WD 500GB external HD heats up fast

[Yocahu]

My Western Digital My Book 500GB ext HD works fine for a short while. I monitor my HD's with Hard Disk Sentinel and as soon as I connect the WD to my computer it says 31 degrees Celsius. But within 10 minutes it is 40 degrees and Windows can't recognize the HD anymore. I let it cool off for a day and I can use it again for max. 10 minutes.
Is there anything I can do about that or is it dying? In the beginning I used it in a warm environment (I live in the Caribbean), but now my room is constantly airconditioned.

 

[EXCellR8]

yup, def don't have that problem up here in frozen NH

anyways, 40c isn't really that hot for a hard drive... and as a rule of thumb anywhere under 50c is considered the "safe zone" for most drives. are you connecting the drive via USB port or firewire? sounds like some sort of a driver or software issue other than heat...

 

[Yocahu]

I use USB connection. After reading your reply I got to think that maybe it could be the Hard Disk Sentinel? Because when it reaches 40C the icon changed color.
I will try it again with the HD Sentinel turned off.

 

[EXCellR8]

Give it a try... could be a driver conflict even though that's a stretch. USB is pretty generic...

Which version of windows are you using?

 

[Yocahu]

Nope, even without HD Sentinel off it stops. I was playing a MP3 and it just stopped and after clicking another file Windows tells me that it can't find it... I use Windows XP, but somehow I cannot update it to servicepack 3. Computer freezes while doing that. While the same OS (same disk) let me update to SP3 on my laptop.

 

[EXCellR8]

strange... i would hop on WD technical support and tell them what's happening. it sounds like it's the OS now though because if it were a driver conflict i would think the drive wouldn't even last 10min. the easiest way to test this out would be to use the drive with another computer with Win XP and see what happens. if you get the same result on a different machine, or two more machines than it's most-likely a problem with the drive itself.

 

[Yocahu]

Contacting WD seems a good idea. Thanks for your help.

 

[Tmagic650]

"I cannot update it to Service Pack 3. Computer freezes while doing that"...

This could be pointing to the real problem issue with your PC. Check to see if you have any active infections or any driver conflicts in the Device Manager