need to rescue corrupt(?) external hard drive

Hi all,

I know this is a topic that generates questions all the time, but I haven't yet found a solution that works from all the searching I've done. My external hard drive (1TB Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex) is, as far as I can tell, corrupted in some manner. I don't remember exactly the circumstances involved--from when it was fine to when it was no longer recognized--but suffice it to say that Windows was involved (never had a drive become unreadable under OS X or Linux, this is the second time while using Windows that it's happened).

I've attached some relevant screenshots. When I connect the drive, it doesnt' appear in Explorer. It also doesn't appear when I connect in Ubuntu (I currently dual boot, Win7 and Ubuntu 10.04). However, when I look it up in Device Manager, sometimes it appears, sometimes it doesn't. When it does appear, it is listed as "Disk Drive". I've tried a number of things, but nothing seems to get it working.

Oh, also, when I turn on the external hard drive, even if it is not plugged into the USB port, I can feel the disk spinning and every few seconds (5 or 6 seconds), I can feel it grind (that's the best way to describe it). It doesn't make noise, it's just a consistent spin spin spin grind, spin spin spin grind, at 5-7 second intervals, as if it's stuck in a pattern of not locating a file and just spinning mindlessly.

What else can I use? I'd rather use something free than have to pay. I tried KNOPPIX before realizing it was for internal drives.

Any help is appreciated. I want to rescue the data and get the drive functioning again. I'm upgrading my computer and need to back everything up.

Does the drive appear under disk management?

can you post a screenshot of device manager?

Hmm. Have you tried uninstalling drivers through device manager and rebooting the computer?

Sounds like the drive might have gone belly up... There are a few things you can try. One, software. I recommend Active @'s recovery software. If that doesn't work, which I suspect it wont... Then we can discuss other options.

The read head going is the classic cause of the click of death, not a grinding.