I own (among others) a !T WD1001FALS (production date 23 Jan 2010) . MODEL : WD1001FALS-00E8B0
The disk was purchased at 15 April 2010 so it have it for less than a year. The disk was kept in very good condition and not used a lot since it was used for backups
Yesterday and without any other warnings (heat, sounds, delays etc) the disk ceased to be identified by bios / os. It seems that randomly the heads are moving, then parking and the disk stops to cycle. Most of the times the disk is doing absolutely nothing (like it has no power). I already moved it to another slot / cable / pc without any success to actually get the bios recognize it
I had numerous problems at past with other disks but the disks were always visible by bios and with the help of live-linux or hdd data recovery software i always managed to get a backup before the disks going for recycling. This time is different.
I suppose this is a controller (on-disk) issue but I wonder if WD support service can fix that without redirecting me to other vendors or by replacing the disk with another and lose all my data.
I would really appreciate any help.
Hi there,
You may need to replace the hard drive as it looks like it has failed. WD does not have a repair center. I included a link which contains more information about this:
http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/70/session/L3RpbWUvMTMwMDk3MDE0MS9zaWQvUXltRVhKcGs%3D
I already have seen this solution and contacted DriveSavers who suggested a 700-2700 $ solution which I find too expensive for a disk that seems to had a defective circuit board.
From OnTrack I had no reply yet to my request but I suppose they 'll reply something similar to the above.
Even though I always thought WD drives had better quality and being my first choice I finally see that they cause more and more problems (even google showed me that this particular model has a lot of cases like mine, and frankly i was surprised to see a disk treated very nicely to die in less than a year) .
I’m sad to say that I’ll definetely try to avoid them in the future as not very reliable both at home and at work.
Anyway thank you for your time. I’m waiting for the OnTrack reply and most probably I’ll RMA the disk , say bye-bye to my data and WD once and for all.
FYI:
You can also use a third party company to perform data recovery services on your hard drive (You may get a better price). Prior doing that, you will need to notify WD (This is to avoid voiding your drive’s warranty).
‘’(even google showed me that this particular model has a lot of cases like mine, and frankly i was surprised to see a disk treated very nicely to die in less than a year) .‘’ As any other electronic device, hard drives may fail. Not only WD but also Seagate and Hitachi. Search in google for Seagate and Hitachi or Fujitsu and you’ll see what I’m talking about.
Actually, that’s what I did, and I’m back using WD. . .
You’re welcome :)…
I know that but believe me I’m mostly frustrated with this disk. Speaking with 3 different companies doing data recovery told me that this particular batch 00E8B0 seemed to have problem with the PCB while other batches of 1001FALS seemed fine.
Anyway I found better prices from third party companies
You can also use a third party company to perform data recovery services on your hard drive (You may get a better price). Prior doing that, you will need to notify WD (This is to avoid voiding your drive’s warranty).
Can you please inform me how can I inform WD in order to keep my warranty
Thanx again for your time
You will need to contact WD via Phone or Email:
http://support.wdc.com/contact/index.asp?lang=en
And, you just need to explain them that you would like to perform data recovery services on your drive using a non-partnered company…
Thanx a very very lot for all the help. Hope to get back with good news 
You’re welcome.
Nice to know that I was able to help you :)…
