Dikdik Loc: Winnipeg, Canada

I've had several of their portables go south... use Seagate, now...

Dik

JD750 Loc: SoCal

If you have not done so, try using a different USB cord to connect the HD to the computer. Also try using another USB port on the computer.

For future reference, is always a good idea to back up important data on a 2nd hard drive.

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

Lots of great info here. I will pass on all of this to Ryan. I deeply appreciate all the input. In an age where photography is nearly all digital/electronic, it's important to see to the welfare of ones images and craft. I think we will start with investigating cords first, then USB drives, then as money permits, some of the more expensive solutions. I thank you all.

Ron Dial Loc: Cuenca, Ecuador

Go to the Western Digital web site. WD makes a software diagnostic tool that you can run and it will diagnose your HD and may be able to repair it.

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

Thank you. I'll let Ryan know that.

szoots

Hard drive do fail and like earlier comments intermittent problems do not get better only worse. There is a software called SpinRite that revitalizes cranky hard drive. I’ve used it successfully on a number of occasions. Once revitalized I backed it up to an array and to the cloud. I have LighRoom Program on my c: drive (SSD) and data (photos) on d: drive. That d: drive could be external or internal. With faster read/write speeds of the SSD drive my work goes quickly. Having storage on a regular drive does not slow it down and if crash occurs, I can easily recover. SSD drives hold up better but have limited write/read cycles (in the millions).

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Gold replaces the RE drives - enterprise class, RAID compliant. Black is similar, but not recommended for RAID because it does not provide TLER. Both have 5 yr warranties. WD also as the excellent line of HGST Ultrastar drives - also enterprise class. Their drive offerings are beginning to look like a giant bowl of Skittles.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Yea, they have, what, five colors???

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

When you consider the fact that the first commercially available 10 MB hard drive had a price tag of $ 1000.00 and today's 10 TB drives cost about $ 300.00 you will begin to understand the issue. Sooner or later, ALL drives will fail. Not IF but WHEN! I have had very good luck with both WD and Seagate drives. I always use either RAID 1 or RAID 5 and I always make on-site and off-site backups. I'm very partial to Synology NAS servers and use a variety of software to ensure backups are made and up to date. As a heavy Apple user, Time Machine works well for me. Best of luck.

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

Thanks.

CamB Loc: Juneau, Alaska

There are lots of suggestions here to check this or that. I would put everything else on hold and as quickly as possible get those files on another drive somewhere and somehow. Once they are safe you can begin to trouble shoot the original problem. Glitches can escalate. Backup first. Trouble shoot next.
...Cam

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

Yup, that's for sure.

nadelewitz Loc: Ithaca NY

Assume that ANY hard drive (include SSD drives and flash drives too) can fail at any moment from the time it leaves the factory. Doesn't matter what brand, model or anything. You should NEVER RELY ON A SINGLE LOCATION for anything you don't want to/can't afford to lose, whether it's the computer's main hard drive, a second internal, USB external, a flash drive, whatever.
Have you ever seen the face of a teacher whose almost-completed Masters thesis exists ONLY on the hard drive of her iBook, which is on the verge of failing entirely and won't even boot up? I have. It isn't pretty. How about years-worth of treasured photographs?

That's not to speak of folks who think they are "backing-up" by copying files onto another partition of the computer's one hard drive.

The saying in the IT field is: Never trust important data to a single "spindle". I shudder at people who keep everything they ever did on their computer or on their camera's memory card, never moving things from the computer or camera off onto other storage. The never-ending growth of hard drive and memory card sizes encourages this unsafe behavior.

chrissybabe Loc: New Zealand

I have only spent a few months on UHH but a constant has been the warnings to everyone about making sure you have sufficient backup copies of your work that you won't be brassed off when your only copy of your work bites the dust.
In the case of the comment above about the teacher who lost her Masters thesis I can only point out that she must be reasonably intelligent to get to that point so really I have no sympathy if she lost her work. I bet she had insurance on her car. In fact it is so bad that I always assume now that if you haven't backed up your work there are only three reasons (none of which I have any sympathy for) - one is that you didn't really want the work/photographs/documents/whatever as you had made no effort to protect it, secondly you are so lazy or procrastinated major in doing anything about it, or thirdly you wander through life with your head buried so far in the sand that you ignore everything about you other than what affects you directly - like a car crash or eating. I am sorry but that is the bottom line.
Wise up - back up !

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

I agree with you.