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General discussion

My Western Digital MyBook seems to have suddenly stopped

Jun 3, 2009 12:28PM PDT

I've got a 500 GB Western Digital MyBook external hard drive. For some reason it appears to have just stopped working. The light on the front of it is on, but solid on. Normally it goes on and off. The error in the event log is:

"The device, \Device\Sbp2\WD&My Book&0&0090a9d2_c1eb6229_Instance00, did not respond within the timeout period."

What could be causing this?

Discussion is locked

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Here and in our storage forum.
Jun 3, 2009 9:00PM PDT

The common reason is component death. If people need the files back they get the hard disk into another enclosure and if not they call WD for an exchange.

That message is not unusual but I have not seen it caused by corrupt file systems so I'm leaning to component death.
Bob

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Re: component death
Jun 3, 2009 10:00PM PDT

Meaning that the whole external HD has died?

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No.
Jun 3, 2009 10:10PM PDT

Either the electronics in the case or the disk or both, but that's unlikely. Swapping the disk to a new case will tell if the disk still is readable or must be replaced.

Kees

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WD MyBook 500 GB hard disk not mounting.
Nov 8, 2009 6:47PM PST

Hi, similar to Dr. Who's post, my external HD (2 years old) is not mounting anymore on my MacBook Pro.
It is making a clicking noise a few times trying to mount and then stops.
Using Disk Utility does not help. It shows the icon disk but nil of the functions are highlighted to do anything (erase, repair, check... Nothing can be done).
As Kees advised in previous post, I shall try to remove the disk and put it in an external HD case to save the data.
BUT, where can I find instructions on how to open the WD 500 case?
I have removed the plastic seal but can't see any screws to remove?
Thanks for any help.
Freddy

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Where.
Nov 8, 2009 7:59PM PST

I think you could ask on any internet search engine. The reason I don't supply a link is that this is a survival skill best learned.