A Western Digital SATA II Drive is failing when used in a External enclosure!!

The hardware is:
Western Digital WD64000AAKS
+
AC Ryan Alubox eSATA/USB External Enclosure ACR-HD51936

specs:
http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=394
&
http://www1.acryan.com/alubox/acr-hd51936.shtml


I choose this HDD to bee used in this box, because it has the head ramp mechanism "feature".
So it seemed to be the proper safe solution to the portable use of the external enclosure.

While it works... Perfect match...! Speeds are awesome... !!

UBS cable gives 54 Mb/s transfers
and eSATA gives 120 130 Mb/s tranfers.
HD Tune Pro 4 mb File Benchmark (any size less than the size if the HDD cache which is 16 Mb) >4.0 Gb/s transfers speeds (MB tranfers with the HDD disk Cache only )
Windows vista load time is very fast. (WD6400AAKS is now known as the fastest drive for Vista OS)
MB is a Asus P5K-SE

It works similar in a HP eSATA portable pc

...until!!!

After using it in UBS more, when we remove the drive... the platters cease.
Fail Scenario:
• HDD is multpartitioned (3 x ~200 GB)
• Diskeeper is running as a service with auto deframentation disabled (still writes the i-Fast performance file in X:\diskeeper hidden folder)
• Box Operating in USB 2.0 mode, warm (40 to 45 ºC), for a while.
• Drive is "Safely Removed" in windows through left cliking icon in taskbar selecting the correspondant drive letters
• Drive comes back really fast - back again - USB mounts the drives letter again
• Opens My Computer and check for the 3 drive letters . they there ok.
• HDD is again "Safely Removed" -BUT: this time a strange low duration squeal is heard. Drive is still spinning.
• The External enclosure box power is then turned off (not giving those 6 or 8 sec before it remounts again)
• The platters are heard start spinning down THEN: when they are almost stopping, a noticeable high pitch squeal sound is heard as if something was stopping the platters with physical contact... must like something was ceasing until the rotation stops dead ceased.

• When the drive is tured back on... the HDD does not spin - Only the engine start sound is heard - It try to spin 4 our 5 times and then rests.

• Drive is now not-detectable in PC BIOS then.


So...

From investigating in ... It seems that the heads are sticking to the platters
Much like what is stated in "Datacent" site reviews http://datacent.com/datarecovery/hdd/we ... tal/WD6400
a stickion problem

This is the 2nd drive . that came from RMA. It lasted less than 2 weeks before it happened.
Anyone has any clue about going around this problem.
Can anyone explain this problem?

I found this tool in WD site:

Spindown or Stop Utility version 1.0
http://support.wdc.com/product/download ... 17&lang=en

Do I have to install this in all the PCs that the box is used because windows does not know how to spin down or turn of this drive?

What (TF) is going on??
Damn "Unhandled Exception" i have at hands.... !!!

Please,
Perspectives, Opinions are apreciated.

Cheers
Ric

Olá! Obrigado

The data was not that important was mainly extra downloads and tech documents that i have been gathered for some months..
but i have some copyed to other partition... Havent lost anything of importance.
Meanwhile the 3rm disk... 2nd RMA is back... and hold and behold!... This this seem diferent from other 2.

So i just what to share what i noticed, with anyone that might find this interesting...

Conclusions:
ALL THE disks show EQUAL performance but have diferent operating sounds and temperatures.


1º Disk.... Was:
Hot - Reached 43º inside the full allumiiun alubox, quite easily.
Fast - According to its meanwhile gained reputation
Sillent - Both heads movement and spindle motor vibration and sound were minimal

2º Disk (From RMA), was:
Very Hot - Topped 45~46º C
Fast - No diference in performace
Noisy - The head sound was silent as the 1st but the splindle showed noticeable vibration... with noticeable sound.

3º Disk (2º RMA), is.
Colder - Hard to reach 43º C, inside the alubox... mounting manner is the same as the previous one.
Fast - No diference in performance from what is expected and know about this disks.
Noisy - In this case... the heads do noticleable noise... similar to a WD1200JB... slight but not disguised in the previous 2 disks... and the spindle makes almost no noise at all.. even more silent than the 1st.


From the tests we made in the store where i bought it... I decided tofrom now on do a rogue unplug the USB cable and rogue turning off of the External box... this way gives more garantee that the "power-of-retract" kicks in and parks the heads in the ramp.
Check disks didnt showed ant errors even when unpluging the power while making copys of files.

So rogue and careless disconections will be... Given the fact that playing safe, does not compensate.

Western Digital ... EXPOSED

LOL

...debunked.