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General discussion

External hard drive help?

Aug 28, 2007 3:28PM PDT

I have Seagate 400 GB hard drive with alot of music on it. And I can't get it to show up on my computer.

Here's the deal. Last Thursday during a big storm, and our power went out. I usually keep the computer and the external hd on during the day while I'm at work. When the power went out, the computer and the external hd went off.

Last night, I plugged in the computer - works fine, no prob.

I plugged in the external hd - nada. First, I can't really get it to turn on. When I push the on/off button, the blue light doesn't light. If I unplug it from the wall and from the usb, then plug it in the wall, the blue light blinks, and then stays lit if I plug it in the usb. But even with the blue light on that way, it still doesn't show up on my computer.

I basically can't get my computer to recognize it, and I need some help. 300+ gigs of music (and who knows how many hours of d'loading it) hangs in the balance. Thx!

Discussion is locked

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This is what I would do first.
Aug 28, 2007 5:33PM PDT

Go out and get another case ($20-$30).

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Ok, thanks...
Aug 29, 2007 12:15AM PDT

I don't really know what that means. A new case for the external hd? And then what? Take the hd out of the old case?

Basically, again: I can't get the external hd to show up when I click "My Computer" even when the external hd appears to be turned on. So I can't even run data recovery software until I can get the computer to recognize that the external hd is hooked up, right?

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That's exactluyy what ahtoi suggested.
Aug 29, 2007 12:21AM PDT

Either the USB port is broken, or the case, or the disk itself.

Assuming you tested the USB port by using it for some other device and by testing the case/disk combination on another PC, the conclusion should be that the port is OK and the case or the disk broken.

Next step: mount the drive in a new case and try again. With some luck it works.
If it doesn't work in a new case on another PC either, the disk itself is broken. Then it's time for a new hard disk also. A data recovery company might be able to get your data off it.

Kees

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Thanks so much, Kees...
Aug 29, 2007 12:38AM PDT

Quick followup. Some friends told me to open the case and plug hd inside the computer as a slave.

I'm not really sure what that means, or how to do it.

I open the case and unplug the hd.

Then I open the tower and plug in the hd? Where? Will it be obvious?

Do I have to plug in a power supply for the hd, too?

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Re: recently discussed
Aug 29, 2007 12:42AM PDT
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Thanks, again...
Aug 29, 2007 12:47AM PDT

Really appreciate the help!

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failure of western digital hard drive external 500G
Sep 2, 2007 10:52AM PDT

I bought western digital hard drive external 500G a month ago. It won't reconized by my PC. I checked the computer manager and device manager. It doesn't work. I have about 300G file on the HD.

Anyone know how to retrieve the data from the hrad drive.

Help! Help! Please..

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Many many similar reports and possible solutions already
Sep 2, 2007 12:37PM PDT

posted in this FORUM. Please take advantage of the information already provided here ... unfortunately it's abundant.

VAPCMD

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data recovery
Jan 8, 2008 4:08AM PST
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Taking this many months to respond?
Jan 8, 2008 4:41AM PST

That's not a good sign. How fast will they work on your job?

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Get it detected
Aug 2, 2010 1:39PM PDT

Try another computer please. Or maybe something wrong with the Usb. As to the lost files,you can try some data recovery tool such as Wondershare, the one I once used. But first you should try all means to make your USB detected.