I woke up to find my G-Raid unit (12TB with Thunderbolt 2) unmounted from my Mac, with the enclosure light flashing red and making a clicking noise. Both drives also have red lights.
I’ve removed the drives, but the enclosure behaves the same—red light flashing rapidly with the clicking noise. The fan is not spinning, though it doesn’t seem to be stuck when I blow air on it.
I don’t have a multimeter to check the power supply. Does this mean that either the power supply or the enclosure has failed? How can I troubleshoot it, and where can I get replacements? Can I at least test if the drives are still functional? I was using it with RAID 0.
Hi @g-raid-owner
Have you checked our knowledge base articles?
(Support for Western Digital Hard Drives | Western Digital)
Have you opened a Support Case?
If not, contact Western Digital Technical Support for assistance.
(https://www.westerndigital.com/en-in/support/contact-us)
Based on your G-Raid symptoms (flashing red lights, clicking noise, and non-functioning fan), you’re likely dealing with either a power supply failure or an enclosure/controller board issue. The clicking noise is particularly concerning as it often indicates hardware problems.
To troubleshoot, first try replacing the power supply with one matching the original specifications if possible. This is often the simplest and least expensive fix. If that doesn’t work, the enclosure itself may have failed. To test if your drives are still functional, you’ll need to connect them to your computer using another enclosure, dock, or SATA-to-USB adapter.
Since you were using RAID 0, which offers no data redundancy, be extremely cautious with your troubleshooting if the drives contain irreplaceable data. In this case, consulting with a professional data recovery service first would be advisable before potentially causing further damage. If the data isn’t critical, replacement power supplies can be found through G-Technology’s official channels, while compatible Thunderbolt 2 enclosures are available from various manufacturers if you need to replace the entire unit.
Thanks for your reply. Yes, that makes a lot of sense. I’m currently trying to get hold of a multimeter to check the PSU voltage at least. If that checks out, it’s probably an enclosure fault, I presume—though I’m not an expert. I understand that voltage may vary under load vs. without load.
Would it be worth exploring off-brand PSUs with similar specs (12V 5A), or does it need to be an exact model match? In my case, that would be DA-60M12.
Since posting, I’ve managed to connect both drives to my Mac via a SATA adapter I had on hand, and they appear under Disk Utility. However, since it’s a RAID setup, I’m not sure if I can or should perform any further tests.
Regarding the clicking noise—I suspect it’s some kind of relay rapidly engaging and disengaging.
And yes, I do have some critical data on this. I know it was a bit reckless to use RAID 0 for it, but I ran out of disk space and took the risk. That said, I’m convinced the data is recoverable, as these HGST HDDs seem quite reliable. However, the device has been running non-stop since 2017 as a home server, so… fingers crossed. Is there any good place to find a replacement enclosures at a good price?
Since this is a legacy system, I’m at a loss as to where to find compatible components. It doesn’t help that Western Digital owns so many brands—you end up confused about what you actually have. Is this a G-Raid by G-Technology? A Western Digital product? Or maybe an HGST product? (Or perhaps I should chase Apple Store where i actually bought the item?) And therefore, which components are actually adequate replacements?
