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  1. Member
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    I have a 1TB external WD Hard Drive. I have been using it for 1 year and a half and I have never experienced any problem with it until recently.
    It showed no symptoms whatsoever, and suddenly just went crazy.

    It started right after I edited a video file with avidemux. It was a simple edit, just cutting some parts of the video and saving it without any compression.
    Things got weird when the saving hanged. So what I did was saving the raw file to another drive which went well.
    Then when I tried to play the file on the bad drive, it took so long to open and eventually made the whole system stuck that I had to force shutdown my laptop.
    Then that's when I knew something was wrong.

    The drive behaves differently each times I power up its enclosure, but it is usually one of these things:

    Drive doesn't mount.
    Drive mounts after a few minutes. I see a generic "Local Disk L:" in Windows Explorer but, when I try to explore its folders, the computer takes about 15 minutes trying to read it (I can see the progress bar moving slowly across the top of the screen), and then says that "The parameter is incorrect." Drive disappears from Windows Explorer.
    Drive mounts after a few minutes. I see the full Volume name that I originally gave it, and can see all of the folders/subfolders. However, I cannot open or copy any files from the drive — on the few occasions I've gotten this far, I tried to copy some files from the drive to a different drive (thinking that I could free up some space and maybe get further along in the CHKDSK process). I hit "Copy" on a single folder on the bad drive, and then hit “Paste” on my target drive. The computer spent an incredibly long time "calculating" the file names/sizes. Hours later, there was a new error message: An unexpected error is keeping you from copying the file. . . . Error 0x800704fD: The request could not be performed because of an I/O device error.” I clicked on "Try Again," and got the following error message: An error has occurred. The destination you have specified does not exist . . . The drive had already dismounted.
    ---------------------------------------------
    Sometimes, after the drive mounts, I run CHKDSK but it says that the drive is RAW.

    Then I’ll power-cycle the enclosure and try again, and CHKDSK says that the drive is NTFS and run its course... until I get to the "Insufficient disk space to fix the security descriptors data stream" message. Then I'm back at the command prompt.

    ---------------------------------------------
    Now I am running the chkdsk again and it remains at "CHDSK is verifying Usn journal" for more than 4 hours now.
    I am attaching the cmd log for you guys to see.

    Click image for larger version

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  2. DECEASED
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    That seems a hardware issue. Either the problem is in the connection between the HDD and the computer, or the problem is in the HDD itself. If I were you, I would be looking for a technician.
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    Originally Posted by El Heggunte View Post
    That seems a hardware issue. Either the problem is in the connection between the HDD and the computer, or the problem is in the HDD itself. If I were you, I would be looking for a technician.
    But it doesn't mean that my hard disk is dying, right? Because the files are accessible for a few seconds.
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  4. Dinosaur Supervisor KarMa's Avatar
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    I'd be trying to get anything important off it, and never trust it again. I also tend to have the most trouble with external hard drive. Like using a USB powered dongle to read standard laptop hard drives over long periods of time, killed one of my drives. It acts very much the same to your drive. I moved what I could off it and for files with errors I used Unstoppable Copier to make best effort copies of the damaged content.
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  5. Mod Neophyte Super Moderator redwudz's Avatar
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    Try a different USB cable and try it in a different socket, or better, a different PC.
    If the cable or the PC socket is bad, then the drive may be OK.

    If that fails, next would be to remove the HDD from it's external case and try to run it bare, without the USB interface.
    Unfortunately, those WD cases don't come apart easily.

    But my guess is the HDD is dead.
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    Originally Posted by aruwin View Post
    Originally Posted by El Heggunte View Post
    That seems a hardware issue. Either the problem is in the connection between the HDD and the computer, or the problem is in the HDD itself. If I were you, I would be looking for a technician.
    But it doesn't mean that my hard disk is dying, right? Because the files are accessible for a few seconds.
    HDDs rarely die suddenly. The symptoms you've described are signs of hardware failure. The good news is that since it's an external drive, the failure may be in the USB interface.

    As redwudz posted, try different USB ports (USB 3.0 if possible since it provides higher voltage than USB 2.0). This is especially important for a portable drive without an external power supply. If you're connecting through a hub, bypass the hub and connect directly to the USB port.

    If it has an external power supply, try another one. The power supplies do die.

    Listen to the drive as it powering up. It should make smooth whirring sound. If it speeds up and slows down (and you've tried it on different ports and different power supplies), it's dying. If you hear a clicking sound, the heads are sticking or stuck and your drive is dead.

    Try and access the drive with a Live Linux distro (such as Knoppix, Unbuntu, Puppy Linux). Linux is much better at mounting and accessing iffy drives than Windows. If it still isn't accessible in Linux, it's dead.
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    Originally Posted by lingyi View Post
    Originally Posted by aruwin View Post
    Originally Posted by El Heggunte View Post
    That seems a hardware issue. Either the problem is in the connection between the HDD and the computer, or the problem is in the HDD itself. If I were you, I would be looking for a technician.
    But it doesn't mean that my hard disk is dying, right? Because the files are accessible for a few seconds.
    HDDs rarely die suddenly. The symptoms you've described are signs of hardware failure. The good news is that since it's an external drive, the failure may be in the USB interface.

    As redwudz posted, try different USB ports (USB 3.0 if possible since it provides higher voltage than USB 2.0). This is especially important for a portable drive without an external power supply. If you're connecting through a hub, bypass the hub and connect directly to the USB port.

    If it has an external power supply, try another one. The power supplies do die.

    Listen to the drive as it powering up. It should make smooth whirring sound. If it speeds up and slows down (and you've tried it on different ports and different power supplies), it's dying. If you hear a clicking sound, the heads are sticking or stuck and your drive is dead.

    Try and access the drive with a Live Linux distro (such as Knoppix, Unbuntu, Puppy Linux). Linux is much better at mounting and accessing iffy drives than Windows. If it still isn't accessible in Linux, it's dead.
    I tried to different ports and even on a desktop but it takes an hour to detect the drive. At least on my laptop which the drive is used to be plugged into, it pops up immediately as it always do. I tried opening it on safe mode, and I could access the drive but it is soooo slowww.
    I managed to copy one file of 678MB and it took about 5 hours to complete. Did the chkdsk in safe mode too but it didn't succeed because it says "insufficient disk space to fix security deciptors data stream" or something like that. Should I delete some files?
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  8. Get the drive OUT of the USB enclosure and connect it up as an internal drive. BY FAR the most likely problem is a failure of the USB interface. The more operations you perform thru this interface, the more effed up it is likely to be. NEVER, EVER perform diagnostics or repairs on a USB enclosure that is demonstrating problems.

    Also, total BS that drives do not fail suddenly. They certainly do. It is possible that the drive itself is failing. YOU WILL NOT KNOW FOR CERTAIN until you remove it from the USB enclosure and connect it internally. The failure rate of the USB interface is far higher than the failure rate of the drive itself.
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    Originally Posted by Nelson37 View Post
    Get the drive OUT of the USB enclosure and connect it up as an internal drive. BY FAR the most likely problem is a failure of the USB interface. The more operations you perform thru this interface, the more effed up it is likely to be. NEVER, EVER perform diagnostics or repairs on a USB enclosure that is demonstrating problems.

    Also, total BS that drives do not fail suddenly. They certainly do. It is possible that the drive itself is failing. YOU WILL NOT KNOW FOR CERTAIN until you remove it from the USB enclosure and connect it internally. The failure rate of the USB interface is far higher than the failure rate of the drive itself.
    You mean I have to take the case out?
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  10. Member Krispy Kritter's Avatar
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    Most external drive failures are with the controller board or power circuit, not the actual HDD.

    And yes, they mean take the actual drive OUT of the case.

    *NOTE: Removing the drive from the enclosure will void your warranty. So if you intend to have it replaced under warrant, don't open it.
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    Originally Posted by Nelson37 View Post
    Also, total BS that drives do not fail suddenly. They certainly do. It is possible that the drive itself is failing. YOU WILL NOT KNOW FOR CERTAIN until you remove it from the USB enclosure and connect it internally. The failure rate of the USB interface is far higher than the failure rate of the drive itself.
    Okay, got me!

    I just realized that I've become so accustomed to monitoring my HDDs, , that barring physical damage (i.e. dropping) or a power surge (that fries electronic components) I'm rarely surpised when one dies.
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    Originally Posted by aruwin View Post
    I tried to different ports and even on a desktop but it takes an hour to detect the drive. At least on my laptop which the drive is used to be plugged into, it pops up immediately as it always do. I tried opening it on safe mode, and I could access the drive but it is soooo slowww.
    I managed to copy one file of 678MB and it took about 5 hours to complete. Did the chkdsk in safe mode too but it didn't succeed because it says "insufficient disk space to fix security deciptors data stream" or something like that. Should I delete some files?
    Yes, delete some files.

    https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc962242.aspx

    "Error Message:

    Insufficient disk space to fix the security descriptors data stream.

    Explanation:

    Chkntfs found a problem with the Security Descriptors Data Stream file ($SDS). This file contains the Access Control List (ACL) and owner information for the files on the NTFS volume. Chkntfs was unable to fix the corrupted file because there was not enough disk space to write all the information to the $SDS file.

    User Action:

    Delete some unneeded files from the disk and try again. If you continue to get this message, you may have to backup the hard disk, perform a low level format and restore the information."

    https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc962242.aspx


    However, your best course of action has been posted several times above unless you're planning to RMA the drive under warranty. Remove the drive from the case since it's highly likely to be a bad USB interface that hopefully hasn't permanently corrupted the drive's contents.
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  13. If I had important files on that drive, or even just files I wanted to keep, or if someone was paying me to fix the drive, I would not turn it on again in that enclosure, much less do ANYTHING AT ALL to it or the files on it. The USB interface is inserted between the operating system and the direct access to the drive, utilities especially but also basic commands to the drive are filtered, changed, or altered by that USB interface in a manner such that the OS is not aware in any way.

    It is already malfunctioning, in a fairly serious manner. STEP ONE is ALWAYS repeat ALWAYS to simplify the system in any way possible, and MOST ESPECIALLY if that simplification involves removing a component that is not only unnecessary, but KNOWN to be prone to failure at a fairly high rate. ADD TO THAT that the power requirements often cause issues over time with the PC's USB port, and a low-powered system such as a laptop magnifies this issue and increases the probability of serious problem.

    I would remove it from the case IMMEDIATELY with absolutely no second thought or qualm about destroying the case if necessary for removal. Next step is copy the desired files before doing anything else. Verify the files copied and are usable, then delete a few if desired, but this is much less important, next important and useful step is run a chkdsk on the drive, connected internally thru standard interface. Would almost certainly perform a complete wipe, delete partition, reboot, create partition and format, then run a thorough diagnostic with first chkdsk, then mfgr's free utility, followed by another third-party app. Analyze the results and if all is good, use as normal. If errors or failure, treat the drive as a separate unit from the enclosure and check warranty if available. if not, chuck it and get another, preferably e-sata rather than usb, or 1394 as a second choice, or if you only have USB, understand that it simply is not long-term reliable and make an effort to get an enclosure with a fan and external power supplly, or preferably, do without.
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    Originally Posted by Nelson37 View Post
    If I had important files on that drive, or even just files I wanted to keep, or if someone was paying me to fix the drive, I would not turn it on again in that enclosure, much less do ANYTHING AT ALL to it or the files on it. The USB interface is inserted between the operating system and the direct access to the drive, utilities especially but also basic commands to the drive are filtered, changed, or altered by that USB interface in a manner such that the OS is not aware in any way.

    It is already malfunctioning, in a fairly serious manner. STEP ONE is ALWAYS repeat ALWAYS to simplify the system in any way possible, and MOST ESPECIALLY if that simplification involves removing a component that is not only unnecessary, but KNOWN to be prone to failure at a fairly high rate. ADD TO THAT that the power requirements often cause issues over time with the PC's USB port, and a low-powered system such as a laptop magnifies this issue and increases the probability of serious problem.

    I would remove it from the case IMMEDIATELY with absolutely no second thought or qualm about destroying the case if necessary for removal. Next step is copy the desired files before doing anything else. Verify the files copied and are usable, then delete a few if desired, but this is much less important, next important and useful step is run a chkdsk on the drive, connected internally thru standard interface. Would almost certainly perform a complete wipe, delete partition, reboot, create partition and format, then run a thorough diagnostic with first chkdsk, then mfgr's free utility, followed by another third-party app. Analyze the results and if all is good, use as normal. If errors or failure, treat the drive as a separate unit from the enclosure and check warranty if available. if not, chuck it and get another, preferably e-sata rather than usb, or 1394 as a second choice, or if you only have USB, understand that it simply is not long-term reliable and make an effort to get an enclosure with a fan and external power supplly, or preferably, do without.
    So now, what I have to do is open the case, right? Open the case and then connect the usb cable to the usb port of my laptop and see what happens, right?
    Is there a tutorial on how to open a WD external hard drive?
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  15. Originally Posted by aruwin View Post
    [1] So now, what I have to do is open the case, right?
    [2] Open the case and then connect the usb cable to the usb port of my laptop and see what happens, right?
    [3] Is there a tutorial on how to open a WD external hard drive?
    [1] Yes!
    [2] No! Once the drive is out, connect directly via SATA (the link below will explain how)
    [3] Yes! https://www.google.com/search?q=wd+external+hard+drive+disassembly (protip - add your model number to the search terms)
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    Originally Posted by raffriff42 View Post
    Originally Posted by aruwin View Post
    [1] So now, what I have to do is open the case, right?
    [2] Open the case and then connect the usb cable to the usb port of my laptop and see what happens, right?
    [3] Is there a tutorial on how to open a WD external hard drive?
    [1] Yes!
    [2] No! Once the drive is out, connect directly via SATA (the link below will explain how)
    [3] Yes! https://www.google.com/search?q=wd+external+hard+drive+disassembly (protip - add your model number to the search terms)
    But it doesn't show how to connect it via SATA. How to do that?
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  17. Ummmmm .................... W T F?

    Stop immediately, find someone who has some clue what the hell they are doing, and have them do it for you.

    What do the words "Connect It Internally" mean to you? What exactly did you think opening the case, then leaving everything the same and connecting USB, (that would be the highly probably defective part) would accomplish?

    It doesn't show? Are you expecting an instructional video to automatically play?

    You take the drive out of the case, use a standard SATA cable and connect the drive to a SATA port in a desktop, plus a power cable, make sure it is a secondary drive and make no attempt to boot from it, then turn it on. You may need an adapter if this is a laptop drive. Repeat, I would highly recommend you find someone to do this for you. Not really much chance to eff up immensely, but .....ummmmmmm ..... Yeah.

    It is possible your laptop can connect a second SATA drive, but most don't
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    I usually encourage others to to experiment and learn, but I have to agree with Nelson37 that you should have someone who about computers do this for you. While it highly likely that the USB interface is the cause of your problems, if it's actually the drive itself, you may have a limited number of attempts at data recovery before it corrupts the data even more or dies completely.
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    Nelson37's advice is 100% correct.

    I had an external hard drive that had both USB and Firewire interfaces. I had been using the USB interface when all of a sudden it began acting as the OP described. I tried the Firewire interface and it worked without a hitch proving the hard drive was OK and the problem was with the internal circuit board inside the enclosure.

    Ultimately, I removed the hard drive and used it as an internal drive in an older PC.

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    So I educated myself after reading the posts here, on what a SATA means and what connect internally means etc.
    Because it is so hard to open the case, I thought I would go to a data recovery center to have my HD checked first, since diagnose is free.
    The dude took another hd cable and used it to connect my HD to some sort of a machine, then he just put my HD to his ear to hear any sounds.
    And only from that, he said it was a problem with the head. I don't know if I can trust him because he didn't even open the HD!
    And I didn't hear any weird sound when I put that HD to my ear.
    Anyway, he said there is a risk when doing recovery, that is, if the recovery is not successful, I'd lose all my data :O
    And if successful, he'd charge me 2200!!!!! That's crazy.
    I decided to go home and think about it.
    I guess I should do as Nelson37 advised, right?
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    This week I had a 2TB WD Green disk become inaccessible - although Windows acknowleged it's existence.
    It's a sata drive mounted in an external USB enclosure.
    Removed it and connected directly to a sata port, but the results were the same.
    Connected it to a Linux machine which read it without problems.
    After copying the files (many, many hours to a usb 2 port) I reinserted it in the Windows PC and ran chkdsk which repaired/flagged ? a bad sector.
    It then became readable.
    I guess I can use it as a scratch disk.
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    Originally Posted by sambat View Post
    This week I had a 2TB WD Green disk become inaccessible - although Windows acknowleged it's existence.
    It's a sata drive mounted in an external USB enclosure.
    Removed it and connected directly to a sata port, but the results were the same.
    Connected it to a Linux machine which read it without problems.
    After copying the files (many, many hours to a usb 2 port) I reinserted it in the Windows PC and ran chkdsk which repaired/flagged ? a bad sector.
    It then became readable.
    I guess I can use it as a scratch disk.
    Could you tell me more about your HD problem? Like how was it inaccessible and how old is it?
    Mine is fairly new, about 1 year and there is no weird sound coming from it.
    So what is a Linux machine? How did you use it to fix your HD?
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    Originally Posted by aruwin View Post
    Could you tell me more about your HD problem? Like how was it inaccessible and how old is it?
    Mine is fairly new, about 1 year and there is no weird sound coming from it.
    So what is a Linux machine? How did you use it to fix your HD?
    See PM.
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  24. Aruwin, that fella you took your drive to, that told you the recovery would destroy your data, well, you know how I told you to find somebody that has a clue? That dude ain't one of them. Bet money the "free" diagnosis is ALWAYS "it's broken".

    You are not at ALL ready to deal with linux, although a Linux Mint Live CD, which you can download for free, running on a desktop, might help if Windows won't read it, but don't bother downloading before trying with Windows, because that usually works.

    If you do get the Mint CD, make certain you DO NOT install it, just run live. The PC will boot from the cd and should access all drives on the desktop, but, I repeat, try windows first as it usually works.
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    The way I read the post, the statement given was correct if the failure is mechanical (a stuck or more accurately, sticking head since some data was able to be recovered). Just running the drive may cause [more] physical damage to the drive or platter.

    "Anyway, he said there is a risk when doing recovery, that is, if the recovery is not successful, I'd lose all my data :O
    And if successful, he'd charge me 2200!!!!! That's crazy."

    Also, 2200 (USD?) is not out of line if the drive has to be disassembled in a clean room and the platter moved to a working mechanism.

    What I find funny is that someone who's afraid to open up an external drive and doesn't even know how to attach a drive via SATA suddenly knows that he didn't "hear any weird sound when I put that HD to my ear."

    FWIW, I'm partially deaf in my right ear and can't tell if a drive sounds bad (constant power up / power down, clicking / ticking) with that ear, but can clearly hear it with my left ear.
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    Originally Posted by Nelson37 View Post

    You take the drive out of the case, use a standard SATA cable and connect the drive to a SATA port in a desktop, plus a power cable, make sure it is a secondary drive and make no attempt to boot from it, then turn it on. You may need an adapter if this is a laptop drive.
    What if my external hard drive does not have a SATA port? I just watched this video, because the HD in this is exactly the same brand as mine, WD My Passport Ultra ITB
    He says that there is no SATA port in it, so it's not able to connect internally.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBenRlPzb_s
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  27. If that is truly what you have, then you are hosed and there is not much you can do. The Linux boot CD is still worth a try, no cost and minimal hassle, but this would ONLY be for data recovery and then you dump the drive in the garbage.

    This is actually a hybrid I have not seen before and a kludge (workaround) I will in the future be very careful to avoid. A true POS.

    Do try the Linux recovery as it often can be successful with problematic drives, but this will do nothing to make it more reliable and is not a long-term fix.
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    Originally Posted by Nelson37 View Post

    I would remove it from the case IMMEDIATELY with absolutely no second thought or qualm about destroying the case if necessary for removal. Next step is copy the desired files before doing anything else. Verify the files copied and are usable, then delete a few if desired, but this is much less important, next important and useful step is run a chkdsk on the drive, connected internally thru standard interface.
    I am curious about this part you told me.
    If I am understanding this right, after removing the case, I should copy the files before anything. So you mean, copying the files without connecting the drive internally?
    And when you say opening the case, do you mean including the metal part of the drive and not just the external case?
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  29. Member Krispy Kritter's Avatar
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    No, and do NOT open the drive.

    He meant connect the drive to another PC (as noted several times above) and assuming it is recognized and you can see the files, copy/save all of your files BEFORE you do any testing/fixing/troubleshooting etc. with the drive.
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  30. Ummmm... The USB interface is an external interface, the internal connection, in fact the whole concept of bypassing or removing the USB connection, is off the table, if, in fact, you have drive whose interface is IDENTICAL to the one in the video, that you posted. That drive has a permanently mounted USB interface and there does not appear to be any way to interface with the PC, other than that.

    Never take off the cover unless there is no other course of action, AND you have good reason to believe that either the head mechanism is stuck or the platters are not spinning. It is possible to do this outside of a clean room but it is a method of last resort, which you may be close to anyway.

    First, verify that your drive is not just the same make and model but has the permanently mounted USB interface as shown in the video. Model number not relevant, interface must be visually checked and identified.

    It is definitely worth trying with a desktop, because generally they provide more reliable power thru a USB port, preferably a USB3 port, but try both, because there is no good reason not to. Also try a Linux boot CD, because Linus is sometimes better at recognizing problematic hard drives.

    Something else to check is if the bare drive may have a different (better) warranty than the unit with the extra case.
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