It's portable, and lately it's become loose.

[crickets]

I have a WD My Passport - about four years old, I'd say - and lately it doesn't like spinning up with certain cables (that are A-OK with other devices). ONE cable, if I jiggle it a bit, it connects and spins up. Another cable, it's fine.

So I'm presuming somehow the connection inside the drive is a bit wonky (based on the joggling cable).

My question is, can I do anything about this? (Open it and reseat the connection, soak it in Barbicide, something?) or do I just suck it up and buy a new drive. (TRAVELING overseas, they ain't selling here at Amazon prices!)

ThanksA powered new enclosure would be my choice...the Passport enclosures aren't exactly known for their durability.First of all, I'm a big fat liar.

I don't have a WD My Passport - that's what was on SALE at the little electronics store in the lobby.

I have an iomega eGo, and it's done pretty well. This was over three years ago, after all.

Second of all, I think you mean pop out the insides and put them in a new case, one that requires its own power source. Don't have tools are materials to do the latter, and external power is a nonstarter (forgive the mixed metaphor!)

Nevertheless, are there specific brands you recommend (or specifically don't recommend)?

Some of my options at the place on the block:
- The WD Passport
- WD Elements SE
- Sony
- Toshiba Canvio
- Seagate Backup Plus

Thanks!
I don't like any of the above listed.
I buy my own enclosures and then select the HDD i want.
The best units out there will accomodate 3-4 different style HDD's...have external power sources...and have cooling fans.

That's what i use.Well, like I said, I'm living in a hotel room 8200 miles from home, so I need an off-the-rack option.

Additionally, I need a solution that runs solely off of USB as I don't always have access to external power.

So anyone else with recos?They connect via USB...the reason i buy enclosures that are powered by an A/C adapter is that on some PC's USB ports are underpowered therefore i do not trust them for important file or disk level activities...
Off the rack means what ? ? They are available anywhere.Hi

I recommend a WD Passport at the moment just get a USB3 500gb or 1TB look after it, like unplug it when moving the laptop.
Only have it plugged in when you need it. If you are listening to music or watching movies better to put it across to the laptops drive and use that instead  .
Keep the cable that comes with the drive as the cable for that drive.
The USB3.0 connectors on the hard drives are more rugged than the USB2.0 micro usb connections.


Lisamaree
  Hi Again

This isn't  the drive you did the coke spill on in 2010 is it?

If so it has done really well

Some drive enclosures made a couple of years ago were not so good. Now the pacific rim people have some decent ONES ate bargain prices and the ship international. I got one that looks good and works good.

Look around, they are available. Amazon has nice looking units fro about $20 to $40. Or try New Egg or even eBay.  Here is none of the cheap ones.

It is the same drive! (And it was DIET Coke).

Recognize my shopping options are very limited. Buying an enclosure/using a separate power source are NOT HAPPENING.

The options I have are the five above. Full stop.

Or repairing the one I have with the materials I have. (Perhaps if I had a budget *SPAM* to help...?)

(The main objective for having the drive is that I need to keep all personal items - music, movies, correspondence, bank records - OFF the corporate laptop's hard drive.)

Thanks!So I bought the My Passport - not happy with the 'special' connector, but oh, well.

I've tried two ways to move the old drive onto the new drive:
- Basic Drag and Drop
- Using Allways Sync n Go

Both times, everything copies OK, but the folder dates all show 'Created' dates of today, not the original creation dates. Every other backup program I've tried either does the same thing or saves the backup in some kind of 'container' file.... I'd really like to just clone the old drive contents on to the new.

Suggestions?

ThanksIf you copy the files, the original files stay where they are and new ones are made at the destination location, so 'created' dates of the time of the copy would be correct (since they were created just now.) Drag and dropping the files and using a utility would both be examples of copying. However if you cut the files instead of copying them, this is equivalent to a move operation as opposed to just a copy, meaning that the original files' creation dates will be kept, the files will be removed from the old hard drive, and will be transferred to the new one.

That being said, the creation dates do not matter, and the end goal for you will be identical either way, save for the fact that the old files will still be available if you choose to do a copy and not a cut. The files will be identical, so in my opinion if you're going to have the old drive sitting around anyway, you'd might as well just leave the old files on it just in case of the unlikely scenario that you need them for some reason.I won't have the old drive - it's on its deathbed.

The Create Dates do matter to me....

For future  reference.
You can use Robocopy
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_xp-files/how-to-preserve-timestamp-when-moving-folder-from/4aa65e7e-3eec-47df-a9d5-dff045de8c0f
Quote

When a folder is copied from one, a new folder is created at the new location and that is why the you get to see the new date. You can try to zipping the files and that option keeps the original dates or you may  use Robocopy.
Robocopy.exe: Robust File Copy Utility
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=17657