Windows 7 will not let me access my 3TB external HDD anymore :(

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  1. jbroaf
    Posts : 32
    Windows 7 64 Home
       New #1

    Windows 7 will not let me access my 3TB external HDD anymore :(


    Hello,

    I have been working with this HDD for almost a year now and have not had any problems with it till today.

    I unplugged it from my computer earlier and now when i plug it back in it goes through the normal "Installing device drivers.....device drivers installed" but after all of that it does not show up in "My Computer" under HDDs but it shows up in "Devices and Printers"

    The device in question is a Seagate Go Flex 3TB external HDD with a dock. Again..it's been working fine for a year but won't come up after i unplugged it today. I have A TON of stuff on the lil bugger and am not in too big of a hurry to leave it for scrap...any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
      My Computer
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  3. solarmystic
    Posts : 2,072
    Windows 7 x64 Professional SP1
       New #2

    Hello and welcome to the forums, jbroaf!

    Can you take a snapshot of your disk management window with the problematic drive plugged in by following the instructions below?

    (all credits for the following posting style go to the Seven Master,
    karlsnooks https://www.sevenforums.com/members/karlsnooks.html    )


    HOW TO POST A SNAPSHOT OF DISK MANAGEMENT DISPLAY

    Run disk management:
    WIN | type DISKMGMT.MSC | ENTER

    (This method gives you a display without the unneeded navigation pane.)
    (WIN=key with Microsoft logo on top.)


    Maximize the output of Disk Management:
    ALT-Spacebar key combo | X key (selects Maximize) |
    Drag the field separators (such as between Status and Capacity) to show entire field.


    Make a snapshot:
    WIN | type SNIPPING | ENTER | New
    Drag the cursor around the area you want to snip.
    File | Save as | select save location and name | Save


    Post the snapshot:

    Screenshots and Files - Upload and Post in Seven Forums

    Thanks in advance!
      My Computer
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  4. jbroaf
    Posts : 32
    Windows 7 64 Home
    Thread Starter
       New #3

    I'm sitting here waiting on the window to populate with all of the info...it's taking it's happy little time.

    I'll be glad when i get this solved...this computer is due for a fresh start anyways....
      My Computer
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  6. solarmystic
    Posts : 2,072
    Windows 7 x64 Professional SP1
       New #4

    jbroaf said:
    I'm sitting here waiting on the window to populate with all of the info...it's taking it's happy little time.

    I'll be glad when i get this solved...this computer is due for a fresh start anyways....

    Take your time, we're not going anywhere!
      My Computer
    Quote Quote

  7. jbroaf
    Posts : 32
    Windows 7 64 Home
    Thread Starter
       New #5

    Now i REALLLLY don't like where this is going....Disk 2 gave me an error when it finally loaded. Since i didn't recognize the disk i checked the properties and it's the Seagate 3TB...
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Windows 7 will not let me access my 3TB external HDD anymore :(-dskmgmt_snapshot.png  
      My Computer
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  8. solarmystic
    Posts : 2,072
    Windows 7 x64 Professional SP1
       New #6

    Yep, it looks like that disk may be busted/damaged...

    Firstly, the Windows doesn't even recognise it's correct size (3.86 GB?), and secondly it's unallocated..

    Do you remember the error that Windows spit out for that Disk?

    If the disk contains important data that you can't afford to lose, i'd recommend you look into Data recovery software like Easeus's Data recovery wizard amongst others..

    http://www.easeus.com/datarecoverywizard/download.htm
      My Computer
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  10. jbroaf
    Posts : 32
    Windows 7 64 Home
    Thread Starter
       New #7

    It said that disk two needed to be initialized before it could be properly shown or something like that...it gave me two choices...MBR (Master Boot Record) and GUIP (Or something like it....Never seen it before). It said that the GUIP was for larger partitions so I chose the GUIP on a hunch that "disk 2" was my 3TB...
      My Computer
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  11. solarmystic
    Posts : 2,072
    Windows 7 x64 Professional SP1
       New #8

    jbroaf said:
    It said that disk two needed to be initialized before it could be properly shown or something like that...it gave me two choices...MBR (Master Boot Record) and GUIP (Or something like it....Never seen it before). It said that the GUIP was for larger partitions so I chose the GUIP on a hunch that "disk 2" was my 3TB...
    Proceed with caution, if the next step involves any form of formatting... to do not proceed unless you're sure you can handle the possibility of data loss
      My Computer
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  12. jbroaf
    Posts : 32
    Windows 7 64 Home
    Thread Starter
       New #9

    It wasn't formatting...I'm fairly well versed in computers but this passes me...once i chose the GUIP it came to the screenshot that i attached... and we can see that "disk 2" is still not initialized...
      My Computer
    Quote Quote

  13. solarmystic
    Posts : 2,072
    Windows 7 x64 Professional SP1
       New #10

    jbroaf said:
    It wasn't formatting...I'm fairly well versed in computers but this passes me...once i chose the GUIP it came to the screenshot that i attached... and we can see that "disk 2" is still not initialized...
    Referring to what i've mentioned before in my previous post, It's highly like that your drive has become corrupted or is suffering from hardware damage.

    All the usual windows based hard disk diagnostics are out of the window because we can't get the drive to initialize to be read by Windows so in this case we'll need to use manufacturer tools:-

    SeaTools | Seagate

    Download this for your OS, and try to perform the instructions from this page:-

    How to use SeaTools for Windows
      My Computer
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