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General discussion

External Hard Drive not recognized by computers

Apr 23, 2015 11:03AM PDT

None of my computers (3 laptops, 1 Apple laptop, and 1 Apple desktop) are recognizing my external hard drive. I have some very valuable information on the hard drive I need to retrieve. I have USB disks that are being recognized by all of my computers so I know it is not the USB ports. When I plug the external hard drive in the computer the light on the hard drive lights up and the motor is turning but the computer does not recognize it. Are there any software that can read a hard drive that is not being detected by the computer? Someone suggested Recuva but it did not work (the software works because I inserted a USB drive and the software detected it) regarding the external hard drive. Is there some data recovery software or hardware I can purchase to retain my information instead of sending it to a data recovery company that will cost me an arm and a leg just to retain my information? I am trying to prevent spending thousands of dollar to retrieve information from a hard drive that cost me less than a hundred dollars. Any suggestions are welcome.


Thanks,


bdthomas02

Discussion is locked

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(NT) Did you try a new USB case for this HDD?
Apr 23, 2015 11:10AM PDT
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What will the new case do?
Apr 23, 2015 11:35AM PDT

I have not tried a new case. Do you think this may correct the issue? If the new case do not work any more suggestions?

Thanks for responding so quickly.

bdthomas02

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Could fix it.
Apr 23, 2015 11:46AM PDT

But if there is something wrong, this part which runs about 20 bucks can bring it back. There are folk that demand that it fix it or won't try. Sorry, I can't predict the future but it's one of my best tricks over the years.

If it doesn't work in a new case then the HDD is gone or very corrupt.
Bob

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If a new case fails. NO SOFTWARE REQUIRED.
Apr 28, 2015 10:26AM PDT

It's usually a dead drive. Call up drive savers for an estimate.

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Is this a password protected device?
Apr 23, 2015 1:16PM PDT

If so, then what Rob suggest about new case will bypass the security chip on the device, allowing access to the data, if the HDD is itself OK.

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New casing
Apr 28, 2015 10:13AM PDT

This is not a secured external hard drive. I removed the HDD from the casing and the computer still will not recognize it. I am asking if anyone knows of a particular software or tools I can purchase to access the data on the HDD.

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You can try GParted
May 1, 2015 3:55PM PDT

It's a stand alone Linux program and includes a duo of disk saving utilities in it, although under the simple term of Recovery. If anything will recognize and allow you to mount volumes on the drive, that's it. It's easiest to use something like a LIVE CD Lubuntu or LIVE DVD Mint 17 along with it. You'd boot to that, then if not already on the disc, you can use the package manager to install into RAM, and then run it. I believe it uses TestDisk and Recuva combination as the Recovery tools.

http://gparted.org/features.php
http://gparted.org/faq.php
http://charlesmccolm.com/2013/05/30/use-gparted-to-recover-files

http://osdisc.com

http://distrowatch.com