1. SPS Accounts:
    Do you find yourself coming back time after time? Do you appreciate the ongoing hard work to keep this community focused and successful in its mission? Please consider supporting us by upgrading to an SPS Account. Besides the warm and fuzzy feeling that comes from supporting a good cause, you'll also get a significant number of ever-expanding perks and benefits on the site and the forums. Click here to find out more.
    Dismiss Notice
Dismiss Notice
You are currently viewing Boards o' Magick as a guest, but you can register an account here. Registration is fast, easy and free. Once registered you will have access to search the forums, create and respond to threads, PM other members, upload screenshots and access many other features unavailable to guests.

BoM cultivates a friendly and welcoming atmosphere. We have been aiming for quality over quantity with our forums from their inception, and believe that this distinction is truly tangible and valued by our members. We'd love to have you join us today!

(If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you've forgotten your username or password, click here.)

Western Digital MyBook 500GB Problems

Discussion in 'Techno-Magic' started by Sir Belisarius, Jun 20, 2009.

  1. Sir Belisarius

    Sir Belisarius Viconia's Boy Toy Distinguished Member ★ SPS Account Holder

    Joined:
    Jul 7, 2000
    Messages:
    4,257
    Media:
    23
    Likes Received:
    4
    Gender:
    Male
    Remove all ads!
    Hey all - I have a Western Digital 500GB MyBook I was planning to use to transfer my files to a new pc I'm getting. I've had it 2 or 3 years, and it's never really worked reliably. Sometimes my pc recognizes the drive, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes the spinning LED display runs constantly, as if it's updating something, but nothing is ever happening on the drive.

    Today, I tried to move all my files over to the WD drive, but now my pc won't recognize it. I've tried removing and restarting the programs, and now it even refuses to format the drive to it's default settings. Any suggestions on getting this piece of crap running again?

    My new pc comes next week and I'd like to have everything ready for it.
     
    Sir Belisarius, Jun 20, 2009
    #1
  2. 8people

    8people 8 is just another way of looking at infinite ★ SPS Account Holder Adored Veteran

    Joined:
    Apr 20, 2002
    Messages:
    7,141
    Media:
    74
    Likes Received:
    133
    Gender:
    Female
    [​IMG] I got the 640Gb one and have had no trouble apart from when the cable got damaged. Sometimes it wouldn't pick it up at all though the LEDs would flicker a little.

    Other than that, does it run on a friends PC or a laptop? Could be on your computer it has trouble, have had mild issue with my boyfriends vista laptop, though my ex has the same model and works fine on HIS vista laptop.
     
    8people, Jun 20, 2009
    #2
  3. Taluntain

    Taluntain Resident Alpha and Omega Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Resourceful Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) BoM XenForo Migration Contributor [2015] (for helping support the migration to new forum software!)

    Joined:
    Jun 11, 2000
    Messages:
    23,645
    Media:
    494
    Likes Received:
    564
    Gender:
    Male
    I've got the same drive as you Bel and I've never had any problems with it. Judging by what you've described it sounds more like a cable/connection/Windows issue than a problem with the drive. Try connecting it to one of your computer's USB ports on the back of the box - those should be the most reliable. Also check the connectors on the drive and the cable and blow away any dust; it accumulates in the drive's sockets pretty fast.

    As for the LED activity, that's Windows' fault and it's very annoying... Windows has the nasty habit of accessing or indexing every drive you connect and turning it off is near-impossible as even when done properly, Windows often overrides the setting. It causes problems like the inability to safely disconnect the drive as well. But that's all Windows' fault (XP anyway, hopefully it's not such a problem in Vista any more).
     
    Taluntain, Jun 21, 2009
    #3
  4. Sir Belisarius

    Sir Belisarius Viconia's Boy Toy Distinguished Member ★ SPS Account Holder

    Joined:
    Jul 7, 2000
    Messages:
    4,257
    Media:
    23
    Likes Received:
    4
    Gender:
    Male
    I've tried connecting and reconnecting the USB ports, reinstalling the software and everything else. I'm thinking of mailing it back to WD and tell them to stuff it! I picked up a Seagate external drive yesterday, and amazingly, it backed up all my files, and I could retrieve them with ease. I've bought Seagate internal drives before and never had any trouble with them either...I guess I'll stick with what I know from now on.
     
    Sir Belisarius, Jun 21, 2009
    #4
  5. Taluntain

    Taluntain Resident Alpha and Omega Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Resourceful Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) BoM XenForo Migration Contributor [2015] (for helping support the migration to new forum software!)

    Joined:
    Jun 11, 2000
    Messages:
    23,645
    Media:
    494
    Likes Received:
    564
    Gender:
    Male
    Well, it could be faulty, I guess... but I've only ever had good experiences with WD drives...
     
    Taluntain, Jun 21, 2009
    #5
  6. Sir Belisarius

    Sir Belisarius Viconia's Boy Toy Distinguished Member ★ SPS Account Holder

    Joined:
    Jul 7, 2000
    Messages:
    4,257
    Media:
    23
    Likes Received:
    4
    Gender:
    Male
    I know. I'm just bitter.
     
    Sir Belisarius, Jun 21, 2009
    #6
  7. Taluntain

    Taluntain Resident Alpha and Omega Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Resourceful Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) BoM XenForo Migration Contributor [2015] (for helping support the migration to new forum software!)

    Joined:
    Jun 11, 2000
    Messages:
    23,645
    Media:
    494
    Likes Received:
    564
    Gender:
    Male
    That's understandable, there aren't many other things potentially more troublesome than hard drives holding all our precious data that don't work as they should...
     
    Taluntain, Jun 21, 2009
    #7
Sorcerer's Place is a project run entirely by fans and for fans. Maintaining Sorcerer's Place and a stable environment for all our hosted sites requires a substantial amount of our time and funds on a regular basis, so please consider supporting us to keep the site up & running smoothly. Thank you!

Sorcerers.net is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to products on amazon.com, amazon.ca and amazon.co.uk. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.