External Hard Disk Not Detecting

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

  1. Posts : 10
    Windows 7 Ultimate x86
       #1

    External Hard Disk Not Detecting


    Hello. I have a Seagate GoFlex 1TB External Hard Disk. I had been using it for quite sometime without any problems. Now it doesn't get detected in "My Computer" window. I checked in Computer Management and the drive is detected in "Device Manager". However, in "Disk Management", it shows as Unallocated. I am extremely perplexed as this drive had a lot important softwares and books and I don't want to format it to make the hard disk re-detectable. Is there any way to restore it to its previous state without formatting?

    Any help will be appreciated.
      My Computer


  2. Lee
    Posts : 1,796
    Win 7 Pro x64, VM Win XP, Win7 Pro Sandbox, Kubuntu 11
       #2

    First thing that comes to mind is to shut down the computer then unplug the power for about ten second then plug back in and restart. If that doesn't work and you have another computer or laptop that you can use then test it on those.

    A last resort would be to take the HDD out of its holder and plug it directly into the computer using any extra internal plugins. If you do not have any extra ones then unplug the DVD/CD drive and use those. This will give you an idea if there is any thing wrong with the HDD. . .Good luck.

    BTW, "Welcome to the Seven Forums." . . .
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 10
    Windows 7 Ultimate x86
    Thread Starter
       #3

    Thank you for the warm welcome! I'm not sure what you meant by plugins. I have a laptop. So I'll try disassembling the external hard disk from its case and make it my internal drive. What else do you suggest to do then?
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 10
    Windows 7 Ultimate x86
    Thread Starter
       #4

    It was very difficult prying open the case. I don't think I'll reattempt it. But the disk does get detected during boot showing a "Non-system disk error"(when connected via USB interface), the Device Manager displays the name and make of the hard disk. Only the Disk Management shows unallocated. I'm not sure where to proceed from here.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 7,055
    Windows 7 Home Premium 32 bit
       #5

    1. Connect your Seagate GoFlex external drive to another PC and check whether it can read it. If it can, copy all data to another hard disk/external drive and then try to format the faulty drive.

    2. If the above is not possible, prepare a live Linux CD/pendrive boot from it and check whether it can read your external drive.If readable again backup all your files and then you can format the faulty drive.

    https://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials...cy-backup.html

    or

    Lucid Puppy way to recover files from a non-bootable computer

    Next you can try to do a partition Recovery with Minitools Partition Recovery Wizard.

    Though not a tutorial you can find all the info on how to use the Partition Wizard to recover the partition.
    Please check my thread here : Recover a flash drive turned RAW – Partition Wizard and TestDisk.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 10
    Windows 7 Ultimate x86
    Thread Starter
       #6

    jumanji said:
    1. Connect your Seagate GoFlex external drive to another PC and check whether it can read it. If it can, copy all data to another hard disk/external drive and then try to format the faulty drive.

    2. If the above is not possible, prepare a live Linux CD/pendrive boot from it and check whether it can read your external drive.If readable again backup all your files and then you can format the faulty drive.

    https://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials...cy-backup.html

    or

    Lucid Puppy way to recover files from a non-bootable computer

    Next you can try to do a partition Recovery with Minitools Partition Recovery Wizard.

    Though not a tutorial you can find all the info on how to use the Partition Wizard to recover the partition.
    Please check my thread here : Recover a flash drive turned RAW – Partition Wizard and TestDisk.
    The hard disk was not detected in another PC, nor in Linux (I have Ubuntu dual-booted). Right now, I am trying out TestDisk as was suggested in your post. I'll try Partition Recovery Wizard next if TestDisk fails.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 10
    Windows 7 Ultimate x86
    Thread Starter
       #7

    Thank you jumanji, MiniTools Partition Wizard worked for me. Unfortunately, it was only able to recover 2 out my 3 partitions. But atleast, the drive is being detected again. Now I can use Stellar Phoenix to recover files from my lost partition easily.

    I had good hopes on TestDisk too. Like Partition Wizard, it too could detect only 2 out of 3 partitions. But I did not go through with it as I was unsure what entries were to be written into the partition table.
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 7,055
    Windows 7 Home Premium 32 bit
       #8

    Glad that you got on well.

    Not sure why PW as well as Test Disk did not find the third partition.

    Go ahead with whatever recovery procedure you are adopting for the third partition.

    When you have nothing more to do and just as an experiment, try the deep search in Test Disk and see whether it can see the third partition.
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 10
    Windows 7 Ultimate x86
    Thread Starter
       #9

    I did experiment with the deep search option. I had created 3 partitions: the first one was not recovered by PW whereas the 2nd and 3rd were successfully recovered. When I ran the deep search, I was hoping it would show the first (unrecovered) partition in the deep search, but it did not. Instead, it showed me the 2nd partition first. Hence I stopped the search before it could complete 100%.
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 7,055
    Windows 7 Home Premium 32 bit
       #10

    The first sector of your external hard drive got corrupted in an inexplicable way that we have not yet understood fully. Neither PW nor TD can recover the third partition. However PW did recover two partitions and made the drive visible and thereupon you have done a commendable job of recovering data from the third partition with the help of other recovery software. Again proof that as far as data recovery is concerned there is no " one size fits all".

    If you have recovered all data, then I would recommend that you a do thorough cleanup reinitialising it to the factory condition and following it up with a regular format using the two tools below.

    HDD LLF Low Level Format Tool v4.25 (windows executable. works without installation.) HDDGURU: HDD LLF Low Level Format Tool

    HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool v 2.2.3 (again an executable to be run as an administrator) Download HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool 2.2.3 Free - Windows-based Format Utility for HP Drive Key or DiskOnKey USB Device - Softpedia

    Backup all the data from your external drive before you do this cleanup. Take care to choose your external drive before you hit on "Go".

    Happy New Year to all. (Just 47 minutes away here.)
      My Computer


 
Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

  Related Discussions
Our Sites
Site Links
About Us
Windows 7 Forums is an independent web site and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Microsoft Corporation. "Windows 7" and related materials are trademarks of Microsoft Corp.

© Designer Media Ltd
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 12:19.
Find Us