it powers up when power is first applied, goes
> dormant after a period of inactivity and restarts when you try to
> access it. It's worked flawlessly until today.
>
> Normally the blue light in front dances up and down during boot up as
> well as whenever there's data transfer but now I notice the light
> flashes briefly when power is first applied, the drive makes some
> noise like it's starting to spool up but then shuts down. The couple
> of h/d's I've had die in the past gave me some warning, made weird
> clicking noises for a while before crapping out. This one was working
> perfectly normally until now. I wouldn't think overheating would be an
> issue with this drive, the case is extensively vented unlike most
> external drives I've seen. It doesn't get used that much.
>
> Anyone have experience with these drives? Any chance there's a power
> supply inside the case that's causing the problem and can be swapped
> with another from an identical drive?

The power supply is external, but there are voltage regulators inside
the drive enclosure to convert the +12V from the power supply to +3.3V
and +5V used by the chips in the drive and the interface circuitry.

> Aaaaargggghhhhh!!!!!! to lose the hundreds of gigs of files. Any
> chance WD would do such a repair?  I don't want another drive, I need
> THIS drive to work.

Data recovery is NOT included with the warranty, but you're supposed
to have an extra HD for backup anyway because computers can wipe out
tons of data in a hurry.  Also a 1TB drive costs just $100, which is a
lot, lot less than the cheapest data recovery service.

On Mon, 06 Apr 2009 07:38:28 +0100, Centre Parting wrote:

> class action suite

Made me think of a set of bedroom furniture built including straps and 
chains and various appurtenances to facilitate lots of hot, dirty sex.

:-)

-- 
The month of March in this year of 2009 sees the centenary of the laying
of the keel of the most famous (or infamous) ocean liner of all time, RMS 
Titanic, at Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast.
< http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Titanic>

Centre Parting wrote:
> PeeCee wrote:
>> "Centre Parting" <nokia.account@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
>> news:73tmb3F10opn6U1@mid.individual.net...
>>
>> class action suite bought by
>>> the US gov.t against IBM for HDD failures.
>>
>>
>> I take it there is some sort of heat related failure? do you have a
>> url? Most of the searches I did found financial securities and other
>> business actions.
>>
>>
>>> I would rather believe the evidence of my own experience than some
>>> bullshit 'study'
>>
>>
>> Fair enough, one can only live life as one has experienced it.
>>
>> On that basis however 'my' experience tells me having a fan blowing
>> on a Hard drive does not extend it's life.
>> In fact just the opposite.
>> (Unfortunately my sample has only two failed drives out of 14
>> installed. This covers 7 PC's from 2002 to 2009. )
>>
>> In case #1 the single drive in the case had a fan directed at the
>> underneath from new, it died at about 24 Months.
>
> Manufacturing defect ?
> That heat causes HDD failures does not somehow exclude other factors
> from doing so too - as you are inferring.
>
> The Google study presumably polled a lot of PC users about HDD failures.

Nope, they analysed the failures of THEIR OWN hard drives.

> Unfortunately, there is a component of the population that refuses to
> accept things they cannot understand - a typically left-brain-dominant
> characteristic that derives from an ability to see the bigger picture.
> Techies are predominantly left-brain thinkers and as such, frequently
> express frustration when unable to understand WHY something happens.
>
> This is frequently manifest as an autistic-like, stubborn refusal to
> accept what they see before them - indeed, it can even be manifest as
> a need to prove the opposite of what they see before them, so irksome
> do they find their failure to understand.
> But then, left-brainers are not big on understanding because they
> lack the vision and imagination required to see the wood for the
> trees.
> Of the laptops I have to repair, I'd say 80-90% are down to failed
> HDD's. My desktop repairs have nothing like this failure rate.
>
> Draw your own conclusions.
>
>
>> Case #2 has 3 drives in it, two had a front mounted fan blowin air
>> over them (again from new), the third was buried in a 3.5" cage under
>> the floppy drive.
>> On this machine it was a drive in the fan air stream that died, again
>> at about 24 months.
>> Cases 3 to 7 didn't have any drive failures and none of those had a
>> fan blowing over the hard drives.
>>
>> Paul. 

"Rod Speed" <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> wrote in
news:73u1q1F108uadU1@mid.individual.net: 

> thanatoid wrote:

<SNIP>

>> HD's fail, especially external ones (3x the price for the
>> $10 Chinese box and a $2 Chinese power adapter with the
>> same drive inside that you could have put inside you
>> machine). 
>>
>> DVD's (or expensive tape drives used by corporations) are
>> the only way to backup safely. 
> 
> Wrong, as always. 

MOST interesting comment from someone with a 13-year old's 
nickname (if it's your /real name/, my deepest sympathies) who 
(to my recollection) has never posted ANY advice, and who uses 
OE for newsgroups.

I am often wrong, and have no problem with admitting it when I 
am corrected by someone who knows what they're talking about.

But NO ONE is ALWAYS wrong or ALWAYS right - including you.

Now go fuck yourself.

Rod Speed wrote:
> Centre Parting wrote:
>> PeeCee wrote:
>>> "Centre Parting" <nokia.account@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
>>> news:73tmb3F10opn6U1@mid.individual.net...
>>>
>>> class action suite bought by
>>>> the US gov.t against IBM for HDD failures.
>>>
>>>
>>> I take it there is some sort of heat related failure? do you have a
>>> url? Most of the searches I did found financial securities and other
>>> business actions.
>>>
>>>
>>>> I would rather believe the evidence of my own experience than some
>>>> bullshit 'study'
>>>
>>>
>>> Fair enough, one can only live life as one has experienced it.
>>>
>>> On that basis however 'my' experience tells me having a fan blowing
>>> on a Hard drive does not extend it's life.
>>> In fact just the opposite.
>>> (Unfortunately my sample has only two failed drives out of 14
>>> installed. This covers 7 PC's from 2002 to 2009. )
>>>
>>> In case #1 the single drive in the case had a fan directed at the
>>> underneath from new, it died at about 24 Months.
>>
>> Manufacturing defect ?
>> That heat causes HDD failures does not somehow exclude other factors
>> from doing so too - as you are inferring.
>>
>> The Google study presumably polled a lot of PC users about HDD
>> failures.
>
> Nope, they analysed the failures of THEIR OWN hard drives.

So they polled their own IT staff.

>
>> Unfortunately, there is a component of the population that refuses to
>> accept things they cannot understand - a typically
>> left-brain-dominant characteristic that derives from an ability to
>> see the bigger picture. Techies are predominantly left-brain
>> thinkers and as such, frequently express frustration when unable to
>> understand WHY something happens. This is frequently manifest as an 
>> autistic-like, stubborn refusal to
>> accept what they see before them - indeed, it can even be manifest as
>> a need to prove the opposite of what they see before them, so irksome
>> do they find their failure to understand.
>> But then, left-brainers are not big on understanding because they
>> lack the vision and imagination required to see the wood for the
>> trees.
>> Of the laptops I have to repair, I'd say 80-90% are down to failed
>> HDD's. My desktop repairs have nothing like this failure rate.
>>
>> Draw your own conclusions.
>>
>>
>>> Case #2 has 3 drives in it, two had a front mounted fan blowin air
>>> over them (again from new), the third was buried in a 3.5" cage
>>> under the floppy drive.
>>> On this machine it was a drive in the fan air stream that died,
>>> again at about 24 months.
>>> Cases 3 to 7 didn't have any drive failures and none of those had a
>>> fan blowing over the hard drives.
>>>
>>> Paul. 

On Mon, 6 Apr 2009 11:24:53 +0100, "Centre Parting"
<nokia.account@ntlworld.com> put finger to keyboard and composed:

>The Google study presumably polled a lot of PC users about HDD failures.

The Google study concentrated on Google's own huge installed base of
hard drives spanning several manufacturers, models, and generations.

Nobody was polled.

Failure Trends in a Large Disk Drive Population: 
http://research.google.com/archive/disk_failures.pdf

- Franc Zabkar
-- 
Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.

"Centre Parting" <nokia.account@ntlworld.com> wrote in message 
news:73u3jmF10vo49U1@mid.individual.net...
snip
>
> The Google study presumably polled a lot of PC users about HDD failures.
>
snip

Sorry you 'presumed' wrong.
Your presumption shows you haven't bothered to read the paper.

Again I will quote from the paper:
<quote>
The data in this study are collected from a large number
of disk drives, deployed in several types of systems
across all of Google's services. More than one hundred
thousand disk drives were used for all the results presented
here.
</quote>

Note the words "across all of Google's services"

Paul.

Centre Parting wrote:
> Rod Speed wrote:
>> Centre Parting wrote:
>>> PeeCee wrote:
>>>> "Centre Parting" <nokia.account@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
>>>> news:73tmb3F10opn6U1@mid.individual.net...
>>>>
>>>> class action suite bought by
>>>>> the US gov.t against IBM for HDD failures.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> I take it there is some sort of heat related failure? do you have a
>>>> url? Most of the searches I did found financial securities and
>>>> other business actions.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> I would rather believe the evidence of my own experience than some
>>>>> bullshit 'study'
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Fair enough, one can only live life as one has experienced it.
>>>>
>>>> On that basis however 'my' experience tells me having a fan blowing
>>>> on a Hard drive does not extend it's life.
>>>> In fact just the opposite.
>>>> (Unfortunately my sample has only two failed drives out of 14
>>>> installed. This covers 7 PC's from 2002 to 2009. )
>>>>
>>>> In case #1 the single drive in the case had a fan directed at the
>>>> underneath from new, it died at about 24 Months.
>>>
>>> Manufacturing defect ?
>>> That heat causes HDD failures does not somehow exclude other factors
>>> from doing so too - as you are inferring.
>>>
>>> The Google study presumably polled a lot of PC users about HDD
>>> failures.
>>
>> Nope, they analysed the failures of THEIR OWN hard drives.

> So they polled their own IT staff.

They didnt poll anyone, fuckwit.

>>> Unfortunately, there is a component of the population that refuses
>>> to accept things they cannot understand - a typically
>>> left-brain-dominant characteristic that derives from an ability to
>>> see the bigger picture. Techies are predominantly left-brain
>>> thinkers and as such, frequently express frustration when unable to
>>> understand WHY something happens. This is frequently manifest as an
>>> autistic-like, stubborn refusal to
>>> accept what they see before them - indeed, it can even be manifest
>>> as a need to prove the opposite of what they see before them, so
>>> irksome do they find their failure to understand.
>>> But then, left-brainers are not big on understanding because they
>>> lack the vision and imagination required to see the wood for the
>>> trees.
>>> Of the laptops I have to repair, I'd say 80-90% are down to failed
>>> HDD's. My desktop repairs have nothing like this failure rate.
>>>
>>> Draw your own conclusions.
>>>
>>>
>>>> Case #2 has 3 drives in it, two had a front mounted fan blowin air
>>>> over them (again from new), the third was buried in a 3.5" cage
>>>> under the floppy drive.
>>>> On this machine it was a drive in the fan air stream that died,
>>>> again at about 24 months.
>>>> Cases 3 to 7 didn't have any drive failures and none of those had a
>>>> fan blowing over the hard drives.
>>>>
>>>> Paul. 

thanatoid wrote
> Rod Speed <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> wrote
>> thanatoid wrote

>>> HD's fail, especially external ones (3x the price for the
>>> $10 Chinese box and a $2 Chinese power adapter with the
>>> same drive inside that you could have put inside you machine).

>>> DVD's (or expensive tape drives used by corporations)
>>> are the only way to backup safely.

>> Wrong, as always.

> MOST interesting comment from someone with a 13-year old's nickname

Its my real name, unlike yours, fuckwit child.

> who (to my recollection) has never posted ANY advice,

Thats what the whacky weed can do to your ear to ear dog shit, child.

> and who uses OE for newsgroups.

Leaves that steaming turd you use for dead, child.

> I am often wrong,

Always, actually.

> and have no problem with admitting it when I am corrected
> by someone who knows what they're talking about.

> But NO ONE is ALWAYS wrong

Wrong, as always. You are, ALWAYS.

> Now go fuck yourself.

I leave that sort of thing to fuckwit children like you, child. 

Franc Zabkar wrote:
> On Mon, 6 Apr 2009 11:24:53 +0100, "Centre Parting"
> <nokia.account@ntlworld.com> put finger to keyboard and composed:
> 
>> The Google study presumably polled a lot of PC users about HDD failures.
> 
> The Google study concentrated on Google's own huge installed base of
> hard drives spanning several manufacturers, models, and generations.
> 
> Nobody was polled.
> 
> Failure Trends in a Large Disk Drive Population: 
> http://research.google.com/archive/disk_failures.pdf
> 
> - Franc Zabkar

What struck me about their study, is the word "humidity"
doesn't appear anywhere in the report. And humidity is a
factor in disk reliability.

    Paul

On Mon, 6 Apr 2009 19:24:57 +0000 (UTC), thanatoid
<waiting@the.exit.invalid> put finger to keyboard and composed:

>"Rod Speed" <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> wrote in
>news:73u1q1F108uadU1@mid.individual.net: 
>
>> thanatoid wrote:
>
><SNIP>
>
>>> HD's fail, especially external ones (3x the price for the
>>> $10 Chinese box and a $2 Chinese power adapter with the
>>> same drive inside that you could have put inside you
>>> machine). 
>>>
>>> DVD's (or expensive tape drives used by corporations) are
>>> the only way to backup safely. 
>> 
>> Wrong, as always. 
>
>MOST interesting comment from someone with a 13-year old's 
>nickname (if it's your /real name/, my deepest sympathies) who 
>(to my recollection) has never posted ANY advice, and who uses 
>OE for newsgroups.
>
>I am often wrong, and have no problem with admitting it when I 
>am corrected by someone who knows what they're talking about.
>
>But NO ONE is ALWAYS wrong or ALWAYS right - including you.
>
>Now go fuck yourself.

Rod Speed FAQ:
http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Archive/Alt/alt.internet.wireless/2006-07/msg00462.html

RodBot 2.5 is a Perl program designed to simulate the UseNet posting
style of the mental giant that is Rod Speed:
http://web.archive.org/web/20020207012848/http://www.penninkilampi.net/henry/Perl/RodBot.html

- Franc Zabkar
-- 
Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.

Paul wrote:
> Franc Zabkar wrote:
>> On Mon, 6 Apr 2009 11:24:53 +0100, "Centre Parting"
>> <nokia.account@ntlworld.com> put finger to keyboard and composed:
>>
>>> The Google study presumably polled a lot of PC users about HDD
>>> failures.
>>
>> The Google study concentrated on Google's own huge installed base of
>> hard drives spanning several manufacturers, models, and generations.
>>
>> Nobody was polled.
>>
>> Failure Trends in a Large Disk Drive Population:
>> http://research.google.com/archive/disk_failures.pdf
>>
>> - Franc Zabkar
>
> What struck me about their study, is the word "humidity"
> doesn't appear anywhere in the report. And humidity is a
> factor in disk reliability.

Not heard that touted before.

You sure you're not just confused about the air conditioning issue ?
Reasoning that since big installations are kept in a/c'd rooms (dry 
atmosphere), non-a/c'd (relatively humid atmosphere) installations must be 
less reliable ?

Big installations aren't air-conditioned because of humidity.
They're a/c'd because that's the only way TO cool a room.
Humidity is purely incidental.

That's some pretty weird-ass reasoning you've got.

>
>    Paul 

Centre Parting wrote:
> Paul wrote:
>> Franc Zabkar wrote:
>>> On Mon, 6 Apr 2009 11:24:53 +0100, "Centre Parting"
>>> <nokia.account@ntlworld.com> put finger to keyboard and composed:
>>>
>>>> The Google study presumably polled a lot of PC users about HDD
>>>> failures.
>>> The Google study concentrated on Google's own huge installed base of
>>> hard drives spanning several manufacturers, models, and generations.
>>>
>>> Nobody was polled.
>>>
>>> Failure Trends in a Large Disk Drive Population:
>>> http://research.google.com/archive/disk_failures.pdf
>>>
>>> - Franc Zabkar
>> What struck me about their study, is the word "humidity"
>> doesn't appear anywhere in the report. And humidity is a
>> factor in disk reliability.
> 
> Not heard that touted before.
> 
> You sure you're not just confused about the air conditioning issue ?
> Reasoning that since big installations are kept in a/c'd rooms (dry 
> atmosphere), non-a/c'd (relatively humid atmosphere) installations must be 
> less reliable ?
> 
> Big installations aren't air-conditioned because of humidity.
> They're a/c'd because that's the only way TO cool a room.
> Humidity is purely incidental.
> 
> That's some pretty weird-ass reasoning you've got.
> 
>>    Paul 
> 

I judge studies by their attention to detail.

Without knowing what combination of temperature and humidity
is present in each facility, there is no way to judge whether
the missing factor is important or not.

If you download an OEM spec for a disk drive, there is
a temperature/humidity graph in it. It documents the allowed
values of temperature and humidity for a disk drive. Which
means in any study, humidity should be documented (because the
disk manufacturer acknowledges it is a factor). Or at least the
word should appear in the study at least once, as in
"we chose to ignore humidity".

    Paul

Franc Zabkar <fzabkar@iinternode.on.net> wrote in
news:m66lt4lcnho1bmncsho06flfbsohtn2531@4ax.com: 

<SNIP>

> Rod Speed FAQ:
> http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Archive/Alt/alt.internet.wir
> eless/2006-07/msg00462.html 
> 
> RodBot 2.5 is a Perl program designed to simulate the
> UseNet posting style of the mental giant that is Rod Speed:
> http://web.archive.org/web/20020207012848/http://www.pennink
> ilampi.net/henry/Perl/RodBot.html 

You know EVERYTHING, don't you?

I am speechless.

Paul wrote:
> Centre Parting wrote:
>> Paul wrote:
>>> Franc Zabkar wrote:
>>>> On Mon, 6 Apr 2009 11:24:53 +0100, "Centre Parting"
>>>> <nokia.account@ntlworld.com> put finger to keyboard and composed:
>>>>
>>>>> The Google study presumably polled a lot of PC users about HDD
>>>>> failures.
>>>> The Google study concentrated on Google's own huge installed base
>>>> of hard drives spanning several manufacturers, models, and
>>>> generations. Nobody was polled.
>>>>
>>>> Failure Trends in a Large Disk Drive Population:
>>>> http://research.google.com/archive/disk_failures.pdf
>>>>
>>>> - Franc Zabkar
>>> What struck me about their study, is the word "humidity"
>>> doesn't appear anywhere in the report. And humidity is a
>>> factor in disk reliability.
>>
>> Not heard that touted before.
>>
>> You sure you're not just confused about the air conditioning issue ?
>> Reasoning that since big installations are kept in a/c'd rooms (dry
>> atmosphere), non-a/c'd (relatively humid atmosphere) installations
>> must be less reliable ?
>>
>> Big installations aren't air-conditioned because of humidity.
>> They're a/c'd because that's the only way TO cool a room.
>> Humidity is purely incidental.
>>
>> That's some pretty weird-ass reasoning you've got.
>>
>>>    Paul
>>
>
> I judge studies by their attention to detail.
>
> Without knowing what combination of temperature and humidity
> is present in each facility, there is no way to judge whether
> the missing factor is important or not.
>
> If you download an OEM spec for a disk drive, there is
> a temperature/humidity graph in it.

Yes, but that's for un-a/c'd conditions (under which, the majority will be 
used).
In a/c'd conditions, it become irrelevant because the temp is kept low 
enough that humidity is of no consequence to the cooling capacity of air.


It documents the allowed
> values of temperature and humidity for a disk drive. Which
> means in any study, humidity should be documented (because the
> disk manufacturer acknowledges it is a factor). Or at least the
> word should appear in the study at least once, as in
> "we chose to ignore humidity".
>
>    Paul 

thanatoid wrote

> I am speechless.

Just brainless, actually. 

muzician21 wrote:
It doesn't have an on/off switch.

I would say the above is the problem with your external hard drive.
If i were you i would by a hard drive encloser with an on and off switch.

Okay, extricated from the case and hooked it up with SATA cables, it's
working fine. Apparently the My Book interface/switch died.

Thanks for all input.

muzician21 wrote:
> Okay, extricated from the case and hooked it up with SATA cables, it's
> working fine. Apparently the My Book interface/switch died.
> 
> Thanks for all input.
> 

Congrats on a successful surgery :-)

    Paul

muzician21 <muzician21@yahoo.com> wrote in
news:61895548-8dda-41a6-96f9-9240a294d87e@v15g2000yqn.googlegr
oups.com: 

> Okay, extricated from the case and hooked it up with SATA
> cables, it's working fine. Apparently the My Book
> interface/switch died. 

I sort of hate to say this, but didn't that sort of imply my 
rather simple rule has again proved to be correct?

Now try to sell the external HD case for the $10 it /may/ be 
worth and you'll be done.

;-)

thanatoid wrote:
> muzician21 <muzician21@yahoo.com> wrote

>> Okay, extricated from the case and hooked it up with SATA cables,
>> it's working fine. Apparently the My Book interface/switch died.

> I sort of hate to say this,

Liar.

> but didn't that sort of imply my rather simple
> rule has again proved to be correct?

Nope, because the alternatives die too, stupid.

On Tue, 7 Apr 2009 07:33:02 +0000 (UTC), thanatoid
<waiting@the.exit.invalid> put finger to keyboard and composed:

>Franc Zabkar <fzabkar@iinternode.on.net> wrote in
>news:m66lt4lcnho1bmncsho06flfbsohtn2531@4ax.com: 
>
><SNIP>
>
>> Rod Speed FAQ:
>> http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Archive/Alt/alt.internet.wir
>> eless/2006-07/msg00462.html 
>> 
>> RodBot 2.5 is a Perl program designed to simulate the
>> UseNet posting style of the mental giant that is Rod Speed:
>> http://web.archive.org/web/20020207012848/http://www.pennink
>> ilampi.net/henry/Perl/RodBot.html 
>
>You know EVERYTHING, don't you?
>
>I am speechless.

Rod Speed is the last great polymath. The most that you and I and the
rest of us mere mortals can hope for is to learn a little about a lot,
or a lot about a little.

You are probably encountering him for the first time as an undesirable
consequence of the OP's crossposting. When you crosspost to
comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage you run the risk of introducing Rod
Speed to an unsuspecting audience. It's a bit like bringing your
neighbour's dog poop to your friend's house on the sole of your shoe.

Most of the regulars have kill-filed the troll, but he still tries to
get through by nym shifting. Pathetic, really.

- Franc Zabkar
-- 
Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.

On Tue, 7 Apr 2009 07:50:28 +0100, "Centre Parting"
<nokia.account@ntlworld.com> put finger to keyboard and composed:

>Big installations aren't air-conditioned because of humidity.
>They're a/c'd because that's the only way TO cool a room.
>Humidity is purely incidental.

During the 1980s I was involved with one minicomputer installation
that had problems with a particular Control Data BK7 series disc
drive. After experiencing lots of static related issues (status
errors), the customer installed a humidifier to increase the humidity
to an acceptable level.

In other climates, such as Singapore, the high humidity promotes mould
growth on magnetic media, although I doubt that mould would get a
foothold on disc platters rotating at 7200 RPM. :-)

I found this interesting Samsung patent whose inventors claim that
"flying height drops significantly in humid conditions" and that this
can be remedied "by increasing the temperature of the air flowing
between a slider's air bearing surface and the rotating disk surface
it accesses".

Method and Apparatus Reducing Flying Height Drop in a Hard Disk Drive
Under Humid Conditions:
http://tinyurl.com/4s5brl
http://www.freshpatents.com/Method-and-apparatus-reducing-flying-height-drop-in-a-hard-disk-drive-under-humid-conditions-dt20071227ptan20070297085.php

- Franc Zabkar
-- 
Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.

Franc Zabkar <fzabkar@iinternode.on.net> wrote in
news:q3ant4hi6ujmdbrkuttm4jq8gttfn90896@4ax.com: 

<SNIP>


> Most of the regulars have kill-filed the troll, but he
> still tries to get through by nym shifting. Pathetic,
> really. 

Well, if the FAQ is correct, at least the poor thing has 
something to amuse himself with. There is so much trolling 
spamming and crap on the Usenet it makes little difference in 
the final analysis, I think.