External hard drive not working

[Menalaus]

So I start my laptop like any other day and try to access my external hard drive only to find that the drive listing is set to the default name (Local Disk) and when I try to access it Windows gives me an error message saying that I need to format the disk before I can use it. Uh, what? I have over 300GB of information saved on this thing and I was just using it with no troubles not but nine hours ago. What gives? And please tell me there is some way to get my information back?

 

[Elixer]

That is usually how a HD (or controller) fails. If you didn't have backups, then you either take it to a pro, or you clone the HD to another HD, and then try something like Testdisk to get the data back.
http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk (free)

 

[Menalaus]

How can I pull the info off the hard drive though? I've tried testdisk but it says the hard drive is fine.

 

[Menalaus]

To clarify, when I use testdisk and I follow the directions (here: http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk_Step_By_Step), when I try to list my files it says, "Support for this filesystem hasn't been enable during compilation." When I select my external it defaults to "none" in the partition table type. Despite all this, it still clearly shows the used space on the external still.

Is there some way I can access this information?

 

[Elixer]

http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/Data_Recovery_Examples

 

[PowerYoga]

Try getting the HD out of the enclosure and plugging it in manually first to see if it works. At least you can narrow down the problem to see whether its the disk or the controller.

 

[Menalaus]

http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/Data_Recovery_Examples

Every time I try "Deeper Search" the program simply freezes. I'm trying it with GetDataBack now.

Try getting the HD out of the enclosure and plugging it in manually first to see if it works. At least you can narrow down the problem to see whether its the disk or the controller.

What do you mean? Is there some way to hook up the external to a computer directly?

 

[corkyg]

What size is the drive, and how is it connected? If 3.5-in, it must have its own power brick. If USB, it normally requires TWO USB ports. Can you try it on a different computer, i.e., a desktop?

"Is there some way to hook up the external to a computer directly?

If it is a prefab external, not a good idea - yet! In that case, it connects to a desktop via USB or eSATA. If it is a home stuffed external, you would remove the drive and put it in as a secondary drive in a desktop. And, a lot of that depends on if it is SATA or PATA.

 

[Elixer]

Every time I try "Deeper Search" the program simply freezes. I'm trying it with GetDataBack now.

This is why I said you should clone the HD first to rule out controller issue...

 

[razel]

Check to see if the manufacturer has a diagnosis program. WD, Seagate and Hitachi (SimpleTech) do. It's best if you can extract the disk and run it through it's SATA port. Assuming it's still under warranty, try to do this if you can without tearing ruining any warranty stickers.

I have never run into that error message with testdisk. It is a very powerful program but getting that power requires knowledge. It took me 10+ years of trail and error and I have yet to see a good primer online. The other program you can use is the golden oldie Ontrack. It has a GUI and is easier to use, but isn't free. You can use it to recover one file at a time.

My guess is when testdisk ran, the HDD did a scan and encountered an area it couldn't access. Normally it should skip and mark a SMART error. It was probably super slow which made it look like testdisk froze. You can use Ontrack Data Recovery to scan. It will show you the location it's trying. When it comes to the portion that freezes, close everything and restart the scan skipping that area. I'm sure you'll be able to recover the majority of your stuff assuming it's just one area on the disk that's gone bad.

 

[corkyg]

All these surgical procedures are great, but since this is an external connected to a laptop (presumably by USB), the power sufficiency should be verified. Elixer makes a very good point. Clone the drive before all these surgeries. They can be corrupters if there is a USB port power deficiency in the laptop.

 

[Menalaus]

This is the hard drive in question: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136469

I'm not sure if it's entirely relevant, but I'm also living in Israel at the moment, but I've been using the correct power converters for a month now with no troubles.

Cloning was the first thing I tried to do with testdisk, except it wanted to clone all 1TB of information (despite only having used a 1/3 of that). My laptop doesn't have that capacity. I'd have to find someone who has something larger than my external to clone it.

In whether or not it's my USB ports, I've tried on the others on my laptop, as well as someone else's laptop, and yield the same results. I haven't tried using a different USB cable though. Could that perhaps be the issue?

 

[corkyg]

This is the hard drive in question: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136469
In whether or not it's my USB ports, I've tried on the others on my laptop, as well as someone else's laptop, and yield the same results. I haven't tried using a different USB cable though. Could that perhaps be the issue?

OK - I see it is a 3.5-in drive and it comes with an A/C adapter. Are you using that adapter? Also, have you gone toDisk Management and initialized the drive and assigned it a non-conflicting drive letter?

 

[Elixer]

This is the hard drive in question: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136469

I'm not sure if it's entirely relevant, but I'm also living in Israel at the moment, but I've been using the correct power converters for a month now with no troubles.

Cloning was the first thing I tried to do with testdisk, except it wanted to clone all 1TB of information (despite only having used a 1/3 of that). My laptop doesn't have that capacity. I'd have to find someone who has something larger than my external to clone it.

In whether or not it's my USB ports, I've tried on the others on my laptop, as well as someone else's laptop, and yield the same results. I haven't tried using a different USB cable though. Could that perhaps be the issue?

Yes, cloning means just that, it don't only clone the 'used' area, it needs to do everything.
Last I looked, testdisk don't clone drives, for that you need a different program like EASEUS, or Paragon, they both have free versions.

If you don't have another HD that size, then, it gets more difficult to try and save your data.
Your next best option is to remove it from the external box, since, as we said, it could be the controller at fault.
You can also check the SMART status of it as well, if you hook it directly to the SATA port. (Not that it means much, but, it may show more info)