what connection are you using (usb/fw/fw800)
what rpm is the drive (5400, 7200)
2.5" 3.5"

Oh I see fw, is it fw 400 or 800

The new and old one are 800.

By "missing waveforms"....you mean as you're playing, ScratchLive "runs out of waveforms" (and playback is interrupted), or you mean that previously-analyzed files are displaying as though they're not analyzed?

All files are analyzed. During playback, waveforms disappear.

sounds like the read/write head is busted.

Not sure what you mean, I have added videos to new drive and played them

Go back and use your old drive for a few days.

If the problem persists, your files are knackered or there is a software problem.

If the problem is not there, take your new drive back to the store 'cos it's f*cked.

Pretty simple testing process really.

Ok thanks

That is absolutely a drive-access problem.

Whether it's something with the drive mechanism itself, or the enclosure electronics, or the cable, its impossible to know without in-person troubleshooting.

If it was mine, I'd probably pop the drive out of the enclosure and run SMART diagnostics on it (via SATA connection, since such diagnostics don't work over Firewire) after first making sure the problem wasn't a random "bad" Firewire cable (rare but it happens).

The drive comes with software to perform smart diagnostic. I did it and no issues. I also made sure drive wasn't in sleep mode. Thinking about exchanging it for a new one. Thanks.

Another question, I transferred over serato backup files to keep crates. But I also see duplicates of crates. Would that cause issues?

what brand and model drive is it?
i'd like to read some reviews on it.

also, i have actually encountered hds with an external 800 port meanwhile the inner drive is actually an eide. so they don't actually get firewire speeds. it's pretty ridiculous but used to be common. doesn't happen as much these days and i HIGHLY doubt that's the issue.

this is what I have:

www.wdc.com

Honestly its probably a 5400 rpm drive and that could be causing the issue. I had that happen occasionally.

Another thing is are you isolating the drive from vibration at your events? Do you get the missing waveforms at home? You might need to put some foam under the drive.

yes missing waveforms at home as well. The prior drive i was using (lacie rugged firewire 500gb) worked under the same conditions with no problems. starting to think it is a bad drive. going to return it tomorrow,

I had the same problem on a WD passport SE. It turned out to be a broken wire in the the firewire cable that was causing intermittent data transfer. Try changing the cable and see if that helps...

I've said it before and I'll repeat it here...while I've had good results with WD's bare drives, I've seen a lot of problems with WD-branded external drives. Among other things, they sometimes use lower-specced drives to put into those enclosures than what they sell as bare drives.

A modern 5400rpm drive is more than sufficient for videos...I've been running on WD's larger 5400rpm drives for several years now and haven't had any issues playing videos.

All that said: a messed up Firewire cable could easily cause the kinds of problems described, and that's why I mentioned the cable before.

thanks guys. will look into cable

jsut tested it with different firewire cable, same result. i'm returning it tomorrow.

"no power adapter required"
could that be it?


do people have good results with HDs like that?
personally, i am not too keen on that. i want corded power, just for peace of mind.

I have had great results. I have always used bus drives. thinking about exchanging it for the lacie 1tb.

custom external is the better option

oyen digital FTW
oyendigital.com
oyendigital.com

I just picked this up today. wish me luck.

sorry forgot link:

www.g-technology.com

I've heard nothing but good things about those drives.

Good luck!

thanks.

transferred over videos without serato backup. didn't build overviews yet, but did a test run and perfect. no missing waveforms. so for right now it seems like it was the HD.

Thanks for all your help guys.

that's what i do.
many internals have better specs than most externals.
so after putting them in a case you have a great hd.

i had a wd studio hd with the security passcode... it was a 640 gb, anyways, i was using it with a firwire 800 and had the same exact problem. its a major issue, so what i did to fix the problem is this:

1. stopped using my unibody and went back to my preunibody.
2. got a new HIGH SPEED enclosure that supports big data transfer.
3. got the wb scorpio black 750gb (beast btw) 7200 rpm 16mg cache

i was thinking that the enclosure's guts may be struggling to transfer that amount of information. so i got a high speed usb 3.0/firewire800

now, no problem. knock on wood.

yep, same issues.

the drive I bought now is 7200 rpm and videos running smooth.

So now you can go back to your unibody or give it to me for Christmas.

you can have it for 300 hugs

jk

Having the same problems with the same drive (WD My Passport Studio 1 TB)

Running a newer Macbook Pro 17

File Analyization is at a crawl & "waveforms run out" and play is interrupted. It is a random occurence with no rhyme or reason.

Anyone using one succesfully? Will probably try to take back, maybe Serato has an issue with this particular drive

save yourself some time and return it. numerous people told it was the drive. even the help section told me. i went out and bought this drive:

www.g-technology.com

It's not a Serato issue, those WD externals are absolute crap.

For the 230945823th time:

Buy a bare drive, and put it into a good case yourself.

I've had tons of success with WD Passports & Serato, probably have a half dozen of em. Just strange that this super expensive, bullet proof firewire 800 drive in particular doesn't work. Really looking to ditch the large form factor, wall warted drives.

THIS

THAT