External Hard Drive problems


  1. Posts : 83
    Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 7601 Multiprocessor Free Service Pack 1
       #1

    External Hard Drive problems


    I have a Western Digital external hard drive It lights up but doesn't sound quite normal and it not recognized by my Win7 computer.

    I fear the worse. Any thoughts on how I might try to recover the data?

    Thanks

    SM
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 1,379
    Win7 Pro 32-bit, Win8 Pro 32-bit
       #2

    When you say not recognized, you mean it is not given a drive letter?

    If that's the case, then open up Disk Management and scroll down through the "drives" to see if it is listed near the bottom. If it is, then see if it will let you assign a drive letter. If that work, you should be OK.

    If you don't see it in Disk Management, then the next time you boot, do so with the drive connected, go into the BIOS setup screens, and see if the BIOS sees the drive. If that doesn't see it, then there's no way to mount it to get the files off.

    However, if the BIOS does see it, then you can at least try accessing it following the info below ...

    Since your data was on a Windows partition, based on my experience at doing
    this successfully, my suggestions are the following:
    [NOTE: If your PC has a working copy of MS Windows on it, skip to step 4]
    1) Connect your drive to the PC.
    2) Download and install the trial version of RecoverMyFiles from Runtime
    Software in MS Windows.
    3) Right-click the RecoverMyFiles shortcut and select "Run as
    Administrator"
    4) Select the option to Recover a Drive
    5) You will get a list of drives, scroll down to find the one for your
    drive.
    If it's shown in the list, then continue; else, you're done and won't be
    able to recover the files...
    6) Select Automatic Driver recovery, press Start button
    7) It will run for a while but when done, will show a directory tree in the
    left pane. Do NOT interrupt it.
    8) When done, browse the folders in the directory tree -- and be SURE to
    check the filesizes of the files you want to recover. If the filesize is
    zero, the file is trashed and you will NOT be able to recover it.
    If the files look OK, you will need to contact Runtime Software to purchase
    a license for the recovery. You won't have to reinstall the app; instead,
    they will email you an activation code which you can use to turn on the
    recovery feature.
    According to their website, the "standard" version of the app is $70 USD.
    They also have a Pro version for $99 dollars, but if you go to the website
    below, you can compare the features and (at least for me) the extra cost
    wasn't worth it:
    Recover My Files: Purchase GetDatas Recover My Files data recovery software
    Your data ... your money ... your choice.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 83
    Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 7601 Multiprocessor Free Service Pack 1
    Thread Starter
       #3

    I will give this a try.

    Thanks a lot.

    SM
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 83
    Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 7601 Multiprocessor Free Service Pack 1
    Thread Starter
       #4

    This did not seem to work.

    Maybe I just need to toss it,

    Thanks

    SM
      My Computer


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

    That does not answer any of the questions posed.

    1. Are you able to see the drive in Disk Management? yes/no. If yes, take a screenshot and post it. Disk Management - Post a Screen Capture Image

    2. Are you able to see it in the Bios? yes/no

    A new question.

    When did this happen? All of a sudden one day or was there any event you could think of that could have precipitated this state - a sudden power loss while writing to it or you pulled it out without resorting to "safely remove"

    Have you tried connecting it to another PC and checked what happens? Check the Device Manager as well as Disk Management.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 83
    Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 7601 Multiprocessor Free Service Pack 1
    Thread Starter
       #6

    How do I look in the Bios?

    I don't know when this happened. I have a bunch of external hard drives because of photos.

    It does not show up in the Disk Management.

    Thanks for your continued help.
      My Computer


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

    Smorton said:
    How do I look in the Bios?

    I don't know when this happened. I have a bunch of external hard drives because of photos.

    It does not show up in the Disk Management.

    Thanks for your continued help.
    Usually it will be listed under Advanced Bios Features > Hard Disk Boot Priority where you can select the HDD to boot from. Your system drive will usually be the first HDD to boot from. You can change it to USB HDD where the external USB drive/s will be listed for example Seagate GoFlex (which is my connected external drive) You may look into your motherboard documentation explaining how to enter BIOS setup and how to change Hard disk Boot Priority.

    Have you tried the problem external drive on another PC?
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 83
    Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 7601 Multiprocessor Free Service Pack 1
    Thread Starter
       #8

    I am going to hook up to another hard drive and see what happens. i notice it makes a little noise once in a while.

    SM
      My Computer


 

  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 04:15.
Find Us