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External Hard Drive not recognized by the Computer

11K views 12 replies 3 participants last post by  guzmaniya 
#1 ·
Hi! I have a huge problem with my external Hard Drive.
It's a Seagate Expansion 1.5 TB. The Seagate Tech Support told me I have to send it back for replacement, but that would mean losing all my data.
The Problem: Yesterday it started making a click-clacking noise after which it stopped and wasn't recognized by the computer anymore. I tried different USB ports and even a completely different computer. At first it seemed to install the drivers and it showed that it's ready to use. When I tried opening the My Computer it didn't see it. I looked in the Device Manager - didn't find it there. If I connect the HD now for a while it makes a beeping sound which is not too loud (similar to the tone you'd hear in the receiver when you call someone on the phone) and then it stops. The data and power cables are ok, I have a green light on the hard drive.
I also tried a data recovery program as I read that it might be able to see the drive, but no such luck.
Very desperate as I really don't want to lose my data. Worst case I'd like to try and erase all the info if possible before sending it for a replacement, as the data is very sensitive and personal and I'm afraid of identity theft... :(((
Please help.
 
#2 ·
Unfortunately, you can't have it all in this case. If you want to try to recovery the data, you'll almost certainly void the warranty. If no computer can read from or write to the drive, the only way to securely erase the data is to physically destroy it which means you can't get a replacement at no charge.

So you have to pick a path. Try to recover? Destroy it? Or get a free replacement?
 
#3 ·
do you think that there is a chance to get some result if I try to find the drivers for the HD and install them? Could the drivers be the problem or is the HD definitely dead?
If I destroy it, I'll lose both the data and the drive :(
Replace - I'm really not comfortable with the info getting in the wrong hands... Same with the replacement...and it would cost a lot...

Looks like I have no choice...
 
#5 ·
Seagate doesn't have the time or the inclination to steal your data, especially if there is hardware damage.
If you're saying this is the only copy of your, "very sensitive and personal" data, you've learned a valuable lesson about backups.
Return the drive and get a replacement.
 
#6 ·
Seagate doesn't have the time or the inclination to steal your data, especially if there is hardware damage.
If you're saying this is the only copy of your, "very sensitive and personal" data, you've learned a valuable lesson about backups.
Return the drive and get a replacement.
I wouldn't send a drive to anyone that had personal or sensitive data on it. The company Seagate might not take the time or effort to recover my data, but how many hands will that drive go through before (or if) being physically destroyed? I doubt all Seagate employees work in the United States and are fine, upstanding, ethical citizens.
 
#7 ·
You have a point. Seagate recommends removing all data before returning the drive:
"What will happen to the data on my drive?

DATA ON RETURN DRIVES WILL BE LOST. Your original drive will NOT be returned. All data and software will be lost. If your warranty claim is justified, we may send you a recertified replacement unit. If not, we may retain your unit altogether. Either way, you will lose any data on the unit. The replacement drive will be low-level formatted. If you need the data on the drive and do not have a backup copy, you may want to consider data recovery services before sending the drive to Seagate for replacement.

REMOVE YOUR DATA. In order to protect your privacy and other interests in data, delete all data from the drive, as much as possible, before you return your original drive to Seagate. Your drive may be shipped to another country for purposes of repair and/or refurbishment. The destination country may not offer the same level of data protection as your home country (and, if you are located in the European Economic Area, may not ensure an adequate level of protection for purposes of European data protection laws). In the destination country, Seagate will take steps to delete and overwrite all data on the drive to protect your privacy. For more information about this process, please see Data Erasure for Returned Products. By accepting the Seagate Membership/E-Commerce Terms and/or returning your drive to Seagate, you consent to the shipment of your drive across borders and to the deletion of your data.

Any required data recovery service must be completed BEFORE shipping the drive(s) to Seagate for replacement. Data recovery is not covered under the Seagate limited consumer warranty and is not part of the repair and exchange process. If you would like data recovery performed on your drive it is available from Seagate as a separate service for an additional charge. Please see: http://services.seagate.com/ for additional information on Seagate's data recovery service.

Updated: November 12, 2008 "
http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.j...toid=78bc8bc90bf03210VgnVCM1000001a48090aRCRD
 
#8 ·
@hughv:
yeah, I have all the info and spoke to the customer service already.
I'll try the freezer thing today, if doesn't work, I'll take it apart and (just very maybe:) ) try to figure out what is wrong with it.
Either way I lost the data. I'm not going to send the drive for a replacement, so if I can't make it work, I'll destroy it.

Will post what happened in the end as soon as I do it.
Thx guys.
 
#10 ·
FWIW: I've never had much luck with the freezer bit, but I have had "spontaneous miraculous recovery". In one case, a drive I had set aside after trying everything came to hand (out of the case) and I connected it via USB just for giggles, and it worked just long enough to get most of the data. I have no explanation for this.
 
#11 ·
ok... no luck
Destroying the drive physically. End of story. Bye-bye data, bye-bye HD. Not getting a Seagate anymore.

Learned my lesson, now I'll make 2 copies of anything that's important.

Thanks everyone.

PS: For whoever googles and finds this post the way I found this forum - learn from my mistake. Hope your luck is better than mine :)
 
#12 ·
It's not a Seagate problem. It's a simple fact that all brands of hard drives can and do fail. I've had a Western Digital drive fail. I've had a Hitachi drive fail. And you've had a Seagate drive fail. It happens to all brands. The most important thing is to have at least two copies of all important data.
 
#13 ·
The most important thing is to have at least two copies of all important data.
That I will do. However, while I was looking for solutions to my problem, at least from what I read, it lead me to believe that people have more often Seagate HD fail. Maybe I'm wrong. I've had a Hitachi for over 2 yrs, dropped it a couple of times and it's still running as it was since the first day. Now I wish I would have saved my most important stuff on that one instead.
But it's too late. Who knows... Maybe I just wasn't lucky enough.
 
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