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I run Win 7 Pro 64 bit on desktop. I have several external drives, which I use for data backups and Acronis system image backups.

One of these drives is a WD MyBook (3 TB). Recently I ran the backup program I have been using for years (Cobian) to back up files from an internal data drive.

The backup completed successfully, but when I checked the data folder it was empty. When I tried to delete the folder, I was denied due to a permissions issue.

I am the only user and have admin rights.

I decided to reformat the drive in Acronis True Image. It would not complete.

I subsequently reformatted (GPT) in Windows, then ran the same backup (600 GB). It completed the backup, the files were there (I did a spot check of several folders) and WinDirStat also showed the correct numbers for used and available space.

Upon reboot Windows Explorer and WinDirStat showed the used and available space as if the back up had not been run. Sure enough files were gone and the folders were empty. What's really odd is that the folder structure (including subfolders) is intact, but when you get to the last nested folder (where the files would be) it's empty.

Any ideas as to what could be causing these files to disappear? I am not worried about losing files because this is a redundant backup. But I can't figure out whether it's a problem with the backup drive. I have run other backups and those files have not "disappeared."

FWIW, this drive also takes much longer for Windows to access than any of my other drives. The 2-year warranty ran out last month.

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  • I suspect the hard drive or usb controller in the enclosure are failing.
    – Moab
    Commented Aug 30, 2016 at 21:41
  • Could it be something as silly as the cable?
    – dg27
    Commented Aug 30, 2016 at 22:33
  • Easy enough to find out, use another cable, but I doubt it.
    – Moab
    Commented Aug 30, 2016 at 22:42
  • I'll check, but I agree--it's likely something more. This drive has been misbehaving for a few weeks.
    – dg27
    Commented Aug 30, 2016 at 22:50
  • Pull the drive from the enclosure, connect it using a Sata to usb Adapter to the PC, see if it behaves normally and run a chkdsk/r on it.
    – Moab
    Commented Aug 30, 2016 at 23:07

1 Answer 1

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Start by checking the USB cable and the power cord by trying different ones and see if there's any difference.

Try other backup tools to exclude the backup software as the potential cause.

Try the same software on a different computer to exclude OS or specific hardware issues on yours.

Test the drive with WD Data Lifeguard Diagnostic (quick and extended tests) to check the health of the device itself. Checking the raw values of the S.M.A.R.T. status is also a good thing to do here.

Mind that the WD My Book features hardware encryption and some specific software applications may have issues with that for one reason or another.

Check if you have all your latest BIOS, OS and driver updates installed on your system.

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  • Thanks--I will try these suggestions. One point: I don't use any encryption.
    – dg27
    Commented Aug 31, 2016 at 10:53
  • I contacted WD and as a one-time courtesy they extended the warranty, which expired in July. Advance replacement on the way. Thanks to all who weighed in with very useful knowledge.
    – dg27
    Commented Aug 31, 2016 at 21:34
  • The device encrypts everything that goes in it automatically via a chip that is on the enclosure and it cannot be turned off so all your data inside the WD My Book is encrypted. Getting the drive out of the enclosure won't make any difference and it will void your warranty so I'd advise against this.
    – Captain_WD
    Commented Sep 1, 2016 at 13:20
  • I just Googled this and see what you mean. The encryption seems pretty useless: I never use a password and can always swap my My Book and My Passport drives between multiple systems, which means if I left my drive somewhere, anyone could do the same. The encryption seems more geared toward preventing users from removing drives from the enclosures than anything else.
    – dg27
    Commented Sep 1, 2016 at 14:25
  • The aim of the encryption feature is to not put any load on the CPU or the system while encrypting and not to waste users' time if they want to encrypt something. Everything is encrypted and if users want protection they can simply set a password and be done with it instead of waiting for the system to encrypt the drive. You are always free to opt out for the non-encrypting WD Elements Desktop if this seems like an issue.
    – Captain_WD
    Commented Sep 2, 2016 at 9:20

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