Hi I am not sure this is the correct forum to ask this question of the heavy hitters namely TheRollbackFrog, Arvy and Peter2150 but Google doesn't seem to provide a solution. I look after a few friends computers (for gratis) and would not describe myself as a professional although I seem to get by. The problem with one of my friend's computer started approximately 1 week ago when he noticed that his E Drive (backup) began to disappear from Window Explorer on a random basis. I have checked everything from faulty cradle, Seagate test of the E hard drive, changed to another socket on MB and reinstalling Windows 10 Version 1709 with all updates current to 12 December. Rebooting his computer had no effect. In fact his computer appears to be operating as normal. I noticed that turning off the computer, restarting and E Drive would appear. His computer Intel 2600K with 8gig ram. For some unknown reason the problem disappeared for a few days and I decided to backup his C Drive to E Drive as I always do with these computers . I use latest version of Macrium Reflect Version 6. I usually backup his computer fortnightly. This is where I seek the assistance of the above gentlemen. Backup sequence starts normally and then this dialog message appears: Backup aborted - Write operation failed - the request could not be performed because of an I/O device error. I have tried another free backup software which gave another message: Failed to write file. Please check access right of the target location Local Disk E: From above I can't believe that Macrium Reflect suddenly has become corrupted and a reinstall obtained the same result. After the failure to backup. E Drive disappears again and only returns after computer shutdown and restart. My apologies for the rather long thread but would appreciate any advice/assistance so that I can try and rectify the problem. Would a reformat fix it or am I clutching at straws. Noel Southam noels7
Well something is happening that causes the drive to disappear in windows which is what the error messages are saying. I had this same kind of thing happen two machines ago. Fortunately the machine with the problem was under warranty with Velocity Micro. 1st thing the tech suspected was software I had on the machine, and asked me if they could walk me thru a reformat and clean OS install. I agreed, and during the format the disk failed. So much for software. Then ran a long diagnostic test on the drive. It passed. Then we switched port plugs to no avail. Finally they had me bring the machine in as they were located fairly close. The replaced the mother board. That didn't help. Things kept getting stranger until finally the power supply blew. Replaced the power supply and all was well. Googling your problem I saw similar experiences.
other possibilities: faulty SATA cable or the HDD has bad sectors. Either way, download and install CRystalDiskINfo, and it will report if your E drive is OK or not.
@noel1947 -- Sounds like you've already checked the most likely suspects, although I wouldn't rule out an intermittent problem with the drive itself based on just a single run of the Seagate test utility, and any such problems are likely to be progressive. Cables and connections, of course, would be the other most likely suspect. When you switched the drive to a different mobo port, did you also check its power connection?
Agreeing with @Arvy , I wouldn't rule out the disk as well. When you switched ports, you should switch the DISK ONLY, leave the cables and connections in place for the port, not the disk. If the problem moves with the disk, you have a disk issue (only the disk moved, not the connections or the port). You aren't really switching anything if you moved the mobo end of the cable, and aren't really isolating anything if you move just the disk end of the cable. If you move the disk only (no cables) and the problem moves with the disk, you really do have a bad disk. If it doesn't move or disappears, you have a cable or mobo port problem followed by your next step (switch the complete cable set <power AND signal>) to eliminate or blame the cable set. That 2nd gen Intel System is not that young, ya know (we're up to 7th gen know)... Extensive FULL imaging will definitely stress devices as well as connections... a good test platform.
I agree with the previous answers. It could be anything from power supply, motherboard, sata cable, power cable or the disk itself. For identifying I usually go with the order: 1. unplug-reblug the cables. (it could be that the sata cable was slightly moved) 2. use another drive that you know it is working on the same cables and position on the mobo. (to exclude a faulty cable / a bad mobo / powersupply). 3. Move the drive on another system and check if it works. If it does and since it is a seagate check the smart attribute "command timeout". If the value is very high (billions and up, in decimal) the problem existed for a long time. It indicates power or cable problems. Backup everything without shutting down or rebooting the system. Never gumble with disks that fail to initialize, since it could be their "last breath". Panagiotis
One thing to keep in mind that I've seen twice. In troubleshooting particularily with the power supply issue. Small changes in the power supply caused the symptom to move to something else. Drove them crazy.
Many thanks guys for your technical responses. Appreciated. Apparently I have further investigation to complete on your advice. Will get back in touch if I have further questions. Noel Southam noels7
