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Posted By: freelance Bizarre hard drive "failure" - 06/01/15 06:00 PM
I struggled to choose a forum, because I wondered if this problem was caused by Office for Mac 2011?

I had several applications open and the computer was multi-tasking: items being copied across discs, video being edited, then (I'm guessing) Outlook polled my mailboxes in the background.

A dialog box appeared saying that Outlook suffered an I/O error and had to shut down. I relauched, but the app failed to launch.

Investigation showed that the Microsoft User Data folder was completely empty. I keep the folder on a drive dedicated to data, rather than OS/apps. A quick look showed that the Movies folder was also empty. 125 Gb of files had disappeared in an instant. A check of some file/folder names showed that they only appeared on my backup drive (thanks be...) WhatSize showed no invisible files or bizarre moves. (BTW, this Seagate drive is only one year old.)

I had a new drive on the shelf for such an emergency. I pulled DATA_B1 and put the new drive in its place, Bay 1. I thought I'd run DiskWarrior on the "failed" drive, so I plugged it into a USB dock. (I could not run DW or Disk Utility on DATA_B1 because it would not unmount. Disk Utility said it needed repair.)

It mounted and a quick look showed that all the previously missing files were all present and correct! I ran DW, ran Disk Utility, then launched Outlook using the original database. Worked fine.

I wondered if it was a SATA failure of some sort (I'm out of my depth here) so I put the Yosemite drive (which I rarely use) from Bay 4 into Bay 1 and moved everything down one bay. PRAM start, checked all the applications, confirmed backups were in order and everything is running fine right now.

Any guesses what it was I experienced?

The brand new Hitachi drive is back on the shelf and I feel chuffed that my years of computer training (backup/backup/backup) have paid off. smile
Posted By: artie505 Re: Bizarre hard drive "failure" - 06/01/15 10:06 PM
I can't begin to guess what happened, but since "I/O error" has reared its ugly head I'll suggest that you run a surface scan on DATA_B1.

Happy to hear that you recovered intact.
Posted By: Virtual1 Re: Bizarre hard drive "failure" - 06/02/15 11:46 AM
sounds like your run-of-the-mill failing/failed hard drive. If a drive "blips" (briefly loses power and reboots, but the computer doesn't really notice the event) the computer will think the hard drive is still attached and working, and will attempt to IO with it, but the hard drive will essentially ignore the computer. It'll sound normal and the OS will typically return blank directories and io errors on it until you pull and remount the drive. So check your power and data cables.

(you'll occasionally get the sam effect if a drive fails during use, to where it's clicking or chirping, and in that case you can usually hear the issue if you listen to the drive - sometimes carefully if its a small laptop size drive - again, power-cycling the drive often resets it for use, but it's going to get worse and you need to replace it asap)
Posted By: freelance Re: Bizarre hard drive "failure" - 06/02/15 12:38 PM
Thanks both. I started a TTP scan on the drive but only completed 10% before I realized how long it would take. I'll let it run tonight.

I've read that 3 Tb Seagate drives can be problematic, but never had a drive failure until now. Like I said, it's only a year old.

It's back in a different bay, so I'll see if that makes a difference. If the Yosemite drive I moved to Bay 1 has problems, I'll know it's the bay rather than the drive.

All is hunky-dory at the moment.
Posted By: freelance Re: Bizarre hard drive "failure" - 06/03/15 06:44 AM
The TTP scan of the hard drive showed no bad blocks. So, I'll just wait to see how things go. And redouble my backup regime.

The Mac Pro is just over four years old. My last one lasted nine years...
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