External HDD problem

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It is usually one of three things:

1.  The drive head has crashed.  If this has happened you are fucked.

2.  The HD chip board is broken.  This can be replaced.  The chip board is visible underneath the drive.

3.  The actual external enclosure chip board is broken.  In this case, replace the external case.

The drive can make a clicking sound under scenarios 1 and 2 (possibly 3, not sure).  Always backup your data in more than 1 place.  A separate data pen or dvd/bluray.  Never rely on magnetic drives, especially just 1.  If the stuff on it is real important seek professional help.

I have 3 copies of ALL my data.
 
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@ spoox

how do I make the RAW image?? it is still visible in the drive manger

I think your method might work I just need to learn to make that raw image..tut tut, gotta research more.. too early to give my drive a funeral
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get winhex from x-ways,
it's a forensic/datarecovery tool, within that you have the option to connect to the drive (since it shows up in windows that should be a breeze).
Then you can make an image of the drive, provided you have enough space somewhere else to store it.
After that, you can go through the data of the image, when you're doing some editing it might be wise to make a copy of the image, so you can always revert back.
after done with making the image , you should remove your original drive, and don't use it unless you really have to.

If it's only the MBR (master boot record) which got corrupted, it can be repaired.
otherwise you can traverse the drive looking for specific fileheaders (that's how most datarecovery tools work anyway).
It's a bit beyond here to describe all possibilities, as datarecovery seems to be an art in itself.

and about magnets..... don't even think about it, it's a sure way to data destruction.
 8)
 
The different storage media needs specific cautions.This I learned the hard way......so save your self a headache and keep these tips in mind.
 
1. Magnetic storage ( HDD's and the ancient floppies and tapes ) keep away from magnets.!!!!!!!!!!

2. Static Storage     ( SSD's, USB thumb drives, mem cards etc.) Keep away from static discharge .....make sure your ground yourself.

3. Optical Storage   ( CD/DVD etc.)  Keep away from direct sunlight, don't have them laying around for month close to a window.Also be careful
                              with the label side of CD's/DVD's, the underside of the label is the reflective part that holds the data. I always cringe when
                              I see people write on these with a Ballpoint pen.Scratch the label lose the data.
 
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Probably a marketing gimmick, or at the very least extremely expensive. So military/defense applications?
 
I used to repair computers for a living. Whenever I couldn't access a hard drive in windows, I would access the hard drive via a Ubuntu Live CD.

I would download the Ubuntu ISO. Install it on a USB drive using the program "unetbootin". And then boot from the USB while restarting the PC.

You don't have to install Ubuntu, just use the Live disk and then from there you have access to your hard drives.

I would then copy the files that you are trying to access, and afterwards, reformat the drive in Windows.
 
I tried using those data recovery software, it didn't work sadly, after hours of scanning it gave a prompt saying it can't continue due to error, and when I restart the pc, the drive is detected as a removable disk, and not a local hard disk anymore, when I try to open it it says insert disk, in disk manager, it's also classified as a removable disk with no media. I'm not sure but I think it just got worse, I'm thinking of letting techincians work on it, maybe take the drive and connect internally of some sort just to get the files,

For now I can only grab some of those files located everywhere.. Data hording again..LOL
 
As I said before, if the head is crashing or if there is a physical problem with the disk, no software solutions are going to help (and if there is a physical problem it will get worse).  Hardware faults cannot be solved with software alone.

edit. Spelled it disc and not disk.
 
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http://www.piriform.com/recuva

This has saved my skin many times. As long as the data hasn't been erased or written over, or unless there's been an actual hardware malfunction, programs like this will always find your files.

Doing a 'quick' disk format won't actually erase data, it'll just delete the table of contents. So if all else fails, do a quick format and then immediately scan the drive using that. I'd try it first without formatting though.

Good luck!
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Thanks but this one doesn't work, my drive is not showing on the options/Drive selection as is the case on other recovery software I tried.

Thanks everyone for your help!  I might be better off seeking proffesional help just to be safe, for now this is the status of my hdd.
-File System is now RAW instead of NFTS, not sure how this happened
-Still Detected by the Computer and shows up in My Computer, but Cant be accessed, cant format, cant do check disk.
-When Connected to a computer light is on and disk is still spinning
-Still shows up in disk manager and is classified as RAW file system

I really thought this was just a software problem since it is still detected by the computer, but then again I can't be sure, thanks again guys for your help, I appreciate it, LoL about the magnet I don't know if the guy is trying to help or just being a jerk, but thanks anyway.

I'll be sure to follow DLPB advice on backing up files, I usually have other back up for my files, It's just that this modding stuff is just a hobby I started recently so I kinda took the files for granted(which I regret now) I would have to start over on some of the mods I'm working on, some of the DATA's are floating somewhere and I might be able to recover some, but there will be delays on most of ny works.
 
I just had this flash while browsing the forums aimlessly. I had this USB key who stopped working all of a sudden. I disconnected it and plugged it in another port, and it worked. When I plugged it it appeared twice, the "older" one saying 0kb free out of 0kb total. I used Windoze's option to "safely remove external components" and it disappeared. Now that USB port will no longer detect anything. I blame Miscroshit's drivers.
 
It's always worth trying a different port and even a different wire.
Does the drive require external power?
 
Ive had this problem a few times myself, and i used knoppix to get access to the external HDD. Just burn the knoppix LiveCD OS to disc and you should be able to restart your computer and access the files to move them onto your main hard drive.

I never figured out what the problem was exactly but the HDD is still fine, i kept having the same problem and having to reuse the livecd to access stuff so i eventually used the 320gb external drive as my main OS HDD after taking it out of the case.

Does your HDD happen to be a seagate?
 
This may be of no help to you, but have you tried mounting the drive in an enclosure and booting it as an external?
 
Had my HDD checked by professionals last week, they said the drive needs head replacement, so it really was a hardware problem, a complete repair will cost a lot so I'm thinking of saving some money first.. for all the help here thank you very much!
 
I've found that a repair like that is only postponing the inevitable.
Fixing a symptom probably won't fix the root cause of the problem.
It's probably better to opt for recovering the data and then just replace the whole drive.
 
yep, thats what I have in mind, once an HDD fails it's no longer reliable, so I guess I'll go with that suggestion..

Is there a way to access files from an HDD with damaged head without repairing first?
 
If you're not able to retrieve data off the drive directly, you can open the drive and use special equipment that can read data off the platters.  It's not cheap.

A quick search shows the cost is between $199 and $499.
Data Recovery Lab
 
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Nothing comes cheap nowadays, LoL ;D.. I guess I'll have to save up money first and let the pros work on it.
 
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