Very particular hard drive

[Fed]

The hard drive in question is this.

Luckily it's got all of my archives on it, so isn't needed these days. However as I'm preparing to swap systems soon, it'll be used extensively.

Usually I would just plug it into the mains, insert the USB lead into my Mac and it'll work. However now it won't. It requires a lot of wiggling and fiddling at the hard disk end of the lead. If it's not perfectly angled out of the hard drive enclosure, it won't turn on. Therefore it's a case of wiggling it until I feel the hard disk spin.

I'm guessing this is a problem with the enclosure and not neccasrily the hard disk. What do you think? I'm thinking about buying another hard drive enclosure and hoping that sorts it.

 

[Fishrrman]

"I'm guessing this is a problem with the enclosure and not neccasrily the hard disk. What do you think? I'm thinking about buying another hard drive enclosure and hoping that sorts it."

Get one of these instead:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=usb+sata+dock&x=0&y=0
(many items shown, they all work the same, just pick one you like that's cheap, getting one with USB3 would be worth the extra cost, for it's "an eye on the future")

Take the "core drive" out of the problem enclosure and put it into the dock.
Any better?

Note: The USB docks are bootable, just like an "external" hard drive. One of these gadgets will become a VERY useful accessory to have on your desk or in your drawer....

 

[Fed]

That's something I haven't considered. Looks a heck of a lot more simple than an enclosure with all of it's fiddly screws and whatnot. Cheers

 

[Fishrrman]

"Looks a heck of a lot more simple than an enclosure with all of it's fiddly screws and whatnot."

It is.

Give one of these things a try. You won't be disappointed. And did I mention that they were -cheap- ??

 

[Fed]

I thought this was worth updating in case someone else sees similar symptoms.

I registered with WD and entered in the hard drive serial number. Turns out it was still under warranty. They replaced this 1TB older model with a 1.5TB MyBook... very happy!