So this isn't much help, but this is what I got from WD this morning:
Thank you for contacting Western Digital Customer Service and Support.
We truly apologize for the inconvenience you are having and we will be more than glad to assist you.
Are you hooking up your external hard drive to a FireWire hub? It is always recommend that you plug your external hard drive directly into your computer. Are you using the power adapter we supplied with your drive?
Do you plug your external hard drive's A/C adapter into a power strip or directly into a wall socket? If you are using a power strip or battery backup then we recommend that you connect your hard drive directly into a wall socket. In the past, we have seen several customers who have had issues using power strips and battery backup devices.
In order for us to help you further, we need to have more information.
- Have you installed the latest OS updates as well as updated the FireWire controller drivers on your computer?
- Have you tried connecting your external hard drive's FireWire cable into a different FireWire port on your computer?
- When connected to a different port, do you have the same problem? Have you tried a different FireWire cable?
- Are you experiencing any other problems with FireWire devices on your computer?
- Does your external hard drive have the same problems if you try it on a different computer?
The answers below may have resolve some or all of your questions.
Answer Title: Problems using a USB hard drive with a USB hub, PCI card, or PC card.
Answer Link:
http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc.cfg/php/enduser/stdadp.php?p_faqid=1233&pcreated=1091039432
Answer Title: What is the correct power supply to use with your Western Digital external hard drive?
Answer Link:
http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc.cfg/php/enduser/stdadp.php?p_faqid=1378&pcreated=1118358612
Sincerely,
Jose N.
Western Digital Service and Support
http://support.wdc.com