3TB MBL overheats / Red light

WD Legacy Products My Book Live
1

Hi,
I have a 3TB MBL as well as an older 2TB MBL.  Recently, the 3TB front light started to turn from green to red, on hotter early summer days, the drive then was inaccessible on the network – this occurred 3 to 4 times already.  I had to disconnect the power supply so that the unit would stop spinning and cool down so as to restart.

Though older, the 2TB MBL never switched to a red light.  Are the newer 3TB more fragile or sensitive to heat?  Is this unit a lemon?  Should I be expecting a drive failure?

Anyone else seen something similar?  Any solutions?

2

try to find a cooler place for them.

Otherwise…

  • make sure the vents are not blocked

  • make sure other hardware is not blowing hot air to it

If problem persists, yeah, any component might die, yes it might be a lemon. But if only happening on hot days, that might be the answer.

3
  • No vents are blocked,
  • No other hardware is blowing hot air into the drives,
  • The 2 units sit side-by-side,
    The 3TB MBL (more recent) overheats while the 2TB MBL (older) does not.

So my questions remain: Are the newer 3TB more fragile or sensitive to heat?  Is this unit a lemon?  Should I be expecting a drive failure?

Anyone else seen something similar?  Any solutions?

4

If they are sitting side-by-side and touching, try separating them.

The 3TB has the the same thermal limits as the 2TB.  

However, if one is being used more than the other, it’s normal for it to get hotter.

You can look at the SMART data in the drive to see the current temperatures and see if one is running hotter than the other.