Help to retrieve data from WD Elements 1 TB external Hard disk

[s23srinivas]

Hi,
I have a problem with my external hard drive, its a WD Elements 1TB and its not being recognized by Windows (running Windows 7). I get the 'device connected' sound and the 'Safely Remove Device' icon on the taskbar but no drive appears in My Computer.
Though the Device Manager shows the HDD under Disk drives, the Disk management shows it as Disk 1 Unknown with no driver letter and Not initialized. On clicking to initialize, it gives i/o device error.

I have Mini Partition Wizard installed on my laptop that too does not detect any drive.

Attached screenshots for both Disk management and Mini Partition Wizard for reference.

Can anyone please help me to recover the data from this hard disk?

Srinivas

 

[CKWD]

Hello s23srinivas!

I'm sorry for your problem! :/

It looks like the WD Elements has some damage done to its partition table or perhaps surface, hence the I/O device error.

I would suggest changing the cable of the drive with a new one, and reinstalling the device's drivers, then try again. You could also try booting into a Linux/Ubuntu Live CD and checking if you can access the drive from there.

If these don't work the device is most probably too damaged. Still, if you would like to, you could try with data recovery software on your own. Otherwise the best solution for retrieving the data is a professional company and WD has data recovery partners in the field.

Good luck and post back what happens!

CK_WD