WD 500GB external issues

[Maglio]

ok...i'm at a loss. my drive was working fine since i got it. the other day, i booted up my pc, and it no longer will recognize any data on the drive. it will show the drive, and assign it a drive letter, but when i try to access anything on it, it says that the drive needs to be formatted, and asks me if i want to do it now. i have always chosen no, but i'm at a loss.

anyone know how i can get the data off on my own? i don't really want to send it out. there are movies and pictures of my kid on there, so i'll send it out if i have to, but i have problems with the idea of people going through my data to recover it.

any suggestions? it's connected through USB. i'm at work, so i may not be able to answer any questions right away.

 

[Old Hippie]

If it's a pre-made WD unit, and under warranty, you have a coupla options...

1. Send it in for repair and you lose all your data.
2. Try GetDataBack
3. Get it out of the enclosure, put it in your computer, and lose the warranty. If the external's USB connection is bad, you'll see the drive and data. If you still can't see the data, try GetDataBack.


If it's not a pre-made, use option 3 and not lose the warranty.

Good Luck!

 

[Maglio]

unfortunately, it is a pre-made. it's one of those mybook external hdd. do you know how many hdd are in there? if it's 2, would it have split my data across both disks?

 

[Old Hippie]

unfortunately, it is a pre-made. it's one of those mybook external hdd. do you know how many hdd are in there? if it's 2, would it have split my data across both disks?

AFAIK, all those are a single drive.

 

[Maglio]

looking at GetDataBack, it sounds like it is an internal only drive recovery. does it work for USB as well? also, are there any good free alternatives that are reliable? i had a program a while ago called search and recover 2, but the was unable to find any of the data on the drive.

 

[Old Hippie]

looking at GetDataBack, it sounds like it is an internal only drive recovery. does it work for USB as well? also, are there any good free alternatives that are reliable? i had a program a while ago called search and recover 2, but the was unable to find any of the data on the drive.

Special - External DrivesExternal drives, like for example USB-Drives, can be recovered with GetDataBack just like internal drives.However - scanning the drive for your data takes much longer when performed through USB, especially when usingUSB1. The scan can be up to ten times longer, so while scanning a 100GB drive normally takes about 2 hours, itcan be up to 20 hours through USB. If at all possible, remove the drive from its casing and attach it directly to theIDE-cable of your computer. If you are afraid that unwrapping the drive is going to void its warranty, leaveeverything as it is and be patient

The free DL will tell you if it can recover the files. No files, No pay.

There's about 10 zillion recovery programs. I think I've tried 1/2 of those. The only thing I can say for sure is, they all seem to work a little differently, and no single program is the best in every situation.

The other thing you can do to prevent these mishaps in the future, is don't buy these pre-made external drives. Most pre-mades have no active cooling, a 1 yr. warranty, and cheap electronics.
Buy a quality enclosure, an internal drive with a good warranty, and put the drive in the case. Then, at least you have a shot at recovery without voiding the warranty.

 

[Maglio]

ok. i will try it when i get home. thanks for the help/answers. very helpful.