Problem copying large video files to an external hard drive

I have a Seagate external hard drive that is 1.36 To and NTFS, that is connected to my laptop via a usb cable and that I haven't used so much since I bought it (about 2 years ago).

I sometimes put video files that are large .mp4 and .avi files (more than 1 Go) on it. Almost every times I copy the video file on the external HD, the file become corrupted on it, the video is completely or partially unreadable from the external HD. The video can always be played without any problem from the hard drive of my laptop.

So what I usually do is to copy the video file on the external hard drive, and try to read it from it to see if it's working. I almost always have to repeat this procedure 5 to 10 times before it actually works.

What is going on?!

I have 407 Go of data on my external hard drive, mostly my laptop ghost images and many video files. Do you think I have to format my external hard drive? I have an another external hard drive of about 1 To. I could possibly copy the 407 Go of data to the other external hard drive, do the format, and then copy back the data on my external hard drive.

What would you suggest me to do?

Thank you very much in advance!
 

beers

Moderator
Staff member
I'd run some extended seatools tests on the drive and pull some SMART data off of it (something like CrystalDiskInfo). The 1.5 TB/To Seagate drives had an astronomical fail rate
 
Hello, I made some seatools tests, and there was no problem with the "short generic" test but the "short drive self" test failed. Here what seatools tells me about this fail:
Unfortunately, your Seagate product has failed an important diagnostic test, possibly caused by problem sectors which are difficult to read. Now is a good time to make sure that you have a current backup of your important data. If you have not done so already, please consider running the Long Generic test on your external drive. This test has the ability to repair problem sectors that are difficult to read. For more information on this subject, see the Help file topic "Bad Sector Found".

CrystalDiskInfo tells me:
Health status: Caution
Caution: Reallocated sectors count: 4272
Caution: Current pending sector count: 654
Caution: Uncorrectable sector count: 654

Can you tell me what all these informations means? It seems there are problems with some sectors. Is it possible to solve this problem? What should I do now? Should I run the "Long generic test"? Should I make a backup of all the data that are on my external hard drive before?

Thanks!
 

Darren

Moderator
Staff member
Backup data and replace the drive. Once it starts to go it will eventually fail entirely.
 
I have to replace the drive??!! :mad:
I'm really angry! I have almost not used it. I have only used it to store my ghost images and my video files. The rest of the time, it is always unplugged and not used at all! I really don't understand! :(
 

Darren

Moderator
Staff member
Some drives just die. It sucks but yeah you need to replace it if you value the data on it.
 

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
I have to replace the drive??!! :mad:
I'm really angry! I have almost not used it. I have only used it to store my ghost images and my video files. The rest of the time, it is always unplugged and not used at all! I really don't understand! :(

Drives can go out at any time, more often then you think. Usb externals tend to go bad faster then regular internal drives.
 

beers

Moderator
Staff member
Drives can go out at any time, more often then you think. Usb externals tend to go bad faster then regular internal drives.
Yep, that. Same with laptop drives. One drop or slam the wrong way and it's dead.
 
Yep, that. Same with laptop drives. One drop or slam the wrong way and it's dead.
But I never droped or slamed my external hard drive. It is on my desk, unplugged all the time from my computer and from the power outlet. The only time I plug it and I use it is when I do a ghost image of my laptop, which is about 2 times a year, and when I want to copy my video files, which is about 1 time a month. So I think I have used it only about 28 times since I have it. I have used my external hard drive only as a place to put my backups.

How a hard drive that is almost never used and that has been bought only 2 years ago could die so quickly? Shouldn't it supposed to last longer than that?!

By the way, I'm going to buy a new external hard drive as a replacement. Which brand would you recommend me? Western Digital? I will never ever buy Seagate again!!! :(
 
Last edited:

JaredDM

Active Member
Seagate quality is in the absolute dumps right now. Their new drives are failing faster than we can keep up with recovering the data from them here. Get yourself a good HGST drive next time.
 
Top