[Tetsuya]

I have an external 1TB hard drive that i use for mass storage - It's a FW/USB capable drive from Buffalo (It's got a WD drive inside), and worked like a champ from when we unboxed it several months ago until just recently.

I download a lot of TV shows in torrent form, and just in the last two weeks or so, the drive seems to have gone flaky. The drive now seems to crap out at random - not get corrupted or anything, but despite the fact that it seems to be working and you can hear the drive spinning, it doesn't want to read anymore - Torrent clients report an Input/Output error and cease trying to write to the drive.

I am curious as to what might cause this kind of behaviour, and why it might start doing this now after working correctly for months prior to this. Also, the drive works fine when a torrent client isnt running - you can open the drive, read/write to it, and load any of the files on the drive. It just seems to do this behaviour when a torrent client is trying to use it. Again, puzzled why it would do this after months of no problems.

It is connected to my old G5 via Firewire, and disk utility reports no problems with the drive of any kind.

Thanks!

[yo-mike]

Tetsuya, on September 19th 2009, 08:15 PM, said:

I download a lot of TV shows in torrent form, and just in the last two weeks or so, the drive seems to have gone flaky. The drive now seems to crap out at random - not get corrupted or anything, but despite the fact that it seems to be working and you can hear the drive spinning, it doesn't want to read anymore - Torrent clients report an Input/Output error and cease trying to write to the drive.

I am curious as to what might cause this kind of behaviour, and why it might start doing this now after working correctly for months prior to this. Also, the drive works fine when a torrent client isnt running - you can open the drive, read/write to it, and load any of the files on the drive. It just seems to do this behaviour when a torrent client is trying to use it. Again, puzzled why it would do this after months of no problems.

It is connected to my old G5 via Firewire, and disk utility reports no problems with the drive of any kind.

Thanks!

I wonder if it's the FW connection inside the drive housing. The porsche drives have been noted to have
cheap connectors. Have you taken it appart lately?

I have a Neptune FW drive from OWC that's lasted me a long time, like 4 years - built like a tank. Unfortunate they discontinued it.

Take your drive case apart and check it out.

-Mike

[Tetsuya]

in your opinion, if i switched to using USB, if the FW was the problem, would it then clear up?

'cause ive got a cable sitting right here.

Thanks for the tip. I'm about to crack the case and put the drive into my Pro and let Tech Tool and Diskwarrior disembowl it.

[yo-mike]

Tetsuya, on September 19th 2009, 09:19 PM, said:

in your opinion, if i switched to using USB, if the FW was the problem, would it then clear up?

It should. Thought it could be the whole port assembly. It may be the soldering (most likely if anything)

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'cause ive got a cable sitting right here.

Thanks for the tip. I'm about to crack the case and put the drive into my Pro and let Tech Tool and Diskwarrior disembowl it.

Yeah, I'd try out USB for a while before I do anything. (After I gave it a thorough check)

Good luck,
-Mike

[Tetsuya]

Hmm, USB didn't work any better, and i can't figure out how to get into the case. There don't appear to be any screws at all.

Its a Buffalo Drivestation case, if that helps.

[the Battle Cat]

DiskWarrior and Tech Tool can easily diagnose and repair an external drive, no need to install it into your Mac Pro.

[PeopleLikeFrank]

Open up the drive and make sure that the HD is still well connected to the internal connectors. It may seem unlikely, but I've had external drives which had managed to work their connections slightly loose, giving unreliable performance without anything else seemingly wrong.

[yo-mike]

Tetsuya, on September 20th 2009, 09:09 AM, said:

Hmm, USB didn't work any better, and i can't figure out how to get into the case. There don't appear to be any screws at all.

Its a Buffalo Drivestation case, if that helps.

Hmm, there should be some way to get inside it. You said there's a WD drive inside. But, it may not be the port soldering and the wires afterall. The world may never know - You've got a tootsie-pop drive assembly.Start licking it and count how many times you licked it to get inside it.

Had you watched MacGyver enough you wouldn't need to be wondering.

Aside from that, DiskWarrior and a few other drive utilities, including your startup DVD should be able to repair any drive corrution, data, and bad blocks.
But, since it's a bunch of torrented stuff, just disembowl it.

-Mike

[yo-mike]

I'd also run MacScan on it just for kicks, Tetsuya.

-Mike

[Tetsuya]

the Battle Cat, on September 20th 2009, 07:07 AM, said:

DiskWarrior and Tech Tool can easily diagnose and repair an external drive, no need to install it into your Mac Pro.

TechTool is out; my copy doesnt work with 10.6 and wont boot my Pro, and i dont have the cash to afford to upgrade.

[Tetsuya]

finally cracked the case - no screws, just lots of tabs you have to pry at and hope you do nt break. Bad design for working in, otherwise, no complaints as it is quiet and very svelte.

However...

Drive is dying.

Ive never had so many HD problems as i've had in the last 6 months - ive never suffered a hardware failure before, and now ive suffered two in 5 months.

So now i need to get a backup for my backup for my backup?

[yo-mike]

Tetsuya, on September 20th 2009, 05:06 PM, said:

finally cracked the case - no screws, just lots of tabs you have to pry at and hope you do nt break. Bad design for working in, otherwise, no complaints as it is quiet and very svelte.

Wow! Sounds like big buffalo followed Apple's Mac mini design.
How much did that puppy cost? Is it under warranty still? At least WD has a couple years warranty, at least.

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However...

Drive is dying.

Son of a pup! A WD drive dying! We must be in the twilight zone! Maybe there's a cash for crappers program out there!!??

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Ive never had so many HD problems as i've had in the last 6 months - ive never suffered a hardware failure before, and now ive suffered two in 5 months.

Have you been breaking mirrors again!?

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So now i need to get a backup for my backup for my backup?

Yep. That's 'Where It's At'

-Mike