Hard Drive Keeps Disconnecting

dawnofthedead · 11 Nov 2014 at 20:43

Hey guys, would appreciate some help with my problem..

I've had a WD Red 3TB drive now for around 6 months (used as a secondary hd for storage). In the past month or so the drive will randomly disconnect (makes that power loss noise). It has happened whilst attempting to open files.

Straight after the problem I've shutdown my PC then turned it back on again, it would then automatically start CHKDSK which hasn't showed any problems so far.

This has happened 4/5 times in the past month and 3 times in the past week or so.

I've looked at HDTune Pro (and completed an extended WD Life Diagnostics test) and it says everything is ok.

What do you think is causing this issue and should I request a replacement?

Thanks.

Alex h · 11 Nov 2014 at 22:24

have you checked sata lead try different lead or and different sata port

dawnofthedead · 13 Nov 2014 at 18:01

I've tried a different SATA port and the same thing happened. I haven't tried a different SATA cable yet, what are the best ones to buy or are they all pretty much the same?

The one i'm using now is a Delock with metal locking attachments and is around 4 months old.

How likely is it that the SATA cable is the culprit and not the HDD? Or could it even be something else?

Thanks.

wazza300 · 13 Nov 2014 at 18:03

looked in windows power saving/advanced profile then set the hdd sleep option to never,see if that's affecting it in anyway

as for sata cables the cheapest you can get,they are all the same performance wise sata2 and 3

dawnofthedead · 13 Nov 2014 at 23:12

wazza300 said:
looked in windows power saving/advanced profile then set the hdd sleep option to never,see if that's affecting it in anyway

as for sata cables the cheapest you can get,they are all the same performance wise sata2 and 3

Thanks, but it's already set to - Turn off Hard Disk after - Never.

The drive isn't going to sleep, it's cutting out/disconnecting which is why I keep having CHKDSK start after each time it happens.

dawnofthedead · 26 Nov 2014 at 18:13

Right, so I've tried a different Sata port, different Sata data cable and neither have worked it still keeps cutting out.

I'm going to try using a different Sata power connector. Would that make a difference? or will it be that because the Sata power connectors are connected to the same cable, that all of the connectors will be dodgy?

dawnofthedead · 28 Nov 2014 at 05:04

dawnofthedead said:
Right, so I've tried a different Sata port, different Sata data cable and neither have worked it still keeps cutting out.

I'm going to try using a different Sata power connector. Would that make a difference? or will it be that because the Sata power connectors are connected to the same cable, that all of the connectors will be dodgy?

Any help?

wonko · 28 Nov 2014 at 08:01

Any disk related.warnings or errors showing in windows.event logs?

bledd · 28 Nov 2014 at 09:34

I've seen issues with sata cables, sata ports, power connectors and drives.

As above, check eventviewer

Also try another power connector.

Power saving won't cause a hard drive to disconnect. I've got tons of drives in my backup server, they all power down and spin up flawlessly.

wazza300 · 28 Nov 2014 at 13:40

what motherboard are you using? enabling sata hot swap for each port in the bios might help things,ive had to do that to get certain hdd's to show up

other than that I would double/triple check the molex power and sata cables

dawnofthedead · 28 Nov 2014 at 20:34

Thanks for the replys..

Atm i'm trying a different power connector (still too early to tell if it's solved the issue).

Looking at event viewer, I see the following error for each time the drive has disconnected:

The device, \Device\Harddisk0\DR0, has a bad block.

wazza300 · 28 Nov 2014 at 22:16

You right clicked the drive and ran chkdisk?

dawnofthedead · 2 Dec 2014 at 02:25

The things I've tried so far to solve the issue:

1. Different Sata Cable.

2. Different Sata Power Connector (from non modular power supply but seems to connected through the same wires as the previous power connector I tried).

3. Different Sata Port.

4. Virus and malware/spyware scans.

5. CHKDSK, HDTune scan and WD Data Lifeguard Diagnostics.

Is there anything else I could try or should I just request a replacement?

Thanks.

Ch3m1c4L · 3 Dec 2014 at 16:19

did you do a chkdsk /b or just a normal one? do a /b one. it should map the bad blocks, and try to recover anything it can. if it still happens after that :/

wonko · 3 Dec 2014 at 16:54

It seems odd that the windows event log says "bad block' but there aren't any showing in the SMART data.

Have you checked that Harddisk0/DR0 is definitely the WD Red drive? Perhaps a long shot (especially as you say it happens when opening files), but could it be a different disk in the system which has a problem, and for some odd reason it's disconnecting this WD Red?

Otherwise, is the drive connected to standard intel/amd southbridge ports on the motherboard? If it's connected to an expansion card or 'extra' sata ports on the motherboard (e.g. off a marvell chipset) then try the main motherboard sata ports.

dawnofthedead · 4 Dec 2014 at 03:30

wonko said:
It seems odd that the windows event log says "bad block' but there aren't any showing in the SMART data.

Have you checked that Harddisk0/DR0 is definitely the WD Red drive? Perhaps a long shot (especially as you say it happens when opening files), but could it be a different disk in the system which has a problem, and for some odd reason it's disconnecting this WD Red?

Otherwise, is the drive connected to standard intel/amd southbridge ports on the motherboard? If it's connected to an expansion card or 'extra' sata ports on the motherboard (e.g. off a marvell chipset) then try the main motherboard sata ports.

It's connected to the main motherboard sata ports.

I was mistaken when I typed the event viwer error..It doesn't say The device, \Device\Harddisk0\DR0, has a bad block.

It says The device, \Device\Harddisk1\DR1, has a bad block.

So the 1 would indicate the WD red and 0 would be my ssd (right?).

It seems like I might have to get a replacement..

I'd be gutted if that's the case as I have over 1TB of files on it.

wonko · 4 Dec 2014 at 11:21

I can't be sure that Harddisk1\DR1 will be your HDD, it probably is but will depend on the order that the disks are enumerated by windows when booting. I think it should be the same order as they show up under disk management - so if your SSD is above the HDD (assuming only 2 disks) then the HDD should be DR1. It's worth doing a diagnostics test on your SSD anyway just in case it's a factor.

I'm still puzzled that the windows error log says 'bad block' but there are no pending or bad sectors showing in SMART data or diagnostics. It makes me wonder if something else is causing it like a power supply problem (for a bad block I'd expect some recalibration type clicks but not cause the disk to spin down).

Can you try the HDD in another PC, and/or borrow a friend's spare HDD to put in yours for a while? It would help work out where the problem lies.

If you RMA the disk back to WD, you may have a problem if the diagnostics don't indicate a problem. It might save some hassle if you contact them via their forums first to explain the problem and get agreement to RMA.

WD do an advance RMA service, where they send you a replacement disk (possibly a recertified one) before you send yours back. This might help with transferring data, but it sounds as if you haven't got proper backups so TBH you'd be better off buying an additional disk anyway.

dawnofthedead · 4 Dec 2014 at 17:53

wonko said:
I can't be sure that Harddisk1\DR1 will be your HDD, it probably is but will depend on the order that the disks are enumerated by windows when booting. I think it should be the same order as they show up under disk management - so if your SSD is above the HDD (assuming only 2 disks) then the HDD should be DR1. It's worth doing a diagnostics test on your SSD anyway just in case it's a factor.

I'm still puzzled that the windows error log says 'bad block' but there are no pending or bad sectors showing in SMART data or diagnostics. It makes me wonder if something else is causing it like a power supply problem (for a bad block I'd expect some recalibration type clicks but not cause the disk to spin down).

Can you try the HDD in another PC, and/or borrow a friend's spare HDD to put in yours for a while? It would help work out where the problem lies.

If you RMA the disk back to WD, you may have a problem if the diagnostics don't indicate a problem. It might save some hassle if you contact them via their forums first to explain the problem and get agreement to RMA.

WD do an advance RMA service, where they send you a replacement disk (possibly a recertified one) before you send yours back. This might help with transferring data, but it sounds as if you haven't got proper backups so TBH you'd be better off buying an additional disk anyway.

Looking at computer management, Disk1 is deffinitely the WD Red. I've just completed a full CHKDSK scan (both options ticked) which said no problems were found.

Most of the time the HD has cut out was when I've tried opening a file on the D: drive (or even just single clicked on a file) but it has happened whilst just browsing the net and not attempting to use my D: drive.

I don't think it's the power supply because only the Hard Drive is disconnecting, the SSD and DVD/Blu Ray drive have never disconnected.

I have read in the last week or so (can't remember which forum) that you can get those bad block messages in event viewer from power cuts but not actually have any bad blocks on the drive.

Haven't got a spare PC or HDD, so it looks like i'll have to get a 2TB or 3TB external HDD and copy my files before getting a new HDD.

I have a non modular power supply and it seems some of the power connectors go through the same wiring, would that mean if one of the power connectors is damaged then the others around it are as well?

Only thing that is worrying me is, if i get a replacement and continue having the same problem.

Wouldn't know what to do then.

Terrier_Jimlad · 5 Dec 2014 at 00:05

After a fresh install, my Sammy F1 1TB disk does it often, if you've installed Intel Rapid Storage Technology software, fire that up and click the performance tab, and disable the power link mode and reboot ... it kinda powers off the disk every so often without windows knowing about it.