Hi all. This is my second post as a WD forum newbie!
In December of 2018 I bought three 1T WD My Passports. The warranty runs out in December this year. The three are all backups for each other.
The computer reports errors (Scan this drive and repair) when they’re plugged in. One of the drives has 645 corrupted files/folders that can’t be deleted or moved.
I’ve been in eMail conversation with WD customer service about the problem drives. I’ve run all my drives through the WD Drive Utilities. All pass the complete test. I’ve been given a link for Data Lifeguard Diagnostics for Windows. I’ve been told that if the drives pass the test, they’re good to go; if the drive with multiple corrupted files doesn’t pass, using this Utility will format it, essentially fixing it.
The Data Lifeguard Diagnostics for Windows has noted issues with running on anything newer than Windows XP (in the Read me notes). I’m also concerned that that I could use the utility to format the corrupted drive and end up with a drive that will work long enough for the warranty to expire, then quit on me.
I have temporarily copied all files and folders from the corrupted drive to a new My Passport so I can test and format in an attempt to bring it up to snuff.
My question is: Given the age of the two drives that the computer reports errors on, and given that the one has numerous corrupted files and folders on it, am I better off/safer getting them replaced (I’m assuming WD would offer refurbished replacements under warranty) rather than trusting that this Data Lifeguard Diagnostics for Windows will make them safely reliable?
If you have any important or critical data in that corrupted drive then before proceeding further towards the replacement I will suggest you to try DIY data recovery software to recover your data first from the particular drive.
There are many data recovery software available however, I will suggest you to try Free Stellar Data Recovery software that will help you scan your corrupted drive and if the software shows you the desired result then save your recovered data and after that you can try wiping your drive and check if it works better or else at that point you can go for replacement.
I’ve already copied all files and folders onto a new drive, and it has two backups already. Data recovery is not an issue.
I’ve tried to erase it using the WD Drive Utility, but even though all I’ve done is plug it into the computer, WD Drive Utilities says it’s currently in use, thus can’t erase. I don’t understand why that can be. It makes me nervous about trusting the drive if I do manage to format it.
The warranty expires end of December, so if I manage to format it, I’ll tentatively put things back on (still backing up) and see how it goes. If I can’t find a way to format it, I will ask for a replacement under warranty.
In that case, I suggest you to try a data eraser tool such as BitRaser File Eraser which will help you wipe your drive’s data. This tool is free for 1 month and helps the user to completely wipe their storage drive beyond the scope of recovery.
To know more about the tool kindly check the below link:
