New 4TB WD Passport HDD showed Error!

xkcd0137

Adept
I had ordered a 4TB WD Passport External HDD and received it on Sunday, 18th. When I connected it to my laptop around 6 pm, it showed an error message stating - This device is incompatible or corrupted.
In 'This PC' folder the corresponding drive icon was grayed out and it wasn't showing the storage capacity beneath the icon as it usually does.

Then I connected it to my other laptop - same error. Then I right-clicked and tried to format the drive. At first, it showed an error again - This drive is corrupted. Then after I closed this error box, the Formatting dialog box appeared luckily.
Then I was able to format the drive and its working okay now. I have already transferred 500GB of Data.

Why did I get these errors? I think this drive was in some other format unrecognized by Windows, but WHY? Its not that I had ordered a drive for MacOS or sth.

I ran Crystal Disk Info yesterday night around 12 -
Health Status = Good
Power On Count = 17
Power On Hours = 21

Current screenshot is attached.

Should I return or keep it? I was planning to shift all important documents to this drive but now I am a bit hesitant.

WD Crustal Disk Info.jpg
 
May be its a used disk and the earlier person might have used it on mac/linux preferably.
If health is good you can keep it but return it if the issue haunts you. Ask for a replacement drive or refund.
 
May be its a used disk and the earlier person might have used it on mac/linux preferably.
At first I thought so too, but then when I was unpacking the HDD I had observed that it was very well packed. Especially I don't think anyone could stick the transparent tape so meticulously after opening it up once.

I'll wait and see for 1-2 days more. Will the replace considering I have already transferred 500GB data? The counts will show, right?
 
AS a thumb rule I always format HDDs/pen drives before using it. Hope you did that too.
Will keep this in mind. I didn't format at first. After it kept showing me errors, I formatted it as a last resort.

At first I thought so too, but then when I was unpacking the HDD I had observed that it was very well packed. Especially I don't think anyone could stick the transparent tape so meticulously after opening it up once.
After seeing the pack again, the rear end can be opened easily, and may have been too. FML!
 
Will keep this in mind. I didn't format at first. After it kept showing me errors, I formatted it as a last resort.


After seeing the pack again, the rear end can be opened easily, and may have been too. FML!
Return/refund ASAP.
Where did you buy it from?
 
They are giving option of Refund only, No Replacement. So I'll think it over till tomorrow since I won't get such a deal again.

I have formatted the drive already and its health is good so I should be safe, though.
 
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They are giving option of Refund only, No Replacement. So I'll think it over till tomorrow since, I won't get such a deal again.

I have formatted the drive already and its health is good so I should be safe, though.
If you can keep a copy of the important data someplace else as well, then don' think twice about retaining this drive. Since you got this at such a good price then it makes more sense to get it RMAed from Seagate when needed, but only if you have copies of important data.
 
They are giving option of Refund only, No Replacement. So I'll think it over till tomorrow since I won't get such a deal again.

I have formatted the drive already and its health is good so I should be safe, though.
You don't want this deal man. Get the refund.
 
You don't want this deal man. Get the refund.
Kindly detail the rationale behind your advice. It will help me make the decision easily.

One more thing- I bought a Samsung 860Evo 500gb with the HDD to avail discount on SSD. As cost of SSD was less than Rs. 5000, I wasn't getting the 10% discount on SBI card. So I clubbed both SSD and HDD in one order and It cost me Rs. 4400. If I return the HDD, will that affect the price of SSD too? Will they refund me the amount after deducting the discount amount or leave that be?
 
Kindly detail the rationale behind your advice. It will help me make the decision easily.

One more thing- I bought a Samsung 860Evo 500gb with the HDD to avail discount on SSD. As cost of SSD was less than Rs. 5000, I wasn't getting the 10% discount on SBI card. So I clubbed both SSD and HDD in one order and It cost me Rs. 4400. If I return the HDD, will that affect the price of SSD too? Will they refund me the amount after deducting the discount amount or leave that be?

They will deduct the discount amount.
 
There's a good possibility the drive wasn't actually used or defective and it was just an incompatible file system layout with your OS. And the 'format' fixed it by using a file system which does work. Since it's a large hard drive, it's possible it was running an advanced format 4k or GPT instead of MBR, which your computer wasn't supporting. What OSs did you try it on anyway? Also what was the runtime shown in smart when it was new? As per your stats did you actually power cycle it 17 times and run it for 21 hours yourself before taking the screenshot? Or was it like that out of the box? Anything over single digit testing figures means it's been used previously.

Also, there's a misconception about formatting a hard drive. Modern hard drives are formatted at the factory and can't really be done again without specialised equipment. The windows quick format option just wipes and creates a new fat and the full format does the same but also runs a surface scan check for bad sectors. Even changing between 4kn/512/512e needs specialised tools. Real low level formatting can't be done with a typical pc.

As an example, my 8tb my book doesn't even let my aging 970 chipset boot unless changed to an emulated sector format. Also, if i connect it after booting, windows 7 can see it but xp can't.
 
There's a good possibility the drive wasn't actually used or defective and it was just an incompatible file system layout with your OS. And the 'format' fixed it by using a file system which does work. Since it's a large hard drive, it's possible it was running an advanced format 4k or GPT instead of MBR, which your computer wasn't supporting. What OSs did you try it on anyway?
Windows 10
Also what was the runtime shown in smart when it was new? As per your stats did you actually power cycle it 17 times and run it for 21 hours yourself before taking the screenshot? Or was it like that out of the box? Anything over single digit testing figures means it's been used previously.
I made a mistake of not checking CrystalDiskInfo right out of the box. 17 times and 21 hours is after 1.25 days. Can't say for sure but maybe its 3-4 hours more than what I expected but again can't say.
Also, there's a misconception about formatting a hard drive. Modern hard drives are formatted at the factory and can't really be done again without specialised equipment. The windows quick format option just wipes and creates a new fat and the full format does the same but also runs a surface scan check for bad sectors.
Okay. Its in NTFS after 'formatting' and its working well since then. I am running HD Tune Pro to check errors. Its 30% done, gave it a break, will continue after my system HDD cools down.

Thanks.
 
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Keep an eye on the temps constantly while the drive is connected and active. External hard drives, both 2.5 and 3.5 get way too hot especially in our Indian weather.

After a few drive failures, i learned to crack open the enclosures and only run the drives when they are open. If you're moderately skilled you should be able to open the enclosures with zero damage or marks and without voiding warranty. Even the my books, with ventilation slots at top and bottom get way too hot with sustained use.

Also, check the warranty status on the wd site. The date should be close to your date of purchase.

Also, remember, all drives will fail at some point, could be 1 day, could be 10 years. They are only for storage and access of data. They are not really 'backup' as mentioned on the box. Have multiple copies of important data in different locations.
 
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