Unable to access external hard drive

colin25710

Hello
I have a problem with a large external hard drive (3T)
Initially I started trying to copy jpg files on to another disk, all these files showed fine in thumbnail view but several of them would not copy.

Then the problem got a lot worse.
When opening in windows explorer I could see all the folders, but my computer just hung and would not open any file, initially I tried Properties – Tools - CHKDSK but it said no faults found.
but then when I tried to access any folder it locked up my PC and removed the taskbar from the bottom of the screen and I had to turn the PC off and back on again.

Someone suggested I ran CHKDSK X: /F which I did but now when I look at the properties for the drive it says 0 folders, 0 files and tells me if I must format the drive if I want to use it.

Any advice/help would be much appreciated

Thanks

forgotmyname

Power supply failing on the drive?

wongataa

It could be that the disk has died. Or maybe the disk controller in the external box has died. See if you can open the external drive casing and take out the disk. Then you can plug into a computer and see if the disk itself is OK.

Spelunthus

Could also be inadequate power to external disk. If it is powered by USB it could be that PC USB socket is not supplying sufficient power - this could be a transient problem - thus giving such symptoms. If the exrernal disk is powered by a separate dedicated power supply then that could be faulty, or the disk could be failing.

Uxb

Did you always close off the drive via the "safely remove device icon" in windows prior to pulling out the USB lead each time when you disconnected it?
If not and you just yanked out the lead then sadly the drive might finally have had enough of this and has scrambled the Master File Table.
If so then short of professional recovery solutions companies at a large price then the info on the drive is likely to be kebbabbed. Windows saying it must be formatted has all the hallmarks of a scrambled MFT.

Sometimes Linux can (part) read drives that MS Windows cannot.
Else its try in another computer, try another USB port, etc.

I take it that the info was backup'd elsewhere......
Rule 1: information on disks not stored in at least 3 different places on different physical drives is a risk.

debitcardmayhem

You could always try testdisk

esuhl

The first thing I'd try is plugging the drive into a USB socket directly on the motherboard (i.e. in the cluster of sockets on the back of the PC).

Or try a different PC.

jshm2

3TB Drives can be be pretty temperamental, especially over USB 2 or lower or if they have crass caddies. The ports just cannot supply enough juice and the power supply tends not to fully meet it's demands either.

If it's a branded drive like a Toshiba or WD then I would suggest disconnecting all other USB devices and seeing if the problem resolves itself. These caddies tend to be decent powered, but if this doesn't work then get yourself a powered USB 3.0 enclosure and take out the 3TB drive and try that enclosure instead.

AndyPix

Give this a go .. (free version)


https://www.piriform.com/recuva

System

9/10 times its the USB to SATA adapter built into the external HDD case. Removing the HDD and hooking it directly up to a SATA cable and power usually shows all the data is there and everything is good and the remedy is to buy a new external SATA 3 housing and put the drive in it.

Heedtheadvice

Lots of good advice there.

I would suggest testing the drive by direct access from a pc via sata data cable. This takes one variable out of the equation (USB interface/caddy).
Then download and run disk test software such as Seagate's free windows from web page https://www.seagate.com/gb/en/support/downloads/seatools/
That will tell you if the drive is ok or can have a software fix applied.

You can then use recuva if required and copy off files and try in a caddy again. For such a big drive a caddy with it's one PSU might be best.