[BloodSugar00]

I have had a 1TB Buffalo DriveStation external hard-drive for approximately the last 8 months or so that I've been using to store all my music, in both .FLAC and 320 Kbps mp3 file directories, amoungst other bits of media (some TV series video files, mainly). I had nowhere near filled it, perhaps unsurprisingly given it's capacity, but had at least 150 GB of data on there, maybe as much as double that- I hadn't gotten into the habit of checking how much of it's memory I had taken up and certainly hadn't checked it for quite some time so this is a very loose approximation-, never mind the time taken to meticulously rip, edit, organise, tag ,structure etc the albums and album info.

Understanding that a failure to such a drive could occur I had been meaning to aquire another one to serve as a backup source but, not having the capital to fund such a purchase straight off after I bought this one, although it was a future intention, it got both forgotten about and/or my money went elsewhere (on music and/or fresh audio gear, primarily). Long story short, classic case of irresponsibility and/or not thinking such will happen to you only to have it do so, or not, it looks as though I'm in a bit of a pickle here and wanted to seek advice!

Firstly, I'll explain the exact situation I'm currently faced with:

Where as, before, whenever you plugged the drive into my laptop or home computer via USB and it would be instantly recognised by either of those and you could instantly access it and open it via My Computer, now when you plug the drive in to primary computer source, in My Computer, only a generic drive F: is detected (usually it would be name of drive and a icon representing the physical appearance of the hard-drive). I double click this to try and open it and it doesn't open. Instead it stalls in the opening process for 30 seconds-a minute before bringing up a prompt that this drive is not formatted and that would you like to format it now? Sensing something was wrong- the drive comes pre-formatted-, I nevertheless thought I'd approach this and see what happened/if it gave me access to data on drive by doing it. Nope. It told me, to format hard-drive would mean any data on it would be lost, did I wish to proceed? Of course, I didn't and have thus come here to seek advice from more informed, experienced people with such hardware and perhaps getting round this problem without losing my data....


As to why this could of happened, my only speculation is that I did accidentally drop the hard-drive a few days ago off a work desk and onto a carpeted floor from a distance of about 2.5-3 feet. Happened by my forgetting hard-drive was connected to laptop and then going to pick laptop up off desk in a quite sharp motion as I was gettin up to move off with it. However, this didn't even occur to me as a cause for the above til just before as hard-drive continued to work for a few hours, at least, after that incident, no problem, plus, also, my laptop was having a few other problems around time external hard-drive ceased to be detected properly by it, enough that I resulted in resetting it a restore point, so I had initially presumed it was a fault with laptop and not external hard-drive. Also, it's so solidly constructed, externally, I wasn't thinking damage could of been done to the inside and outside the unit remained unblemished from fall.


Anyway, I was wonderin if any experienced folk could give me educated guesses on what they think is wrong with my external hard-drive? Could such a small, relatively cushioned drop have caused it to malfunction?

Would (re)formatting it, even if data is sacrificed, give me back access to hard-drive and restore it's functionaliy as a data storage device? If so, is there any way or method of formatting hard-drive without losing the data on it?

Thirdly, if the hard-drive is irrevocably damaged and/or formatting it to restore it functionality means I have to sacrifice the data on it, can anybody enlighten me to any means of hard-drive data extraction, who performs it, the cost, the procedure etc?


Any help with the above would be greatly appreciated!

Many thanks in advance,


Steve

 

[mouse6nelson]

So your saying it doesn't work in ether of your two computers, does anything else work off the USB ports?

 

[BloodSugar00]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mouse6nelson /img/forum/go_quote.gif So your saying it doesn't work in ether of your two computers, does anything else work off the USB ports?

Yes, that's correct, it doesn't work/isn't being detected properly by both my laptop and family home desktop computer. On both these primary computer sources, USB functionality is intact (dependent on source, mice, keyboards, card readers, usb hubs, printers, DAPs all associate with them fine by USB connection). Hope this helps. Thanks for your initial response

.

 

[Ham Sandwich]

Since it continued to work after being dropped that bodes well. If the drop had caused a physical head crash the drive would not be recognized at all right after the drop. A physical head crash is bad. You can't recover from that. A head crash causes a distinctive "skish skish skish" sound as the head is dragged on the surface of the drive. You can hear it if you put your ear against the drive, but you have to know what a normal drive sounds like to compare.

Maybe the drop caused a connection to get loose inside? Figure out how to open the case and make sure all the connectors inside are snug.

If that doesn't work then the strategy is to remove the drive from the external enclosure and plug it into a desktop computer as a normal (IDE or SATA) secondary drive. See if the BIOS (from the BIOS setup screen) is able to even see the size of the drive. If the BIOS can see the size of the drive you have hope. From there you can run various recovery tools on the drive. There are non-destructive tools you can run to attempt to recover the drive (one being SpinRite but it's an $89 USD program). But before you can run any of those tools you need to get the drive connected to a desktop computer and get the drive recognized by the BIOS. If you don't know how to mess around with connecting a secondary drive in a desktop then there are computer repair techs who can, don't know how much that will cost.

 

[BloodSugar00]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ham Sandwich /img/forum/go_quote.gif Since it continued to work after being dropped that bodes well. If the drop had caused a physical head crash the drive would not be recognized at all right after the drop. A physical head crash is bad. You can't recover from that. A head crash causes a distinctive "skish skish skish" sound as the head is dragged on the surface of the drive. You can hear it if you put your ear against the drive, but you have to know what a normal drive sounds like to compare. Maybe the drop caused a connection to get loose inside? Figure out how to open the case and make sure all the connectors inside are snug. If that doesn't work then the strategy is to remove the drive from the external enclosure and plug it into a desktop computer as a normal (IDE or SATA) secondary drive. See if the BIOS (from the BIOS setup screen) is able to even see the size of the drive. If the BIOS can see the size of the drive you have hope. From there you can run various recovery tools on the drive. There are non-destructive tools you can run to attempt to recover the drive (one being SpinRite but it's an $89 USD program). But before you can run any of those tools you need to get the drive connected to a desktop computer and get the drive recognized by the BIOS. If you don't know how to mess around with connecting a secondary drive in a desktop then there are computer repair techs who can, don't know how much that will cost.

Thanks for your help and/or insight! Very much appreciated. Obviously, I'm fairly green to this but I don't think the drive is skish skishing, reflective of a head crash. My inexperience means I couldn't be sure but I don't think the drive's noise of operation is any different to before, certainly nothing profound.

I will have a proper examination of the casing to my Hard-drive in a bit to see if I can suss out how to remove it to check the connectors as you advise. However, again excusing my ignorance, what exactly are these/could you describe them please?

With regards the BIOS reading, this isn't being displayed no. How bad is that? Could this simply be caused by potebntial loose connection inside unit?

 

[Ham Sandwich]

You get to the BIOS setup screen by hitting the F1 key, DEL key, or some other key as the computer is booting. The key is different for different brands of computers. Usually the computer will display a very brief message during bootup that tells you which key to hit. Otherwise check the manual or online support.

The BIOS won't see a USB drive. The OS needs to be loaded and running before you can see a USB drive, the BIOS comes before the OS loads so it is unable to see USB drives. That is why it is necessary to take the drive out of its enclosure and connect it as a normal (non-USB) secondary drive. The drive inside the enclosure will be either an IDE drive or SATA drive. The connectors are different for each. You'll need the proper data cable and the proper power connector to connect it to the power supply.

Once the drive is connected as either an IDE or SATA drive you can boot to the BIOS setup and hope that the BIOS sees the drive.

Once the BIOS can see the drive you'll be able to run a variety of different recovery tools to check the health of the drive and to attempt to copy off the data.

If you bring the external drive to a computer tech they are going to do the same thing. Take the drive out of the enclosure, connect it as a secondary IDE or SATA drive, and then try to copy off the data.

The connections inside the external drive should be obvious. Make sure connectors are plugged in tightly. Make sure to de-static yourself before touching anything near the circuit board or metal bits on the drive.

Drives are much more sensitive to shock forces (impact, g-forces) while they are spinning and while the heads are over the drive platters. Since it sounds like the laptop was off when you pulled the drive off the desk the drive was likely off as well and not spinning. That's good. A drive that is off can take a much harder hit without causing a head crash or other damage. If the drive was spinning and reading data at the time you dropped it I would concerned that the drive had a head crash.

 

[BloodSugar00]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ham Sandwich /img/forum/go_quote.gif You get to the BIOS setup screen by hitting the F1 key, DEL key, or some other key as the computer is booting. The key is different for different brands of computers. Usually the computer will display a very brief message during bootup that tells you which key to hit. Otherwise check the manual or online support. The BIOS won't see a USB drive. The OS needs to be loaded and running before you can see a USB drive, the BIOS comes before the OS loads so it is unable to see USB drives. That is why it is necessary to take the drive out of its enclosure and connect it as a normal (non-USB) secondary drive. The drive inside the enclosure will be either an IDE drive or SATA drive. The connectors are different for each. You'll need the proper data cable and the proper power connector to connect it to the power supply. Once the drive is connected as either an IDE or SATA drive you can boot to the BIOS setup and hope that the BIOS sees the drive. Once the BIOS can see the drive you'll be able to run a variety of different recovery tools to check the health of the drive and to attempt to copy off the data. If you bring the external drive to a computer tech they are going to do the same thing. Take the drive out of the enclosure, connect it as a secondary IDE or SATA drive, and then try to copy off the data. The connections inside the external drive should be obvious. Make sure connectors are plugged in tightly. Make sure to de-static yourself before touching anything near the circuit board or metal bits on the drive. Drives are much more sensitive to shock forces (impact, g-forces) while they are spinning and while the heads are over the drive platters. Since it sounds like the laptop was off when you pulled the drive off the desk the drive was likely off as well and not spinning. That's good. A drive that is off can take a much harder hit without causing a head crash or other damage. If the drive was spinning and reading data at the time you dropped it I would concerned that the drive had a head crash.

Thanks for taking the time to properly detail and explain all that! Much obliged.

I believe the hard-drive contained in my model is a SATA type. Following and understanding what you've conveyed and considering having a go at it myself, are SATA data cables and/or power cables proprietary at all (at the specific hard-drive end) or are they universal? Would this suffice if I choose to have a go at this myself: SATA Power & Data Cable Twin Pack.: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo:?

Cool on the connectors and de-static before touching circuit.

Thanks for info also on shock forces to hard-drives; my laptop was on when I grabbed it, just unplugged/connected to mains. Still, pretty confident I hadn't actively used hard-drive in a good while before moving laptop/dropping it so maybe it had standbyed (if possible) and the head wasn't spinning?

 

[Ham Sandwich]

That SATA cable twin pack is exactly what you need. The power supply in the desktop computer may already have the correct power connector for a SATA drive, if it doesn't then that power adapter in the Twin Pack will come in handy. SATA cables are standard. There is also eSATA (for external SATA) which has a different plug connector than regular SATA, but you're not going to have to worry about that.

You can check the support sites for hard drive manufacturers like Western Digital, or Seagate to find documentation and info on how to connect a hard drive. Mostly it's just connect the cables. You don't need to actually mount the hard drive inside the case (with screws and such). Just lay it on the desk by the computer or up on a stack of books, or wherever the power cable will reach.

The goal is to get the BIOS to see the drive. Then boot to Windows and hope Windows sees the drive. If Windows can read the drive then copy as much data off as you can. If you are unable to copy all of the data off you can then look at using recovery tools and drive maintenance tools. Just don't do anything that involves formatting, partitioning, or anything destructive.

If Windows is not able to read the drive then you're going to have to get help.

Just going by odds the drive was likely not running. Windows occasionally will activate the drive in the background, but that is usually quick. Just hope that Windows wasn't doing that when the drive fell. But since the drive worked after the fall I'm thinking you're all OK there.

I'm hoping that the enclosure doesn't use Torx screws. Sometimes they do.

 

[BloodSugar00]

Thanks again on an informative response! However, I'm having some difficulty decerning how to open the hard-drive unit housing...

There is no obvious way of opening the casing I can see, the shell designed to be seamless and carved, almost, if you know what I mean. There are no screws/screw heads on external surface. Different mechanism of construction/putting together than being held in place by screws? Some sort of interlocking design internally, perhaps? Confusing.

 

[ford2]

I think that with your expertise in PC's it would be best to take it to a shop to get checked out.

 

[iriverdude]

Too long please shorten it, but if the USB box/drive is not seen in windows, then remove the drive and fit internally.

If the USB box is faulty, then the HD should work, although it's possible data is corrupted. Reason why I don't use USB enclosures.

 

[rjoseph]

Ham Sandwich is right. The exact same thing happened to me with a VOX external hard drive that I bought on a sale a year ago. The drive suddenly stopped working and when connected gave an I/O error. In my case i broke open the enclosure and found a Seagate 3.5" regular HDD inside of it. I bought a SATA cable from Radioshack and connected it as a slave to my desktop. It was happily recognized by windows as an additional HDD and I continue to use the data I had stored within it. Its a fairly simple solution.

Since you bought it 8 months ago, the chances are it is using SATA cable. Open the enclosure before you buy the cable just to make sure its the right type. If the drive itself is reformatted all data will be lost.

My lesson learnt is not to buy any cheapo drives. I have since bought an Iomega Prestige external drive and use it as my backup.

 

[cbbw]

All brands will fail. Only plan that works is to have at least 2 drives with the same data. The drive could be under warranty but the manufacturer would probably want the old drive first and would not recover your data. Once you pop the case the warranty ends of course, although your music is more valuable than the cost of the drive.

External drives are simply internal drives in an enclosure. It is very likely that the enclosure electronics have been damaged and you could simply install your drive into another enclosure. I would not do that until you hook up your drive to a computer and deem it operational.

If the drive is not making audible noises then it points more towards the enclosure. There are more home tricks to extracting data off of even damaged HDD's.

 

[BloodSugar00]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ford2 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think that with your expertise in PC's it would be best to take it to a shop to get checked out.

I appreciate your incline and I see the 'easy' sense in that but, I have understood the instructions and help procedure given to me and I can really, quite easily see myself doin this and would like to have a go, learn something and gain some pc hardware hands on experience and know how!

To gain new understanding and/or skills you have to start somewhere...

Quote:

Originally Posted by iriverdude Too long please shorten it, but if the USB box/drive is not seen in windows, then remove the drive and fit internally. If the USB box is faulty, then the HD should work, although it's possible data is corrupted. Reason why I don't use USB enclosures.

I appreciate your opinion and input on the length of my OP, as I do your, and anyone else's right to decide for themselves as to whether they will/are prepared to give their time to read such an account. That's your perogative but to tell me, stated as a matter of fact, it's too long is not right because it's subjective/your view. In fact, I think I included all the information I felt was required to explain and get myself across clearly and fully and/or to portray the full context to the scenario. I also felt I broke it up and paragraphed it appropriately so that it was easy to read, follow and digest.

Anyway, irregardless, thanks for your input on the topic and, provided I get along with directly connecting an external/secondary hard-drive to primary computer source, I may also subscribe to the same to avoid encountering such inconvenient failures in the future.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rjoseph Ham Sandwich is right. The exact same thing happened to me with a VOX external hard drive that I bought on a sale a year ago. The drive suddenly stopped working and when connected gave an I/O error. In my case i broke open the enclosure and found a Seagate 3.5" regular HDD inside of it. I bought a SATA cable from Radioshack and connected it as a slave to my desktop. It was happily recognized by windows as an additional HDD and I continue to use the data I had stored within it. Its a fairly simple solution. Since you bought it 8 months ago, the chances are it is using SATA cable. Open the enclosure before you buy the cable just to make sure its the right type. If the drive itself is reformatted all data will be lost. My lesson learnt is not to buy any cheapo drives. I have since bought an Iomega Prestige external drive and use it as my backup.

Thanks for your input and for supporting the process/solution originally advised by hamsandwich!

From my point of view, that support is welcomed and it's also encouraging to hear of another performing the solution relatively easily. I agree, logically, that I should open the enclosure and confirm it's indeed a SATA type hard-drive before ordering in the cables; I was just getting a feel for it all before by confirming those linked cables were what I would need to get my hands on in the event of

.

My hard-drive wasn't that cheap or low quality I don't think! It's a 1TB Buffalo Drivestation HDCEU1 model, and it cost me approximately £80. This was competitively priced to all other models of same memory capacity on Amazon.co.uk at the time I purchased, including models from major players such as Seagate and Western Digital- would you say this was a cheap, low quality purchase? I am fairly ignorant to this marketplace so it's a genuine, implorative question

.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cbbw All brands will fail. Only plan that works is to have at least 2 drives with the same data. The drive could be under warranty but the manufacturer would probably want the old drive first and would not recover your data. Once you pop the case the warranty ends of course, although your music is more valuable than the cost of the drive. External drives are simply internal drives in an enclosure. It is very likely that the enclosure electronics have been damaged and you could simply install your drive into another enclosure. I would not do that until you hook up your drive to a computer and deem it operational. If the drive is not making audible noises then it points more towards the enclosure. There are more home tricks to extracting data off of even damaged HDD's.

Again, your input is appreciated, thank you.

What you say I had pretty much thought through and/or anticipated myself and/or assimilated from prior responses, but it's reassuring to have someone confirm/reiterate your thinking and/or rationale on the matter and/or the logical procedure/steps to follow and to summise it so nicely, so cheers! I will attempt to do the initial process of extracting hard-drive from enclosure, testing it's working/registered by laptop/primary computer source directly by BIOS. If this fails and the drive is damaged, I may call on you for those home tricks!




A few queries open to anyone I still have:

SATA cable connects to external hard-drive but where does it connect to laptop/desktop?

Any ideas on how to open the casing to my particular hard-drive? There are no screws on outside of it. I can trace a narrow partition line around the middle of the casing that suggest it's two halfs connected somehow, likely internally.

Thanks for all the help so far,


Steve

 

[ford2]

Quote:I appreciate your incline and I see the 'easy' sense in that but, I have understood the instructions and help procedure given to me and I can really, quite easily see myself doin this and would like to have a go, learn something and gain some pc hardware hands on experience and know how! To gain new understanding and/or skills you have to start somewhere...

May I suggest that you frequent a PC forum to learn,not a headphone one.
That way you will attain more skills.A couple of nights spent with Google will bring you up to scratch.