Western Green 2TB (WD20000CSRTL2) heavily overheated

Here first the German notice I sent to the WDC support portal… within 24 hours I didnt get any answer from there…  so pls read my comment as English version down under. Tks.


 

Die Western Digital Green war über das Computernetzwerk (Laufwerkbuchstabe W:), angeschlossen an einem USB-Port des File-Servers (NAS / Iomega StorCenter ix2-200 ) nicht mehr erreichbar. Keiner der Computer (2x Windows XP, 1x Windows Vista) hatte Zugriff.

Beim Berühren des GEhäuses (die WD ist eingebaut in ein Fantec HDD eSata-Gehäuse -http://www.fantec.de/html/de/2/artId/ 1479/gid/ 5009053090539990/article.html ) war eine hohe Temperatur feststellbar, die so seit Anbeginn der Nutzung nie bestanden hat. Das Aluminium-GEhäsue der FanTec fühlte sich im regulären Betrieb immer eher kühl an.

Die Fantac zeigte an der LED keine Störung an… nach Abkühlen wurde die WD aus dem Fantec-Gehäuse genommen, und durch eine Seagate Barrakude 1TB ausgetauscht, um zu testen, ob sich der Fehler aus einer defekten Fantec-Docking Station erklärt. Die Seagate wurde jedoch nach Einschalten des FanTec-Gehäuses über USB-Anschluss an einem Laptop-Rechner erkannt. D.h. das FanTec-Gehäuse funktioniert problemlos.

Nach Wiedereinbau der erkalteten WD in das Fantec-Gehäuse wurde der Schalter gedrückt, und über USB an einen Windows-Vista-Rechner angeschlossen. Es kam die Meldung, dass ein Gerätetreiber installiert werden müsste. Die automatische Suche nach einem Gerätetreiber blieb erfolglos. Die Erkennung wurde von Windows Vista abgebrochen.

Nach längerem Betrieb des FanTec Gehäuses wurde wieder eine deutliche Erhitzung der Festplatte feststellbar. 

Was ist zu tun ? - Vorhandene beschränkte Garantie bis März/April 2013…  Irgend eine Chance, die Daten wiederzubekommen. Auf der WD Green sind ca. 1.2 GB gespeichert. Oder ist alles verloren ??


The ENGLISH version: 

 

The Western Digital Green was used within a small computer network (drive letter W:), connected via USB port on the file server (NAS / Iomega StorCenter ix2-200 ), suddenly it was no more accessable. None of the computer (Windows XP, 2x, 1x Windows Vista) had access.

Touching the enclosure (Rec.: the WD is installed in a Fantec HDD eSata housing   [http://www.fantec.de/html/de/2/artId/ 1479/gid/ 5009053090539990/article.html](http://www.fantec.de/html/de/2/artId/ 1479/gid/ 5009053090539990/article.html)) an extreme high temperature was  detected which has so never existed since its use. The aluminum box of the Fantec felt in regular operation always rather cool/cold.

The Fantac showed on the LED at no fault … After waiting and cooling down, the WD was taken from the Fantec housing, and replaced by a Seagate 1TB Barrakude to test whether the error resulted from a defective Fantec dock or the WD might have caused the problems itself. The Seagate was recognized after power Fantec enclosure via USB port on a laptop computer. I.e. The Fantec case works fine.

After reassembling the cold WD in the Fantec case pressing the switch on button and connected via USB to a Windows Vista machine there came the report that a device driver should be installed. It was not quickly recognized as USB device (which normally it should do). The automatic search for a device driver was unsuccessful. The recognition was aborted by Windows Vista.

After keeping the Fantex switched on it showed again a significant heating.

What to do? - Existing limited warranty until March / April 2013 …Any chance to do a backupping ??? I think, I hvae stored ca. 1.2 GB on that Western Green. All lost ?

Tks for your advices in advance. 


PS: I run three other Western Digital hard disks, as 2x main disks in two Windows XP mashines, and as part of a RAID system with a Western Digital Red. Been very happy over last 3 years with all… Now I am very wondering about the heating up of the WD Green ???

What is the temperature reported by the disk?

Hi, Keith !

… I dont know the temperature… as said… there is no connection anymore… from one moment to the next I lost the connection via my Computer Network… and with connecting it - after cooling down - directly with a Vista mashine via USB it is no more recognized… Vista is searing for drivers to connect… but stopping without successfully connection.

I just can say it by experience… its too hot to touch it… and it skinks burnt. Hearing from you… Tks/SM2013


PS: I have sent 30 hours ago a support request via the support platform http://westerndigital.force.com/ (case no.: 021813-6638678). But till now I didnt get any reponse back ?? How long do I have to wait ? They say on the site, that they answer within 24 hours latest. I ask, because the warantee end in March… we are close to end of February.

Sounds like it’s pretty hot either way you look at it… Either increase cooling capacity or RMA the disk(s). Not much else you can practically do is there?

If you don’t hear anything in a day or two, call them again and again till you do!

I use this Docking box as mentioned… It has an own van for cooling…

[http://www.fantec.de/html/de/2/artId/\_\_1479/gid/\_\_5009053090539990/article.html](http://www.fantec.de/html/de/2/artId/ 1479/gid/ 5009053090539990/article.html) 

When I run the Seagate 1TB in the FanTec box its not going higher than 48 degrees. Is that already too hot ? - I dont think so… as in my iOmega ix2-200 (RAID with 2x1TB) where I use a WD RED I have a regular temperature between 52-56 C°.

So the cooling from outside should be OK, I think. OK… I will do a RMA as you said… pitty, I lost all datas :-( 

Can you give me some ideas why a HD is overheating ??? The WD Green regularly are of so low temperature… so why can it overheat ??? 

Wait a minute, slow down… You are running disks inside these housings? And the disks are overheating? And that surprises you? Of course they’re gonna overheat… where’s the fan and ventilation holes?

One thing about the disk market that is not known is that 3.5" full-size disks are *NOT* engineered to be used in any sort of external enclosure. Argue with me all you want. But fact is fact. 3.5" disks are made for mounting in desktop cases. yahh yahh yaadaa ya-but… Ya-but-nothing! It is easy for any marketing guru to come up with a box and shove a disk in there. Cheap external storage. CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP!

More to the point, where are the ventilation holes and fan? Ahh there are none? What about the internal interface board? That’s adding to the heat problem too. I don’t care if these are eco-drives or not.

You can only use these (and other fanless enclosures) intermittently. A few minutes at a time. Once the temp reaches 45`C or so, you stop! You’re done. Wait till it cools off. Either that or risk killing the disk.

If you want to use external enclosures, use 2.5" disks. These smaller disks, *ARE* engineered and designed to work in enclosed spaces from day one. They are called laptop drives. They are made to work in confined spaces without ventilation or fans or anything. They have a proven track record of working under those conditions. 3.5" do not.

If you want to run a 3.5" disk in an enclosure you need to have some sort of forced cooling going on. There are no exceptions here.

tks for your critical comment… good to learn about 2.5 contra 3.5 :slight_smile:

Fantec is specialized in producing different boxes for storages… they produce also RAID systems etc. …

I run the WD Green 3 years now in this single metal box MR-35US2… The outer metal surface always felt cool, even cold… of course this Fantex box has a cooler… a van in the backside… Here some pics: 

Opened Frontisde

MR-35US2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Backside of

MR-35US2

… with cooler van…

This box got very good test reports… it not expensive… very simple to use for quick exchange of discs… 

But I will keep in mind for the future to setup only 2.5" as external… :slight_smile: Tks.

Let me be a little more clear.

If you use 3.5" in an enclosure it must have a fan of some sort.

If you use 2.5" in an enclosure it does not need a fan.

Raid boxes usually have some sort of cooling and ventilation. There are some 3.5" enclosures that use a passive cooling set-up, like a cooling tower in a nuclear reactor. The hot air rises up and out the top of the box, thus drawing cool air in through the bottom. The WD MyBook series does this. And it works for the most part as long as the housing is upright and the ambient air temp is not too hot like on a summer day.

A disk that has always run cool and all of a sudden is heating up, especially when idle, indicates impending (if not already) failure. A lot of the heat in a failing drive is generated by:

1- Failing bearings with higher friction. Takes more power to spin. And the bearings themselves run hot.

2- Heads or weak magnetic surfaces. This causes the voicecoil actuator to keep micro-positioning the heads, and that consumes a lot of power.

In either situation, you have electronics working overtime to try and hold everything together.

If you do a 3.5" in an enclosure, the box must give all the provisions of of a desktop environment. This means:

1- Mounting security and vibration dampening. Tip-proof and knock-over proof.

2- Steady power that doesn’t sag under load.

3- Adequate airflow for ventilation, a fan.

4- Quality connectors, nothing should be intermittent.

Seemingly 90% of the housings on the market don’t meet all those requirements. The fantec ones you posted look pretty nice.

Dear Keith !

tks for your ongoing details. I got now from Fantec the info, that the cooler van is damaged… and as I supposed, as a result the WD overheated :frowning: Unluckily the warranty of the Fantec is only 2 years… so I would have to buy a new docking station. 

So the question: Is there any chance to rescue the dats from the crashed WD ???

(Rec.: I cannot afford to order a company doing this for me… there are specialist corporations for data rescuing, but they are very, very expensive.)

On youtube we find many videos how to rescue datas…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9VfnTFlHCA

or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgRV7LLE1Us

and this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ul97jWv2PKY  

So is there any option to rescue the datas ?? And mirror them to another disk ??

Tks in advance. Hearing from you asap… SM2013.

So disk overheated inside enclosure.

The disk would need to be diagnosed exactly as there are many repair options and fail modes. Unfortunately the equipment needed to diagnose and repair a disk is not at all cheap. And then there is the specialized knowledge needed to operate it all.

A lot of DIY tricks and things either get the data back or end up making things worse, thus doubling the pro-recovery fee. Your best bet is to set the disk aside and save a dollar a day till you can afford a pro-recovery service.

That’s not the answer you want to hear. But I don’t see any other option.