I accidentally rested my elbow on my WD 4TB My Passport external hard drive while adjusting my position and heard a disturbing buzzing sound. It scared me, so I quickly lifted my elbow off and copied all the contents to my laptop. Now, I'm concerned that the drive might be damaged and could fail. Is it normal for a drive to be that sensitive? Am I overreacting, or should I seriously consider replacing it and maybe get a sturdier case for it? I've heard that external drives can fail without warning, and I'd love to hear some insights or experiences from others.
3 Answers
It's possible that moving your elbow created an issue where the drive parts could've come too close together. I'd suggest using a program like CrystalDisk to check for errors now. Look out for any bad sectors or high retry counts. If you see any red flags, it might be time to let go of it.
It’s definitely possible that some pressure caused a weird sound. If you haven’t heard it buzzing since, that’s a good sign. I recommend running a full diagnostic scan on the drive to check its health. If it checks out, you might be okay, but definitely keep regular backups, just in case!
YIKES! I think I’ll just buy a new one - but I will do this to see how bad it is first :/
Just to clarify, it’s not that the drive is weak, but more that it has limits on durability. The inner mechanisms are really sensitive. If it’s making strange sounds now, that's a sign to be cautious. It's a good idea to check for any deformations or sounds that don’t seem normal.
Oh shit - I don’t know - seems like it’s too small to have a fan but I definitely hear the whirring when it’s working :/
I hope so!!! Only because I don’t want anything wrong with the files since I copied them to my laptop and I don’t want there to be anything wrong with them!!! I’m definitely getting rid of this - will try to e-cycle responsibly and drop off at Best Buy or something.