HDD failing at life

[savage1987]

WD Elements Play 2TB (external HDD)

Plug it into a PC and it doesn't get recognised. It shows up in Windows Explorer as an icon but you can't touch it at all really.

diskpart doesn't complete searching for drives.

Fails in the same way on multiple computers.

I need ideas :) I'm no professional at HDD diagnosis.


Sam



p.s. the data on the drive is non-critical. I can just wipe it if need be.

[GTB Liberty]

Download Gparted live - burn onto CD.

Boot off CD - no drive seen. It's foobar.

Hmm ... Just noticed external drive. Download Ubuntu Live - do as above.

[Phyber]

No warranty = I'd open it up and connect the actual drive directly via SATA cable. If you're lucky it's the enclosure!

If it's clicking, good luck. I've managed to read from an otherwise uncooperative drive by setting it up vertically once, usually dead though.

[savage1987]

I'll have a go at making a Ubuntu live USB when I find one bigger than 1GB which is free.... lost my 4GB one and my 8GB is set up for win7 boot/install... cbf changing that

Will check warranty scenario - may well end up opening case and doing as you say, Phyber.


from another forum:


sounds like hdd failure
first up i would attempt a fresh format,
in my computer right-click > format > NTFS

if that doesnt work its a paperweight
i hope thats not the case but i know your pain, i just lost 1.0tb of non-backed up movies :(
selecting 'format' doesn't work; it just hangs up that window and does nothing of value.

Sounds like to me that it's not initializing.. Hold down your windows Key and press R.

In the dialogue box type "diskmgmt.msc", without the quotation marks. Find your device in the list, right click and tell it to Initialize. If that succeeds, you will be able to assign in a Drive Letter. If that fails, it sounds like either the PCB (The one giving it's USB interface as opposed to SATA) is stuffed or the drive has experienced a mechanical failure. I have come across ALOT of WD drives doing this lately and it's quite annoying for myself and my clients..

If the data was crucial - I would give you my address to see if I can somehow obtain it back for you, but since you say it's not, it's not exactly needed.
Disk Management just says "Connecting to Virtual Disk Service" and hangs up there 'til I close the window. No need to back up / rescue data - it's just a bunch of movies and tv shows I can replace for him anyway.

[ForgedV6]

My internal WD 1TB drive failed on Friday. PLE couldn't recovery any data from it and they suggested i try Spectrum Data - http://www.spectrumdata.com.au/ - They want $600+ for data recovery so stuff that. They usually have a 3 year warranty.

[Crammit]

I'd get yourself a copy of HDD Regenerator. If it doesn't pick up the USB drive and it's out of warranty rip the drive out throw it in a computer and give the program another shot. http://www.dposoft.net/hdd.html

[savage1987]

See I have been using WD internal drives in PCs for a while now :p and I haven't had one even look like failing yet. Are they pretty bad for it or just like anything else and have their duds?

I'll find out the warranty situation and might crack it open after work and stick it in the junker PC to find out what's going on :)

[shifted]

As a last resort I've always plugged them directly into the PC to save whatever data I could and ditch the rest of the case and wiring.

You can also use Active UnDelete after a format to try save some data - had to do this myself when a HDD crashed and I lost unbacked up TV shows. Didn't save everything, but got a good 50% of my data, uncorrupted (even after a format) back and in working order.

Really need to set up that HDPC thing to back everything up nicely.

[V70R]

Has same thing happen to my Astone 2TB media player.
Connected up to the imac / running parallels for PC access and the drive made a few clicks and stopped working.
Now it does not boot on anything.
Cheers for the advice in this thread :)

[evo5aurus]

if its clicking its fucked. one option that MAY enable you to get some data back is to put the drive in the freezer overnight. Just make sure it is in a completely dry and airtight sealed bag - the freezer will cause the metal parts to contract and you may be able to get enough time out of the drive to get critical data back.

[Phyber]

Something I've always wanted to try but never bothered :)

[savage1987]

Turns out the drive is still under warranty so I'm not even going to touch it :)

and yea, it kinda makes a soft gentle clicking/searching(?) sound constantly whenever it's powered up.

[V70R]

Turns out the drive is still under warranty so I'm not even going to touch it :)

and yea, it kinda makes a soft gentle clicking/searching(?) sound constantly whenever it's powered up.
That sometimes can mean its not getting enough power.
Try changing it to a higher powered usb port (if it is usb powered)

[Turbo2.6L]

Smash it with a hammer. Wont do fuckall for recovering your data, but satisfaction guaranteed :D

[H1GHROLLR]

Smash it with a hammer. Wont do fuckall for recovering your data, but satisfaction guaranteed :D

I smashed his last laptop with a mini spool ;) ask him about that story ! mini spool vs laptop ! Vn commodore wins !

[savage1987]

^hahaha yess! I forgot about that!! Just the other day I was trying to remember what happened to that laptop too :p

It's not USB powered, has a wall power cord.