3 out of 4 Externals all dying out at the same time

WD External and Portable SSD External SSD for Windows
1

Okay well maybe 1 out of the 4 could be put down to old age, but the other 2 were relatively new.

1 is less than 12 months old the other is just outside of it’s Warranty.

Naturally one of the ones that has appeared to die has been my master backup, the one where I had backed up both other drives. (The one just outside of it’s Warranty)

Initially it was 4 for 4 dead Externals. I thought I would go through a process of elimination, swap out power first, then USB3.

I got lucky with 1, I swapped out a USB3 with my newest External, and it appeared on my Desktop, but what to do with my Master Backup??

Then I remembered I has a WD Passport with a USB3 cable.

I swapped it for a known working cable, but no such luck.

Can anyone please tell me the chances of 3 previously working Externals all dying at the same time?

And any suggestions as to what I may have overlooked?

2

Sorry, but your first question is a math question, and it has been a long time since I solved any probability “story problems”.

As for your last question: Have you walked under any ladders lately?

Seriously, maybe the problem is with your computer USB connection or cable.

3

No not walked under any ladders, did have 3 black cats walk in front of me though.

4

Hmm, looking at the date of your post, and it’s the same time I started having problems with my externals not being recognised - is that what you mean by “dying”? What OS are you on? I had 2 XP computers where the drives suddenly weren’t recognised any more shortly after a Windows update (and I know allegedly there are no more XP updates, but there were in this case), and I suspect the update is the cause, because I can still use the drive on Win 8.1.