"my book" westerndigital externaldrive

hello,,, i bought a westerndigital my book 1tb(a month ago is has been use about fourteen times),,and sometimes this driver dosnt turn the light on (when is turn on it works on my computer) and sometimes when i plug the driver it sounds like is working but no light and my computer doesnot recognised,,, so i have to unplugged the driver (cuase there isnt other way to do it,)and that is really bad cause can erase all my work..... my english isnot that great,, but i will apreciate any answer thanks

macbook pro 2.33ghz
my book studio edition

Run disk warrior on it.



www.strypesinpost.com

ok thanks,,, but as i say sometimes it works,,, this program is for recovery files right? so i make a backup for everything,, like a few minutes a go it was fine and then it got stock,,so finalcut stop to work at the same time,and again i have to unplugged,,, perhaps i shut return this,,

thanks.

Diskwarrior is used for rebuilding the directory structure on your hard drive.

Yes, you should return the WD and get something more substantial for editing.



www.strypesinpost.com

I have a huge stack of these drives that use only for archiving. I too have experienced the exact same symptoms.

1. Try the reset button on the back
2. These drives seem finicky about how they are turned on and off. Since they don't have a power switch, plug them in first, THEN connect the FW cable to your computer (carefully). Be careful that you never hot plug them with the FW plug backwards, you will fry your computer's FW port.

Even though that is the opposite of what you should do as far as safety for the FW connection, sometimes with these drives, this seems to be the only way to wake them up at times.

I too would not use these drives for editing, I only use them store P2 media and make two copies on two separate drives. Since then, I have moved from the WDs to using bare SATA drives with an OWC drive holder (can't recall the model number) but you slip bare drives into a kind of powered drive dock. Works better than the WDs and are about half the cost of the WDs since you just have to buy bare drives.

D

Those MyBooks are, literally, the worst drives I've ever had to use for any purpose. On the same level as those worthless "metal paperweights", the Lacie 200GB to 2TB range.


www.derekmok.com

We have been talking about this since their inception...they are HORRIBLE DRIVES for Audio / Video content (and print / internet / and any other digital storage you can think of). They only work when they want to. Worthless. A buddy of mine sent me one to send him back some footage and it wouldn't allow me to copy the footage (?)...so I wiped it and reinitialized it to get it to work. I would hate to have to depend on one of these for an archive...no way.

NEVER unplug a unit before dismounting it or turning off the switch FIRST. You could cause a power spike that could fry it. Launch Disk Utility to see if it is being seen by the OS. Try and mount it in there. If that doesn't work, boot from a Disk Warrior disk and rebuild the directory. That probably won't work either as these units are garbage and boot whenever they feel like it.

Best advice I can give on MyBook units...do whatever you have to do to get your stuff off of there and transfer it to a dependable CalDigit unit...then find the tallest building in your area, take the elevator or stairs to the top floor, stand on the roof and yell "LOOKOUT BELOW" before you pitch that useless piece of plastic over the side.

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

thankyou so much for the answers ,, and now know that "my book" sucks,, and i didnt knew about that dan,,, so wich, besides dan answer you guys recommend??

Second and Third Derek and Joe's assessment - I see people buying them in the apple store and warn them off -- absolute piece of junk - spend the extra money - avoid the head and heart ache and go with real video tested drives -- Caldigit - G-Raids etc....well worth the money

They're just fine for DV work, if you treat them carefully, as covered above and ad infinitum.

But watch out for loose internal connections, the Q/A is not super high, and a drive may seem dead when it's actually due to jostling or storage in the trunk of your car, and the inside connections come loose. It's a possible quick fix. I would counsel unplugging connection and power and opening up that WD to see if the connections are soldered or if you could actually feel if they're loose.

We all agree, you generally get what you pay for.

- Loren

Today's FCP 7 keytip:
Jump-back to your pre-roll value with Control-Command-Spacebar !

Your Final Cut Studio KeyGuide? Power Pack.
Now available at KeyGuide Central.
www.neotrondesign.com

I know this doesn't help you in your situation, the last thing you want to hear is someone criticizing your drive choice... but literally *EVERY* Western Digital MyBook that I've worked with has ended up toast. Every time a client hands me one of those things, I groan. They have terrible power management, and inevitably they fail.

Do yourself a favor - back that drive up and then use it as a paperweight.

i didnt knew that ,before,,, it shut be a list of the best drivers and the worst,, cause not everybody have the opportunity to work with all of them, to see wich one is better,, i would rather get my money back ,instead of use this as a papaerweight ,,ja, but thanks to all,, and sometimes is kind of difficult here in mexico get the new stuff,, so always we, or in my case have to buy in usa,,, cuase here in mex is really expensive(more than twice ),, kind of paradox or perfect irony,, cause we make less money ,, anyway.
thanks.

I can't talk about WD externals, I only use LaCie D2's, and only for DV or now for ProRes422 LT. My G4 tower has been functioning fine for 8 years with WD drives for bootup -- including one upgrade to roomier WD versions. But these are bare internal drives, and a lot of the QA issues go to the FireWire or other bridge electronics on the externals.

I would not hammer these drives with anything but a few streams of DV25 or equivalent.

- Loren

Today's FCP 7 keytip:
Jump-back to your pre-roll value with Control-Command-Spacebar !

Your Final Cut Studio KeyGuide? Power Pack.
Now available at KeyGuide Central.
www.neotrondesign.com

I use one "my book" WD for bringing non critical data to training session... because it the quietest FW drive I know in that range.

besides thats...

---------------------------------
A Day late & a Dollar-short Productions

I think all data that needs to be transported is "critical data" and should not be trusted to these boat anchors. I would not trust WD MyBook units to keep papers from blowing off my desk.

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

I paid exactly 145 Euros for my MyBook 1 TB, and it worked for exactly 6 months. One day on the road, it just stopped working. As a person who is traveling out of his suitcase, you can well imagine the sh1t fit I had. I literally TORE the Western Digital drive from its case with my bare hands (the only tools I had), and plugged it into one of my USB 2 cases....and Voila!!
The drive was not dead, or bricked, it was simply the MyBook case that sh1t the bed.

Rest assured, I will NEVER purchase anything WD again, and am now looking to Caldigit to make sure that this HEART ATTACK never hits me again.

To be fair, every drive dies sometime, especially if it's being carried around. That's why you pay a premium for those bus-powered, portable drives; their light weight makes them a better choice for on-the-move use.

But yeah, MyBooks are much more likely to fail. Even their chassis feels flimsy, like Maxtors.


www.derekmok.com