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Storage forum: External Hard Drive Failure

by: OzBo July 5, 2012 5:12 AM PDT

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External Hard Drive Failure

by OzBo - 7/5/12 5:12 AM

I have 3 external hard drives, the latest one being the biggest of course, but I had data on the old ones too, and one of them was almost new so I didn't expect it to die so soon and I don't have a backup.... Due to a lot of rain where I am I have noticed that the cables are sort of mouldy... I wonder if the hard drive is still alive and maybe just the connection or the case is damaged? I did try it on another computer, but I don't have another USB cable like that to test the cable. I also tried all the tricks they recommend, but the drive doesn't show up anywhere.... However, when I connected it to the computer, it did reinstall the driver and said the device is ready to use (so I assume the USB cable should be fine after all?). This was on Vista. It also made that strange noise it usually makes when you connect a USB device. Windows 7 said "unknown device" and could not even install the driver. The brand was Seagate (not good from what I have read...). I was thinking I could try a SATA cable to see if the drive is still alive? Are there differences between SATA cables? Which one should I buy to connect an external drive to a computer? Here are the ones currently available on eBay: http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p3907.m570.l1311&_nkw=sata+cable&_sacat=See-All-Categories

Thanks!!!!

OzBo


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Re: cable

by Kees_B Moderator - 7/5/12 5:42 AM

In Reply to: External Hard Drive Failure by OzBo

You get the drive out of the case. Then see what cable(s) you need and buy it.

Not a USB-cable anyway, just a SATA-connector-on-the-motherboard to SATA-disk and possibly the right power cable also. Just have a look how your current SATA-disk in the PC is connected to motherboard and PSU and buy the same.

Kees


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I will try

by OzBo - 7/5/12 12:14 PM

In Reply to: Re: cable by Kees_B Moderator

Thanks, I will open the case and have a look. And if I am unsure I will go to a shop. By the way, it is a pity they charge so much to recover data... I checked online yesterday and they want between 1,000 and 2,000 dollars.... sad


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By the way...

by OzBo - 7/5/12 5:18 PM

In Reply to: Re: cable by Kees_B Moderator

If a drive is not seen/recognized by Computer Management either, does it mean it is really dead or can it still be a cable or the enclosure?
Thanks!


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It's actually a good sign.

by R. Proffitt Moderator - 7/5/12 5:49 PM

In Reply to: By the way... by OzBo

It is a good sign but does not tell you exactly what's broken. But the odds are the the HDD in a new case will work. But that's just a guess and excludes any tests with other PCs or a story where the HDD was dropped.
Bob


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It was...

by OzBo - 7/5/12 7:06 PM

In Reply to: It's actually a good sign. by R. Proffitt Moderator

... never dropped, that's what gives me hope. I had two external hard drives stored in the same place, and they both stopped working. I don't know if too much humidity might have damaged the cases (lots of rain here recently, and some mould on the cables and even one of the cases)... I don't really mind about the old one (it is really very old, 150MB, and it was the maximum back then!), but the other one has some important data on it.
Anyway, I will go to a shop next week and see if they can test it with a new case...
Thanks for the reply!


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Alternative

by JohnOkada - 7/5/12 8:03 PM

In Reply to: Re: cable by Kees_B Moderator

Sorry to hear the problems you are having with your external hard drive. I've had several external hard drives die on me, which caused me to lose some important data. I still use external hard drives, but now I backup my really important files on a cloud storage provider as well to be extra careful. You can check out the various cloud storage providers available on www.Top10CloudStorage.com.


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I intended...

by OzBo - 7/5/12 9:39 PM

In Reply to: Alternative by JohnOkada

Thanks! Yes, I intended to do something like that, then I delayed it because the drive was actually fairly new and I had not used it so much anyway (just to put files on it every few weeks or so, but I didn't keep it connected to my computer), so I didn't expect something like that to happen so soon. I really hope it is not the HD, but I won't know until next week....
If I get my data back I will be more cautious though and definitely have them stored somewhere else too.


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backup your own.

by gomezmarvin25 - 7/8/12 8:30 PM

In Reply to: Alternative by JohnOkada

I do backup myself, just don't want to have my important data somewhere else. Prefer to have it on my personal external hard drive. BTW, if you guys have any problem with your hard drive, I would highly recommend www.AsapDataRecovery.com
Great price, fast service, friendly customer service. I would say the are most affordable and reliable company.


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Update

by OzBo - 7/10/12 5:48 PM

In Reply to: External Hard Drive Failure by OzBo

Luckily it was not the HD... happy He first checked it with a SATA cable and as it worked he put it in a new case and it works fine! I wonder if I should have asked to check the USB cable first??? At any rate I have the old case...
Now I am going to backup the data somewhere else too....
I am relieved... cool


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