Hi

When trying to access a particular MyBook Essential 2TB USB 3.0 external HDD recently, I get a "F is not accessible, The request could not be performed because of a I/O device error" message. All files on the external HDD can be accessed normally for about 5-10 seconds after the USB cable is plugged into the PC before the message appears. My PC runs Windows Vista Home Basic with USB 2.0.

The hard disk appears to be spinning normally and there are no unusual noises.

I've tried restarting Windows, using a different USB port, unplugging-replugging and using another USB cable, connecting it to another PC running Windows 7 but with no success. I also cannot access Scan Disk on Windows.

On one attempt using the PC with Windows Vista, I manage to access the external HDD and all files can be accessed normally, however, the same I/O error persists the next day when restarting the PC.

WD Data Lifeguard Diagnosis displays the SMART status of the external HDD as PASS. I've tried running a Quick Test twice but the test is stuck at the 90-95% mark after more than 20 minutes and the following message is displayed "03- Read SMART Attribute command error on drive 2!"

I can access another WD external HDD and other branded external HDDs with no problems.

Please advise. Thank you.

I suspect that there are bad sectors on surface but i might be wrong, could be just oxidation on pcb contacts.
I would unscrew the pcb from the drive to inspect for durty contacts, if so then clean it by using pencil eraser.
For surface scan and SMART check you should use MHDD in DOS with your drive attached to your computer sata port (without MyBook enclosure).
http://hddguru.com/download/software/mh ... 4.5iso.zip

Do It Yourself solution it's risky, if data are important for you i suggest to send the drive to a pro DR.

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My firmware database:
https://mega.nz/folder/O01DkBRI

This can be bad sectors on surface or one (or more) heads being weak/bad/dirty causing unstable/slow behavior.

If you don't value the data on the drive, then you can try to image the drive using some non-windows software that knows how to skip bad areas (such as ddrescue).

If you DO value your data, the only real good advice is this:

_________________
http://www.northwind.gr
SandForce SSD Recovery
Ransomware Reverse Engineering - NoMoreRansom! partners

Thank you for you replies.

I'm not familiar at all with electrical components. I don't think I'll risk causing further damage by opening the case and meddling with any of the stuff inside.

Is there something I could do that is relatively safe, software perhaps, to attempt data recovery before I decide to send the HDD for professional data recovery? Pro DR is gonna be expensive and I would only consider it as a last resort.

I have a backup copy of most of the files on the HDD but due to a busy schedule lately, I don't have a backup copy of a significant chunk of my more recent files.

Any help is most appreciated.

I don't think you can do anythink via software to recover data.
You can try to clone drive surface on a new 2 TB drive outside windows, i mean in DOS with software as Mediatools Prosoft or with linux distro as DDrescue, but to do this you'll need to pull off the drive from MyBook enclosure to connect it directly to the motherboard sata port.
After cloning (if it works) you have to put the new drive in MyBook enclosure to access again to your data due to Essential hardware encryption / decryption board.

P.S.
if your gonna try this then be carefull, select your damaged drive as "sourse" and new empty drive as "destination", the problem is that Mediatools doesn't show drive ID on recent computer bios so it's difficult to understand which one is source and which is destination. I don't know about DDrescue.

Another good DOS software for hdd cloning is DMDE.

_________________
My firmware database:
https://mega.nz/folder/O01DkBRI

I have already replied to this

_________________
http://www.northwind.gr
SandForce SSD Recovery
Ransomware Reverse Engineering - NoMoreRansom! partners

You can try to clean HDA contacts as suggest you Michael, and you can try to clone HDD with ddrescue or other tool.

I think no more ways for DIY.