[the_riotgirl]

i got a 250GB Western Digital USB 2.0 external drive last year. it broke down last month, the hard drive disk utility also couldnt repair it, then it wasnt even recognised after mounting anymore.
So i rescued all the data with data rescue 2 (best programm ever, anyways). that already took several nights on a 8GB RAM MacPro. Now i erased it (with the hard drive disk utility) and wanted to reload all the data on it. that gets the mac to brake down every time.

maybe that is a stupid idea (im a girl and this is the first time i tried this instead of just buying a new one: not because im not into tech, but because normally the external drives failed after some years when they were already outdated and i had my eye on a new one already :-)) and you are already shaking your heads over me:
but this looks like the hardware itself is broken, right? i am not sure if i could have guessed this before, i had figured it could have been a data reading problem too
* looking down, drawing things in the sand with my toes being embarrassed *

QUESTION:
is there a way to find out if the disk itself is kaputti (broken) or is there no way it wouldnt have been that in the first place?

Sorry for all spelling and grammatical errors, english is not my first language (its german).
i am not good with the terminal application but maybe there is a way to check that out there? (sending a "hello" to the disk or something?)

thank you for your help!
as i am a graphic designer, maybe i can help you with something design/photo/vector/creative suite related help in exchange?

[rjenkinson]

Remove the hard drive and use a different case to test it. If you have the same problems, the old case is most likely fine and it's something wrong with the hard drive itself.

[reader50]

Welcome to MacNN Forums.

I'd also suggest removing the drive, but plug it directly into one of your spare MacPro drive bays. With it on an internal SATA interface, Disk Utility will be able to read the SMART diagnostic status.

Once it is installed internally, in Disk Utility, click on the hard drive icon. Then read the SMART status at the bottom of Disk Utility.

btw - a 250 GB drive is not very current today. The best price per GB today is a 1.5 Terabyte drive. Even new iMacs start at 320 GB drives.

[CharlesS]

Originally Posted by the_riotgirl 

iQUESTION:
is there a way to find out if the disk itself is kaputti (broken) or is there no way it wouldnt have been that in the first place?

Sure is! If it makes weird noises, takes a seriously long time to recover your data from it, and/or continues to fail even after reformatting it, then there's hardware issues.

In other words: It's dead.

[besson3c]

Your being a girl doesn't make what you wrote a stupid idea at all!

The other suggestion I have is a SMART test (short or long test), but based on your description it does sound like it is dead.

[the_riotgirl]

i just mentally put the stupid drive to its grave. yes, it is dead.

it was recognised after i cleared it and showed up normally on the desktop, but i launched disk utility twice and the second time it wasnt able to repair it. so today it will start its new life as a frisbee as my office is on the 4th floor with quite a good view over a shopping street in vienna

putting it in one of the macpro slots is quite a clever idea - i didnt think of that!
BUT: it was a western digital my passport (like this)
isnt that quite another format than the hard drives the macpro uses? just out of curiosity: do you really think it would have been able to read that one too?

and yes i know that 250GB is quite small to what is available on the market bunny!!
BUT: i carry my external drive around in my purse every day, i trow it into my bycicle basket too. chances are that it wont last too long anyway and then i dont want to have to recover a whole TB of data or even loose it!!! i deliberatly "work" with several external drives:
one is my filmie & series bach up, one is my work back up and one is my everyday-carry-around thingie. and yes, i consider even buying a pink one now as pocketthieves are mostly male and i hope that would make it less atractive to them

fun fact at the end: the western digital my passport now has a 3 years warranty: mine only lasted one

so thank you all again * kotau and curtsey*

as i am a graphic designer, fell free to contact me with any design /creativesuite related questions.

[Cold Warrior]

I had a WD Passport die recently after a bit over 1 year. I opened the case and input the drive's serial number into their warranty checker and it told me it's still eligible for free replacement.

WD Support > Warranty & RMA Services

Maybe you'll be in the same boat.

[the_riotgirl]

someone on macrumors suggested looking for a ssd drive now instead of a normal one, so i looked it up and because they are also produced by WD, i stumbled over the warranty check too!!

i am so used to trowing away computer-related stuff i paid hundrets of bucks a year ago that i had totally given up the idea that there might actually be something like customer care!

*shake my booty to the left, shake it to the right, doing some hula moves* yeah!!!