External Hard disk Iomega 2 Tb recognized by pc but can't be formatted

Page 1 of 6 123 ... LastLast

  1. Posts : 23
    windows 7
       #1

    External Hard disk Iomega 2 Tb recognized by pc but can't be formatted


    Hi everyone
    I'm new here and even though i have been reading a lot of usueful threads , i couldn't solve my problem at all.

    Well i have an external HDD Iomega 2Tb , that after a while stopped to work entirely.
    At first i would get "corrupted data " messages on windows 7, but now i can't access any of its content, even though as soon as i connect it to my pc it DOES get recognized and has a letter assigned, but i just can't do anything on it.

    I tried formatting it via windows but the proccess fails before even starting( it looks like any pc i connect it to, detect it at first(like a couple of seconds) but then its connection goes off even though its usb cable is perfect and i also tried connecting with several different cables just to be sure.

    Then i used several programs, like "hard disk low level format tool" which as soon as i start the formatting process gives error strings and doesn't even start the process at all( remains stuck at 0%)

    I also tried to use "Hard disk sentinel" program which gives it a status of 0% health and suggests me to back its data up. Too bad i just can't access it at all. it also states "REALLOCATED SECTORS COUNT"


    I tried booting my pc with gparted and seeing if it could somehow formatting it and assign a new partition but it's like each program can access for a very short amount of time( the hdd led blinks as well) then it can't be accessed anymore and "gets lost" (its led stops blinking as well).
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 11,424
    Windows 7 Ultimate 64
       #2

    Welcome to SF gabriel,

    I would double check the connection by trying another USB port and changing the cable and let us know if that helps.

    Sorry you tried different cables I see, does the drive show up in the bios? Does the drive have an alternate connection like esata or firewire you could try?
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 7,055
    Windows 7 Home Premium 32 bit
       #3

    1. Please post a screenshot of how your ext. HDD in question appears in Disk Management. Disk Management - Post a Screen Capture Image

    2. Connect your ext. drive to another working PC, check and report what happens.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 23
    windows 7
    Thread Starter
       #4

    aalright i attached a pic just like you asked.

    i tried connceting it to another pc but the results are the same.
    it doesn't have an alternative way to be connected beside via usb.

    oh and the pics language is Italian i hope it's not a big deal. It's the disk drive 1 , status online, primary partition.


    alright i removed it from its case and this is what i got:

    SEAGATE BARRACUDA LP 2TB
    FIRMWARE CC34
    DATA CODE 10201
    SITE CODE SU

    thank you very much for your help

    cheers
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails External Hard disk Iomega 2 Tb recognized by pc but can't be formatted-hdd.jpg  
    Last edited by gabriel70; 31 Jul 2013 at 23:44.
      My Computer


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

    OMG! Why did you take the HDD out of its casing? By handling the bare HDD you are likely to make matters worse.

    OK, never mind. Put it back into its casing, connect your ext. HDD to your PC and check whether it looks the same (RAW) as in your previous screenshot.

    If so you will run Partition Wizard bootable CD version booting from the CD/pen drive and run Partittion Recovery Wizard in it to recover the partition.

    Download Partition Wizard Bootable CD ISO from Free download Magic Partition Manager Software, partition magic alternative, free partition magic, partition magic Windows 7 and server partition software - Partition Wizard Online

    a) Burn the ISO to a CD and boot from the CD to run Partition Wizard

    or b.) create a bootable pen drive with the ISO as indicated in my post hard disk failure in sony vio laptop VPCSB38GA ( only that part dealing with creating a bootable pen drive with Rufus)

    Now boot from the CD or pen drive and run Partition Wizard.

    Follow the steps under Recovery with Partition Wizard: SanDisk Cruzer Blade 16GB in my thread Recover a flash drive turned RAW – Partition Wizard and TestDisk.

    ( In your case it will be your Iomega 2TB external drive. To avoid confusion, Remove all other USB drives and connect only the Iomega which you want to recover.)
    Last edited by jumanji; 01 Aug 2013 at 01:43.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 23
    windows 7
    Thread Starter
       #6

    alright mate i'm on it

    i'll let you know how things turn out

    thanks and bye for now
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 5,941
    Linux CENTOS 7 / various Windows OS'es and servers
       #7

    Hi there
    once you start getting up to 2TB disk sizes you need to change / convert it to a GPT drive -- 2TB is around the limit for standard "MBR" drives and at the limit you'll get problems.

    Have a read of this for more info.

    http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/...er-boot-record

    The other solution is to boot up something like a strand alone version of Partition Wizard and split the HDD into smaller partitions.

    Cheers
    jimbo
      My Computer


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

    Hi jimbo45,

    This is an extract from Microsoft Support article from Windows_support_for_hard_disks_that_are_larger_than_2TB

    "In order for an operating system to fully support storage devices that have capacities that exceed 2 terabytes (2 TB, or 2 trillion bytes), the device must be initialized by using the GUID partition table (GPT) partitioning scheme............

    Note that this article refers to disk capacity in powers of two instead of powers of 10, which is the more common designation on storage device capacity labels. Therefore, references to “2 TB” actually refer to a product that is labeled as having “2.2 TB” of capacity....................."

    Hi Gabriel,

    Inasmuch as your external HDD is only 1863.02GB (your screenshot) much less than 2.2TB you need not be concerned about this.

    The only thing I am concerned now is that you had tried various methods to format your ext. drive and whether this has turned your ext. HDD, RAW. Never mind.

    Run the Partition Recovery Wizard in Partition Wizard and check whether you can recover the partition. If partition recovery is successful, your ext. HDD will be restored to its former condition and you will be able to access all data in it.

    If Partittion Recovery is not successful, you can try to format it with Partition Wizard.(if you don't want to recover data)
    Last edited by jumanji; 01 Aug 2013 at 08:00. Reason: minor corrections
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 23
    windows 7
    Thread Starter
       #9

    Thanks for your help and explaination JUMANJI

    As of right now i'm Running the Partition Recovery Wizard in Partition Wizard as suggested to see if anything can be done.
    The process is taking sooo long though.
    Is it normal it's still stuck at 0% after several hours?
    At this rate how long should it take? couple of weeks? wow just wow

    Thanks everyone

    as soon as partition wizard has finished i'll update my hdd status

    cheers
      My Computer


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

    How is your ext. HDD being shown in Partition Wizard?

    If it is shown as "Bad Disk" ( and not as "unallocated"), then the prognosis is not good.

    Since it is a 2TB HDD even Quick scan, may take quite some time. Wait for an hour or two and if it does not show any progress in the progress bar you may abort.

    You have already tried Low Level Format and formatting with other Linux utilities without success. So I have to conclude that it is a BAD DISK.

    As a last ditch attempt you can try to format it with HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool v2.2.3 HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool Free Download

    It is an exe file. Right click on it and run as administrator. If it fails to recognise it or format it I would take it as a confirmation of bad disk.

    In rare cases, it may a fault in the interface electronics of the enclosure. Since you had already taken out the Seagate drive ( which I normally do not recommend before trying out all possible means in the enclosure), you can hook it up as a second internal drive in a desktop and run Seagate Sea Tools for Windows. It will be the ultimate test for the integrity of the hard drive.

    SeaTools | Seagate# Also read the guide by clicking on the link at right.

    Run the Quick Test and if it fails, run the long test. If it can, it will repair your drive.
      My Computer


 
Page 1 of 6 123 ... 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 23:43.
Find Us