WD Elements 2TB Running Slow

Portable Drives My Passport
1

I have a WD Elements Desktop 2 TB I bought back on 9/14/12.    I have it connected to a WinXP Sp3 machine.  I use the drive to store video.  I used to be able to watch the video with no problems. 

It was doing fine until about two weeks ago when it started to slow down. 

Now, the video freezes.  I use VLC 2.05 to watch the videos.

I have tried plugging the power supply directly into a wall socket.  I have replaced the power supply, and the usb cord, with known good components from another WD Elements 2tb drive.  No luck.  The usb cord/pwr supply from the slow drive work fine on the other good drive.  Which means the slow drive is going bad.

I have used chkdsk to try fixing the drive.  No luck.  It’s still very slow.  I used the /f parameter.  Also tried the /r option.  After completion, the program told me the drive was ok, that it had no bad sectors.

The drive was still slow.

I can access the drive to remove files.  But, it takes a very long time.

I have also used Drive Medic from System Mechanic to test the drive.  No luck.  Still slow.

Any help/suggestions will greatly appreciated.

THANKS!

2

Try to use Hard Disk Sentinel and do a surface test to see if your drive doesn’t have any bad sector.

3

I have tried that program.  Will it fix the bad sectors?  Or, do I need to try Chkdsk?  Or, another program?

4

Update:  I’ve tried chkdsk on the slow drive.  It says there are no bad sectors.  The drive also reports as healthy in Admin Tools/Disc Mgr.

5

Update:  I forgot to say that both these WD Elements 2tb drives were always plugged into powers strips and not directly into a wall socket.  The one that is still running well has always had its power supply plugged into a strip, not a wall outlet.  I have had the slow drive plugged into both a strip and a wall outlet since it started having problems.  It doesn’t make any difference where the power comes from.  It is still slow.

There have been suggestions to try Hard Drive Sentinel.  I have looked on the website.  It looks like you have to buy the professional version before you can do a surface check or analysis.

I will have to go elsewhere.  I can’t afford the $35.  I may need to set the drive aside until I afford something like this.  I’ll keep looking for something else.  I’ll share what I find.