Freecom External HDD problems

[paulw14]

Hi

I'm having MAJOR problems with my Freecom 3.5" 250GB External HDD and hope somebody can help.

I bought it about a year ago and it's been working fine and I've got a lot of movies,games,music on there.

However more recently I had noticed a considerable slowing down of my desktop,I immediately thought Spware/Adware/Virus etc , and started searching for the problem.

Long story short I found that this only happened when the external HDD was switched on.

This was confirmed when I tried it on another PC.

Furthermore when trying to open files from the drive it just "hanged".

I've contacted Freecom and they've suggested re-formatting,which I would do but don't want to lose all my files,so I've begun transferring to my 2 desktops.

Now here's the problem,I've transferred about 75% of my files but have come to a complete halt.

I switch the HDD on pick the files to move and then nothing it just "hangs" and when I try to do something else I get "not responding".

My whole desktop is affected until I switch the HDD off and then all is fine again.

I know this post is expansive but I'm trying to give as much info as possible.

I've also noticed that LED light on the front of the drive that flickers when in use , goes off and on,as if there is a problem with the power supply(which there isn't).

I can't do a Chkdsk as again it just "hangs" and basically I've run out of ideas.

I'm on the verge of drop kicking it out of a first floor window but thought I'd try posting here first.


Many thanks, Paul.

[mac124]

Hi Paul welcome to the forum, have you tried removing the drive from the caddy and plugging directly into the motherboard of the pc to trnasfer the data?

[paulw14]

Thanks for the reply.

"have you tried removing the drive from the caddy and plugging directly into the motherboard of the pc to transfer the data?".

Sounds like a plan but can't see how the drive comes out it's caddy , it appears to be a sealed unit.

Any ideas ? (yeah I know I'm a pain!)


Regards , Paul.

[wonderlust]

Probably find that the screws are underneath the rubber feet at the bottom of the caddy/enclosure

[PeterStoba]

It may void the warranty though!
Which means, if it is still the same connected direct to the motherboard then you send it off, you might just end up with a broken drive you can't replace or sell

[M4T VW]

If you have transfered 75% of it...Delete that 75% off the drive to see if it helps..Or have you done that already?

[paulw14]

Thanks for the replies guys.

First of all I can't remove the caddy from it's casing as I still have a year of the two year warranty left.

Secondly, I have already deleted the files that I have moved.

Furthermore,I was going to sacrifice some data and delete it pre format but it won't even let me do that now.

I have emailed Freecom Support (excuse me while I stop laughing) who are very responsive but not full of great ideas.

They are going to send me a replacement psu. This "brainwave" was a suggestion from me that it may be the culprit.(intermittent access / LED going off and on)

So fingers crossed that this works and thanks again for your help.

Paul.