WD Elements (Desktop Version) Making Beeping Sound (4 Months Old)

whatswrongwithya on 13/12/2022 - 07:15

After research I found WD to be reliable than other options. I was wrong.

Today, The desktop external hard drive crashed! It started making beep sound (like two beeps with 4 seconds interval) and failed to initiate and wouldn't show up as a drive in My PC.

Some people on the internet suggested to tap it hard because the heads get stuck if the drive is not used for some time (1-2 months in my case)

Some people said WD would only replace a unit and will not do anything to recover the data or repair the drive.

Its a 6TB Desktop Elements Drive with nearly 3TB of data since July 2022.

What are my options?

Computing Computer Peripheral External Hard Drive Western Digital

Comments

  • oscargamer on 13/12/2022 - 07:21
    -2

    Go to the WD website and read what is on there about failed external drives.

  • holdenmg on 13/12/2022 - 07:36
    +1

    Sounds like a Roadrunner… Call a Coyote from ACME Corp?

    Seriously though…
    WD says data recovery @
    https://support-in.wd.com/app/datarecovery?selregion=WD_APAC

  • MS Paint on 13/12/2022 - 07:58
    +3

    What are my options?

    Return drive under warranty.

    Restore lost data from your backup.

    Carry on.

    • FoxJump on 13/12/2022 - 08:42

      I've had a backup fail on me. i was fine because the other backup was still good.

      i had as laptop suffer sudden water damage.
      i was fine because it's data was backed up

  • nearbyghost on 13/12/2022 - 08:28
    -1

    Treat your drive more carefully and keep backups.

  • [Deactivated] on 13/12/2022 - 09:05

    Warranty does not cover data recovery, only the physical repair/replacement of the drive itself.

    If you can't recover the data yourself, you can go through a data recovery company, but it won't be cheap, so you need to determine if your data is worth it.

    As for backups, a backup truly isn't a backup unless there's more than 2 backups (in addition to the original copy) and one is offsite.

  • MiniMyna on 13/12/2022 - 09:39

    My WD 6TB did exactly this, on Monday, after getting the 12 tb version. Transferred backups just fine, went to format it, then beep beep spinning up sound. Completely gone.

    This was bought in 2020, it was the My Book version (hardware encryption in the interface, but pretty sure the same drive as the 6TB elements) & it failed almost exactly 2 years and 1 month in, with a warranty period of 2 years. Only about 150 hours on the drive.

    Seeing as I didn't want to fight WD support, or send it in for warranty replacement with business data on it ( https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/11/half-… - not sure how this applies to warranty returns, but yeah ) it got shucked and put in desktop PC. Same issue, no matter which sata interface / port tried. Drive is completely gone.

    Took a hammer to it and hoping the 12 TB lasts longer.

    • whatswrongwithya on 13/12/2022 - 10:28

      and the recommended data recovery charges $1500-$2000.

  • bdl on 13/12/2022 - 10:26

    Return it under warranty, no biggie. It's a machine, and machines break.

  • Switchblade88 on 13/12/2022 - 10:43

    Note that it can be the enclosure/USB adapter that could be dead, and the internal HDD is fine. Having said that, some external cases (MyBooks I think) encrypt the drives. But it'd be very well worth removing the drive to try and recover your data.

    If it still fails, you can still send it to WD under warranty and state that the drive was 'disassembled for attempted data recovery purposes' which won't void your warranty.

    • bdl on 13/12/2022 - 23:05

      when they made the beep beep chirpy sound, usually a dodgy HD

  • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 13/12/2022 - 14:43

    Easy. Restore your data from a backup onto a fresh drive.

    You did keep backups right? right?

  • rooster on 13/12/2022 - 15:11

    heads are stuck to the platter possibly, but most modern drives lift them off when they power down.

    You need to spin it a few times in the horizontal plan to move the disks or put the drive on its edge and tap it 5 cm down to the desk - a couple of times

    • whatswrongwithya on 13/12/2022 - 15:18

      Do I have to take it out from its enclosure to tap it?

  • Switchblade88 on 13/12/2022 - 23:35
    +1

    Have you tried a different power supply?

    It might sound like it's clicking because the drive is trying to spin up but the adapter isn't providing sufficient current and it's cutting out. Try a 12v power supply that fits.

    DO NOT bang or tap the drive, if the heads are stuck then it's well beyond fixing and needs to be sent off.

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