Windows 7 won't read my external HD. Format only...

I have a 1.5tb external USB drive. I was installing files to the drive when it stopped working. this is a regular occurance with the drive, and the solution is usually to trun it off and back on again... which I tried and got this error...





so I rebooted in the hope that it would sort itself out, but no joy. I have tried it on my dads pc and got the same error (we're both running the same build of Windows 7 Ultimate.


I have looked in the device manager and the drive is present. so I tried to re-install drivers, nothing happened. then I tried to re-enable it, nothing happened...





this drive contains around 1tb of files. music, pictures, games, videos... none of which I can get again and the last thing I want to do is format.


please tell me there is a solution to this...

Lets start with the easiest (possible) solution:

Try using a known good USB cord and plug in with that.

Also, try all USB ports so we can eliminate that as a possible problem.

Can you fill out your system specs in the bottom left of your post OR in the USER CP? Also the make and model of the HD you are using.

Do not reformat. Worst case scenario we can get the files off your HD before you do that.

If you get it working, even for just a minute, make sure you backup everything while it's working.

Turning the drive on and off is the worst thing you can do as it has probably corrupted your data.

As mhansen1 says, do not format the drive. If you want to disconnect the drive you should be able to open Windows Explorer and right-click the drive icon before choosing Eject, after which you can unplug it safely.

Failing that, shut your computer down, and then disconnect the drive.

Looking at your internal drives, I'm a bit concerned that they are full with very little free space and I'm wondering if that has some bearing on your problem.

hey

thanks for the reply. I have just updated my system spec, as requested.

I have also just removed the HD from the housing and connected it internally using an IDE cable, however I still get the same error message asking to format.

the make and model of the drive is: Seagate Baracuda LP 1.5TB. S/N: 5XW0AHLM

any help is really apreciated.

You can download Recuva here: Recuva - Download

I thoroughly recommend it after it recovered 5,000 photo images off a corrupted drive for me.

mjf said:

You have probably corrupted your file system but most of your data should be intact. Try using RECUVA to recover your data (see free program listing on this forum).

I would then use WD Lifeguard diagnostics to checkout your disk.
With WD disks like my "MyBook Essentials" they can go to sleep and you need to unplug and reconnect but NOT when the USB icon shows they are connected and certainly not when you are transferring data. Like Seavixen says eject first.

I understand what you're saying, however the drive would disappear completly from explorer and from the list of drives on the side panel. so using 'eject' wasn't an option. and if it happened while transffering, windows would give me an error to say the location was no longer available.

I have just tried to use RECUVA and it could not find the location. it also doesn't appear in my device manager when I connect using an IDE cable.

Have you checked in Disk Management to see if the drive still has a drive letter?

Does it show in Device Manager when connected to a USB port?

Hope these links help:

Tips for solving problems with USB devices

External Hard-Drive Not Showing Up

What were you installing to the drive?

there's no sign of the drive in disk management (screenshot attached) and I believe the volume letter is M:

as far as I'm aware, it shows in the device manager when its connected via USB. although I'll have to put the drive back in the housing to double check. thanks for the links, I'll check them out. however I'm starting to lose hope...

I was installing Battlefield 3 game at the time. I clicked on the recycle bin to empty it, which is when the drive stopped working.