A very, very sad day for my external hard drive

A

apmcarthur

New Member
I always read stories about what a disaster an external hard drive failing can be.

I never quite believed it until it just happened to me.

As a teacher I have backed up all my marking and tracking sheets etc - Truth be told though I never backed up any teaching resources because it takes so long.

Obviously a lot of info on students backgrounds is confidential so I used a WD external hard drive that is locked with a password.

When I plug in the hard drive, the laptop finds the "WD unlocker" and allows me to type in the password. The hard drive becomes visible but when I double click on it, it shows nothing.

When I right click and choose properties it shows "used space 0K, available space 0K".

Devastating isnt the word. Years of work gone.
 
This is why you need to store stuff in more than one place, especially if it's sensitive information like student's profiles. :(
 
If you have a warrenty, the company MIGHT be able to get your data back and send you a new one. And, if you are willing to spend a few hundered, I believe you can send it in some were, and they will have a chance to get the data back, but if they cant, make sure it is a place that will give you your money back.
 
You have two options. The options above are more likely to be pipe-dreams or make things worse.

YOu can transplant the HDD plattors into a working model with the EXACT same model number, but this is not for the faint hearted.

or,

take it to a pro.

The rest of the options are really wive's tales.
 
I've heard of some softwares that can maybe help you recover some files.
If that doesn't work and you still really want the work, you could possibly try stripping down to the bare drive to eliminate all connection error possibilities.
 
Perkomate said:
I've heard of some softwares that can maybe help you recover some files.
If that doesn't work and you still really want the work, you could possibly try stripping down to the bare drive to eliminate all connection error possibilities.
Click to expand...

?
 
Firstly, if the drive is encrypted, no software in the world will help. Secondly, "eliminate all connection error possibilities", this doesn't even make sense.
 
bigfellla said:
Firstly, if the drive is encrypted, no software in the world will help. Secondly, "eliminate all connection error possibilities", this doesn't even make sense.
Click to expand...
I don't know what WD uses for their software, but I'm sure it can be bypassed. This is another reason though that you shouldn't encrypt your hard drive if you don't have a backup.

Second, he's referring to it being the SATA to USB controller that could be malfunctioning, so by putting the hard drive into another controller you can rule that possibility out.
 
WRXGuy1 said:
I don't know what WD uses for their software, but I'm sure it can be bypassed. This is another reason though that you shouldn't encrypt your hard drive if you don't have a backup.

Second, he's referring to it being the SATA to USB controller that could be malfunctioning, so by putting the hard drive into another controller you can rule that possibility out.
Click to expand...

exactly. There's no point in chucking the drive out if it's just a connection error. It's only a small effort to tick it off the list.
 
A drive might not show up in windows explorer if it is failing, one day my external drive worked, the next it didnt show up or anything.And, if the drive makes a clicking noise, you can pretty much be certain it is the drive, not the sata to usb.And, you dont have all the files on your pc and external HDD?
 
I have at least three copies of the data I really value. I like to try to keep an external hard drive off site from my home just in case too.

Learn the hard lesson and make backups of valuable data at least once every two weeks.

I knew a guy who had computer knowledge enough to know better. He said he lost six months of work once because his hard drive failed.
 
Is the hard disk drive making any strange sounds?

If yes,your hard disk drive is dying and you should try to recover as much as data as possible IMMEDIATELY.Do this:

Open command prompt and write:

chkdsk.exe Z: /F /R /X /V

"Z:" is the drive letter of your hard disk drive.

Press ENTER and wait for the process to finish.Once the process is finished,all possible errors on the hard disk drive have been fixed and you may see your data.Of course that depends on the level of the functionality of your hard disk drive.

If you still cannot see your data,but HDD is showed in Windows explorer,try recovering deleted data by using the software called Pareto logic data recovery.

If that did not help either,I want you to answer me on 2 questions:

1. Are you sure that you have moved your data on that HDD?

2. If you have encrypted your HDD,you must decrypt it on the SAME way with the SAME password just like how you encrypted it.Have you done that?





Cheers!
 
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