External drive starting to run hot

[Charlie98]

I've got a 500GB Hitachi HDD in a Seagate external USB3.0 enclosure I use for general backup purposes. All of a sudden now it's running in the high 40C's/low 50C's... and peaked at 57C this AM during a backup session.

Using CrystalDisk to monitor my drives, the other 5-odd drives run around 30-35C (idle or even high-write sessions) as did the Hitachi... this is sort of 'all of a sudden.'

Do abnormal higher temps indicate pending failure of any sort... with the understanding that high temps in and of itself aren't a good thing for longevity.

SMART data from this AM...

 

[corkyg]

That is high - provided the temp data is accurate. Does the external case have its own cooling fan? Is it metal or plastic? What happens if you run it on USB2?

 

[Charlie98]

That is high - provided the temp data is accurate. Does the external case have its own cooling fan? Is it metal or plastic? What happens if you run it on USB2?

It's a standard Seagate external drive enclosure... no fan, metal.

I have it plugged into my USB3.0 expansion card... I'll swap it into the mobo plug and see.

 

[dbcooper1]

How much higher is this than what you're used to for this particular drive?

 

[BonzaiDuck]

How much higher is this than what you're used to for this particular drive?

Right. The question is whether he had ALWAYS noticed these temperatures for the external drive or -- did he only start watching the temperatures after the drive had been in use for some time.

Seagates had at one time a rep for running a tad warm. I just put a hardly-used Seagate 320GB SATA-II drive in one of my external boxes converted to eSATA. I see it's temperature at around 42C with light activity-- maybe 45C with heavy activity (I tested it.) The box has its own fan; it is quite roomy; it has ventilation slots that will clog up if the drive is either run all the time or never cleaned. The other drives in my system(s) are running between 28C and 35C over a range of load conditions and room ambients.

 

[corkyg]

"...the other 5-odd drives run around 30-35C (idle or even high-write sessions) as did the Hitachi... this is sort of 'all of a sudden."

RTP, guys! 🙂

 

[Charlie98]

What happens if you run it on USB2?

Corky, you nailed it. I swapped it into a 3.0 mobo plug and it ran at 31C all day. I swapped it back to the expansion card and it's back up to 39C!

OK, next qwerstion: Why? 😕

EDIT: They are both USB3.0 plugs... I haven't stabbed it into a 2.0 yet.

 

[Charlie98]

...or maybe not. 🙁

Once again the Hitachi was at 57C while writing it's daily Acronis backup on the mobo USB3.0 plug.

So I pulled the drive out of the enclosure and put it in my HDD cradle and reran the Acronis backup... the temperature actually dropped while writing, as opposed to holding or going up. It's down to 41C.

Nothing has changed in the enclosure... it's clean.

Power adapter? USB3.0 cable?

 

[corkyg]

My sense is that it is a poorly designed enclosure. USB3 seems to require more ventilation. All my externals are in Vantec aluminum ones with good cooling. I also run them on eSATA. That is about as fast as USB 3, but much more mature.

 

[Charlie98]

My sense is that it is a poorly designed enclosure. USB3 seems to require more ventilation. All my externals are in Vantec aluminum ones with good cooling. I also run them on eSATA. That is about as fast as USB 3, but much more mature.

Yaa, but it's just odd that it just started doing it recently. 😕 I think I'll make plans to replace it anyhow...