ROCK Mobile Disk Problem

(First post)

Hello -

I stumbled upon this website while attempting to gather some relevant info concerning my ROCK Mobile Disk external hard drive problem.

I did find an old thread or two that discussed problems with this hardware, however I couldn't seem to find any answers I could use.

I bought this device off eBay a year or so ago and have been using it simply on a once-a-month basis to perform desktop backups. I recently toggled the power button "ON" and noticed that the power light was flickering/pulsating from green to amber to green to amber... etc. I tried a few different USB cables and then tried a different computer, but the drive still does not work; neither computer recognizes it within MY COMPUTER.

BTW, I notice no unusual sounds or vibration coming from the drive.

FWIW, I don't need retrieve any of the data, but I would like to get it working again if possible. I have not opened the case because I don't have the knowledge to discern what I'm looking for.

Should I just throw the whole device away or should I attempt to remove the drive itself from the case and obtain a replacement.

Suggestion/recommendations?

 

Hi and welcome to the BBS,

The flashing LED obviously identifies that something is wrong, do you happen to have the User Guide/manual for it? The error should be listed there.

The hard disk drive inside the case may be fine. If so, you could get another external enclosure to put it into. Further, if the drive proves to be bad, you can get another Hard Disk Drive (HDD) to put into the new enclosure. It would work out about the same as if you bought another external drive, but if the original HDD still works, you have probably saved about 2/3 of the cost of buying a whole new one.

Can you get someone with some technical background to help you?

If you get to the stage of "throwing it away ", opening it up yourself won't make any difference and may increase your experience level.

Matt

 

This should not be difficult as inside the case, there should be a typical hard drive - meaning it will have two cables; power and data - very different looking, with connectors that can only be inserted one way - if you don't stand on them. Finding all the screws, clips, and correct strategic positioning of the tongue needed to open the enclosure's case will be the hard part. The drive itself will be mounted to the enclosure by two small screws on each side.

Once you get the HD out of the enclosure, it can easily be tested by putting it into another enclosure, or by installing it into another computer as a secondary drive (not a boot drive).

In any case - do NOT simply through the whole thing away. There may not be any data on that drive you need to retrieve, but there may be a whole treasure trove of personal information on it you don't need a bad guy (or nosy neighbor) to get his hands on. For any hard drive in need of disposal, deleting and formatting is not enough. If you cannot totally "wipe" the data, you MUST destroy the drive (I drill 3 holes through them) - or keep it under lock and key - forever.

 

Thank you for the feedback!

mattman commented:
=> do you happen to have the User Guide/manual for it?

No, I don't recall receiving any documentation... just the drive, power cable and USB cable.

=> The hard disk drive inside the case may be fine. If so, you could get another external enclosure

It didn't even occur to me that the enclosure might be bad (not the drive). Unfortunately, I don't have another enclosure available for experimental use.

=> opening it up yourself won't make any difference and may increase your experience level.

True - that's what I will probably end up doing. If nothing else, I'll just have a look.


Bill commented:
=> If you cannot totally "wipe" the data, you MUST destroy the drive


I didn't know that... I thought I could FORMAT and be done with it.

 

Nope. All formatting does it setup the tracks and sectors to receive data, and mark the space as free in the tables. Any data in the sectors prior to formatting is left untouched. With special, easy to find software, data can be retrieved - by anyone with a PC.

When you "wipe" a drive, you are not actually removing the data. The program writes a series of random 1s and 0s into each and every storage location, several times, thus ensuring any previously stored data (residual magnetism) is unreadable (remember, drives use magnetic properties to align the magnetic particles on the platters).

 

Two things:

1. I opened it up just to peek inside. It seems as though the drive is a 250GB Seagate Baracuda which I consider rather run-of-the-mill. Since I don't have any way to test the electrics, I disconnected/reconnected the various wiring connectors checking for bad contacts. I held the drive up to my ear and noticed that as the LED pulsates, I can hear a matching sound of the disk attempting to spin up (off/on, off/on, etc.).

2. Could directly exposing the disk to a strong household magnet (from a CB radio antenna base) destroy the data for security purposes?

 

Doesn't sound good but plugging the HD internally rather that using the case may still wield good results.

Possibly, but removing it from the external case and then the internal shielding before using the magnet would be better. But if you're going to go to that bother why not have a game of frisbee against a brick wall

Seriously,

Yes if there is sensative information on the drive you should think carefully about how it's disposed but most data theft involves passing on 2nd hand computers etc. It rarely involves someone grabbing a faulty HD from the trash and recovering the data on it.

 

Hmmm, I have used a huge magnet from an old subwoofer before and it worked. But now days, HDs use more platters and better shielding in the HD cases so I don't know if that magnet is strong enough to reach that deep. You could certainly try and leave it there for a week or so, turn it over and hit it from the other side for another week. That said, you still don't know if the drive is bad, or if the enclosure is not supplying the proper power. The drive itself may still be good. This is something an experienced repair guy could verify in less than 15 minutes.

The problem is, I would not know how to verify it worked, without connecting up to another computer - where I could just wipe it with Eraser.

 

I don't really know any repair guys. There is a Best Buy (Geek Squad) a few miles away that I may ask about it. It just depends upon how much they want to charge me to perform a quick test to tell me which is bad, the disk or the enclosure.

If all else fails, I'll hang it from a tree in the back yard and use it for target practice.

 

Well, not all Geek Squads are alike, so you take your chances. That said, this would still be an easy task for a BB-GS trainee. Then again, I have met more than one IT expert who would be lost looking for a left-handed screwdriver.

There you go. And with that comment, I suspect the BestBuy minimum charge would be more than you feel it is worth. My take is to agree with that, unless there is some file on that drive you need.

For a replacement, you might want to consider getting an enclosure that lets you choose your own drives. Some are pretty fancy, supporting multiple drives in redundant RAID configurations - great for backing up and archiving your data. Since users are expected to install their own drives, access is easier, and comes with instructions - in 22 languages.

If your computer supports SATA devices, you might consider that instead of USB. If it does not support SATA, you can add a PCI to SATA adapter card, a task even easier than opening your current enclosure. SATA is a much better interface in terms of speed, and stability, and is sure to be around for years to come. Hopefully USB 3.0 (if it ever makes it out of committee) will be what USB 2.0 was supposed to be.