Rescuing files from a dying 4T G-Drive

G-Technology G-DRIVE
1

My 4T drive suddenly stopped working last week, and Disk Utility and Disk Warrior cannot fix it. Files are still visible but when I try to manually copy a folder onto a new drive the transfer eventually hangs. Same problem when I use SuperDuper or FreeFileSync. SuperDuper, for example, quickly slows to an effective copy speed of 10 MB/s, then keeps dropping. At best I can copy 10 files at a time. The drive has about 1.5 T on it. I’d be grateful for any suggestions on what to do.

Mac OS 11.6.

2

Hi @cpurrin1,

Please refer to the following article for further troubleshooting steps:

Title: Windows or macOS Cannot Find My Drive
Link: Cannot Find My WD Drive on Windows or macOS

Please refer to the link below to test the drive using First Aid

3

Thank you, @Keerti_01 for links. The Mac Disk Utility cannot repair the disk. Same with Disk Warrior. I’m currently attempting to transfer files to a new drive using Data Rescue 3 but the disk read access speed is very slow and the process is estimated to take 4.4 years.

Would popping the drive into a new enclosure be a possible fix?

4

Hi,

I appreciate that you have performed the troubleshooting steps.

Please contact the WD Technical Support team for best assistance and troubleshooting:
https://support-en.wd.com/app/ask

5

@Keerti_01 Technical Support has responded but didn’t have suggestions beyond the usual tricks (using Disk Utility, trying new cord, port, power supply, computer, etc.).

I aborted the file rescue task (mentioned above) and am instead attempting to clone the drive (also using Data Rescue 3). The operation has an estimated 43 hours remaining, which is better than 4.4 years. But I’m not sure the clone will be any better; the data could be corrupted even on a brand new disk.

Thanks.