1TB WD USB hard drive failure - is in Device Manager, not initialized

Hi.

I was normally using my computer, when I suddenly noticed one of my hard drives disappeared from My Computer. Checked the Device Manager, I get the following. Trying to initialize it throws up this error:


Seems to spin just fine. Trying different USB ports failed, switching cables as well.

Already tried a few programs. GetDataBack for NTFS throws up error 1117. R-Studio also fails, as does DMDE and MTY. My friend even borrowed me Microsoft DaRT (part of MDOP), but when I boot into it, it doesn't recognize the HDD at all, no matter how hard I try. Only my W7 installation does.

Anything I can do in this situation? I had a lot of important data on it, and it's not completely dead yet. Maybe I can still save it somehow, without haivng to pay one of those data recovery thieves...

have you tried wd data lifeguard tools?

since I don't know which drive you have I can't post a direct link to it for your drive but here is a link to all of them.
WD Support / Downloads / Select Product

serpentracer said:

have you tried wd data lifeguard tools?

since I don't know which drive you have I can't post a direct link to it for your drive but here is a link to all of them.
WD Support / Downloads / Select Product

Click to expand...

I have this one:
WD Support / Downloads / Legacy External / My Book Home Edition

I downloaded WD Lifeguard and ran a quick test. It ran for 5 seconds before throwing up this error and immediately stopping the test.



I've just started an extended test, and they say it can take up to a couple of hours. I'll go to sleep now and report back overnight with results.

yeah it appears to be failing on you. hope it still has a warranty. at least drives are pretty inexpensive now. heck the other day a computer store by my house (micro center) is selling 1.5T hard drives for $69.
a few years ago you couldn't touch a 300g hard drive for $60.

Well sure, but I want my data back. Here's the extended scan's results:

Your only hope is professional data recovery at this point...better to unplug the disk and stop using it altogether. Any further attempts at testing and/or recovering your data are likely to make things worse. Sorry to have to be so blunt...I've had this happen to me once and speak from experience

Photoman,

Try TestDisk. I make no promises. Let us know the results.

True is that when you are not testing the disk, then physically disconnect the disk so that the disk doesn't spin when not needed.

TestDisk - CGSecurity

It works for about 10-15 minutes, then says there were errors and stops.

Just curious to know what happens at every stage when you run Test Disk.

Please have a look at the guide I had put out here .

In the second window does your WD HDD show up with the correct capacity?

If you get as far as the fifth Window, what does the fifth Window show?

Try to complete the process and give your stage by stage comment.

Now if you had gotten upto the fifth Window, you can select Backup. This should facilitate backing up whatever data is there on your HDD. Try and let us know what happens.

When it showed up an error message at some stage (at which stage ?) did you wait for a sufficient time? Did Test Disk say it cannot proceed further or you closed it even before Test Disk gave up?

You may appreciate none here could have tested Test Disk under actual troubled conditions and your feedback on it may help us.

Hope you will be able to recover the data on your HDD, even if it cannot be fixed.

thought of this thread when I seen this,

Free Data Recovery Software to free recover deleted files and recover formatted or corrupt hard drives - EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard Free Edition.

It may be too late, but here's another two cents worth of advice. If the external drive is in warranty, it will have to be sent back to be replaced, so your data is toast with that option, if you can't get it off before RMAing it.

So what I suggest, assuming your external drive is a 3.5" model, is to open it up. Google your model series, and you may even find a YouTube link which shows how to open it, if it's a difficult affair. Most, if not all the 3.5" drives in an external enclosure merely plug into bog-standard SATA power and signal connectors on a miniscule circuit board at the end of the enclosure, such as are in your PC, i.e., the MB SATA signal connector on the MB, and the SATA power supply cable coming from your power supply.

If you can get the HDD out of the external case, AND IF IT DOES NOT HAVE A SOLDERED/ONE PIECE SATA/USB, etc., connector, then just connect the HDD to your MB SATA, and power supply connectors. Then it will just be another (or a different on ... if you are disconnecting one to allow this to be used) drive hard-connected, like your current WD and Seagate. This may allow you to get more than the few - 15 minutes you currently have, to get your data off before the drive finally rolls onto its back with its feet in the air! And it will.

Now, this will void your warranty, although WDD was sympathetic to a friend of mine when he opened up an external HDD to get his data off before sending it to WD for replacement. He had a heat problem inside the case, and this is what may be happening in your situation. At any rate, if your data is very valuable, as you say, sometimes difficult times call for non-traditional solutions.

BTW, most 2.5" WDD 1tb externals have a solid/different connector on the back of the drive, part of a different drive board, so that this trick (connecting internally within a PC) won't/can't work. In your situation, though, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

jumanji said:

Just curious to know what happens at every stage when you run Test Disk.

Please have a look at the guide I had put out here .

In the second window does your WD HDD show up with the correct capacity?

If you get as far as the fifth Window, what does the fifth Window show?

Try to complete the process and give your stage by stage comment.

Now if you had gotten upto the fifth Window, you can select Backup. This should facilitate backing up whatever data is there on your HDD. Try and let us know what happens.

When it showed up an error message at some stage (at which stage ?) did you wait for a sufficient time? Did Test Disk say it cannot proceed further or you closed it even before Test Disk gave up?

You may appreciate none here could have tested Test Disk under actual troubled conditions and your feedback on it may help us.

Hope you will be able to recover the data on your HDD, even if it cannot be fixed.

Click to expand...

At Window 2, when I select my hard drive and press enter, it hangs on that menu for 2 minutes, but then proceeds. It DOES show the correct capacity, though.

Window 5:


At Window 6, when I press Y and Enter, the Y doesn't show up, and it hangs on that screen for 40 minutes. Then it finally proceeds to the next window.

Window 7:


I don't know what to do from here, so I left it. I just know that I kept only one partition on that entire drive, NTFS formatted in Windows 7.

Thanks for the feedback on Test Disk. It indicates Read errors. You have also run the manufacturer's tool which also indicate serious Read/write errors which obviously it could not repair.( Once when my Paragon Imaging software refused to image a new Seagate drive stating there are I/O errors which needs to be checked with the manufacturer's tool, I ran SeaTools and fortunately it fixed up the problem. After that Paragon did image the drive. A year and half later the drive is still working fine with no problems)

As others and Corazon have opined Professional Data Recovery seems to be the only option.

Whether after all this should you try other Data Recovery software? Controversial. Opinions may differ.

serpentracer said:

thought of this thread when I seen this,

Free Data Recovery Software to free recover deleted files and recover formatted or corrupt hard drives - EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard Free Edition.

Click to expand...

Already tried this one, didn't help at all.

jumanji said:

Thanks for the feedback on Test Disk. It indicates Read errors. You have also run the manufacturer's tool which also indicate serious Read/write errors which obviously it could not repair.( Once when my Paragon Imaging software refused to image a new Seagate drive stating there are I/O errors which needs to be checked with the manufacturer's tool, I ran SeaTools and fortunately it fixed up the problem. After that Paragon did image the drive. A year and half later the drive is still working fine with no problems)

As others and Corazon have opined Professional Data Recovery seems to be the only option.

Whether after all this should you try other Data Recovery software? Controversial. Opinions may differ.

Click to expand...

Well, it seems I don't have a choice. All righty then, thanks.