WD Passport failure?

[benjamin.mtzgr]

I have a 2TB WD My Passport. It has errors.

Things i've tried:

chkdsk /r
*I have ran it for 2 days in a clip.* it does fix errors, but eventually hangs.

WD diagnostic checks (quick test and the longer test both fail)

__

I can view the drive in windows explorer. I can go through most of the folder trees, but some folders are inaccessible. A few files will transfer to my desktop, but most will hang and either crash explorer or just never complete.

Anything I can do? Do I need to image the whole disk? would that be useful?

 

[LTC8K6]

Freezer trick?

 

[C1]

Hopefully the "Passport isnt using encryption. Otherwise, proceed to recover as much as possible from the HDD:
https://www.raymond.cc/blog/top-10-free-data-recovery-software/

My understanding is that these "Passport" type drives are integrated proprietary (ie, built on USB controller), so it wont be possible to transfer the drive to another enclosure or use it in a PC.

Advice is to not buy such stuff in the first place. If you want a high density HDD then purchase a full fledged retail box unit and put it into a five star rated enclosure purchased from Newegg. (Dont know how many times Ive had to say this.)

 

[benjamin.mtzgr]

i mean, this is just my portable drive. it doesn't have crazy important information on it. But it has 1.5 TB of stuff I would have to re-download. which I prefer not to.

What is the freezer trick?

 

[LTC8K6]

Freezer trick is exactly what it sounds like. Put the drive in the freezer for a while, take it out, and try to get the files off of it.

Effectiveness depends on exactly why the drive is failing, though.

 

[denis280]

Freezer trick is exactly what it sounds like. Put the drive in the freezer for a while, take it out, and try to get the files off of it.

Effectiveness depends on exactly why the drive is failing, though.

yep. and quick for the transfer

 

[PliotronX]

The hard drives that transfer slowly and peter out to a hang are the best candidates for the freezer trick. Ideally, you would place it inside an anti-static bag then in the freezer, but a baggy will work. The idea is to keep condensation minimal so don't throw it in the freezer naked. Leave it in for at least an hour or three. You have a 15-20 minute window before it returns to room temperature so go for the important stuff because you may not get another shot at the freezer trick (violent head crash).