External Hardrive Unrecognized, Need To Recover.

Hi I have a 3 year old WD Elements external hard drive that the computer isn't recognizing, at least explorer isn't. It's not showing up under 'My computer--removable disks' It's makes alot of skipping noises when I first plug it in and the light still flashes. Am not sure if it's because I stepped on it a few weeks ago, and it made some loud skipping noises, like the disk was skipping along the enclosure for a few moments. But it was fine since then. Other drives are reading fine.

I was following instructions on this site on how to deal with it:
https://www.gadgetsnow.com/how-to/P...ive-Heres-what-to-do/articleshow/24697214.cms

It says to see if 'Disk Management' will recognize it. And it does show up as 'Disk 2' 'not initialized'. It asks me if I want to initialize the disk but that will erase everything, I'm trying to save the data not the drive.
It does show up in 'device manager' as WD elements 10B8 USB and it says it is working properly there and drivers are up to date. So this website says if none of this works it might be dead.

There's is another site (below) about data recovery using a program called 'stellarinfo', both methods involve right clicking the 'removable disk' icon under My Computer but that's were it isn't even showing up. That may be for deleted data, which isn't my problem. Am hoping for some second opinions on what I can do.

https://www.stellarinfo.com/blog/usb-drive-is-corrupted-and-unresponsive-recover-files/

So if device management is the only place it seems to be showing up normally, is there anything I can do from there? Is that not enough recognition for a software solution? Or do I need to send this to a data recovery service.

Thanks for any feedback.

Windows 7

 

Have you tried that external drive on a different system to rule out whether it is the drive itself or your system where the problem lies?

 

I would try what MT suggests to rule out USB driver issues with your system.

You could also try connecting the drive, then right clicking on that drive in Device Manager and selecting 'Uninstall'.
Then unplug the drive, leave a minute or so, then connect it again which will see windows install new USB drivers and see how that goes!
You say the drivers are already showing as up-to-date, but this doesn't rule out possible corruption!

If still no luck, then we can suggest software data recovery apps which sometimes cost a few bucks, but are still way cheaper than a data recovery service for which you may have to re-mortgage the house to pay for.

 

What do you see in Disk Management?
s.

Sorry Didn't read the post...

 

Does HD Sentinel see it and if so what does it say about the condition of the disk?

 

Why have you not tried the free version of Stellainfo - you have nothing to lose

 

"It says to see if 'Disk Management' will recognize it. And it does show up as 'Disk 2' 'not initialized'. It asks me if I want to initialize the disk but that will erase everything, I'm trying to save the data not the drive.
It does show up in 'device manager' as WD elements 10B8 USB and it says it is working properly there and drivers are up to date. So this website says if none of this works it might be dead."

But It's not showing up under 'My computer--removable disks'

 

Is my Western Digital Elements external drive a flash drive or hard drive? Does this program apply to my hardware?

All the examples the site lists on what to do about it start with finding it under 'My Computer'. Will Stella even recognize it if the drive isn't showing up in 'My computer--removable disks' ? Or is this for just such an occasion?

Was also wondering if Stellainfo is even a reputable program? I have had terrible experiences with malware off a random program site.

Ok I tried it on another system, it recognizes the drive enough to say it's installing drivers for it but still does not show up under 'my computer'. Uninstalling it and Re-installing it on my PC in device manager gets the same results as before.

I found this though: I re-install it and a message comes up from the system tray saying 'drivers have been installed for this device.' It's not showing under 'my computer' but it's listed by name in the device manager. There is this little button at the top in device manager called 'scan for hardware changes'. When I click on that I then get ANOTHER pop-up message from the system tray that says it is installing drivers and then another that says "WD Elements 10B8 USB Device driver was not successfully Installed" . Even though when I go into it's properties it says it is functioning. Is it saying that because the drivers were already there or have I found the error?

Also if it's being recognized by name in the device manager at least, does that rule out a physical problem that can only be fixed by data recovery or is that still a possibility?

Thanks again.

 

I reckon you have found the error.....its usb driver or usb port related imho!
The fact that's its now initialized in device manager to me, would suggest the drive is functioning ok now on a physical level.

It most likely is OS/usb driver related, although I would test this on all available usb ports in your system. How many are available in your pute?....... and have you tried the above methods with all ports?

 

HD Sentinel is a great tool for getting info and diagnostics on a disk (HD and SSD), and works with most USB disks too (even disks behind a RAID controllers - depends on specific controller though).

 

over the years, i've had many external hard drives "fail", in that the computer stops seeing it. and any form of diagnostic software tells me the hard drive is corrupt. in my experience, i just remove the hard drive from the external enclosure, plug it into a usb/serial ata drive adapter, attach it to my computer, and the drive is recognized, and all the files are there, as if nothing was ever wrong. so the chip set inside of the external enclosure went bad, and there was nothing wrong with the hard drive itself. if nothing else works for you, give this a try... take out the hard drive and hook it up using some other interface. good luck with it.

 

When you say the physical part must be ok because it's 'initialized' in device manager is that because it's showing up by name? I'm getting mixed messages there because it may be 'initialized' in device manager but it says needs to be 'initialized' when I try diskmgmt. I can test it out on different ports for tomorrow but as I said, I tested it on another system on a working usb port and still nothing.

• The stellareinfo site says it could be a power issue if I get a message saying it's needs to be formatted:

"Broken Stems and Connectors, & Dead Drives (no power to the USB):

A common indication of the physical errors is some kinds of error messages or troubles that you after connecting the USB. Common error messages are “Please Insert Disk into Removable Disk” or “USB Device Not Recognised or Malfunctioned“, “you need to format the disk before using it”, RAW partition, dead or unresponsive drives, and damaged controller chips and/or circuit boards"

I don't get this message upon connecting but it does says it needs to be initialized in diskmgmt, which is the same as formatting right? I know there must be some power because the light is on and it skips alot when I first plug it in but then the skipping stops.

• I looked up Stellarinfo and it's seems reputable so I tried it out. I hope you guys are familiar:

On Stellarinfo free version, it does not appear in the 'connected drives' section. Moving on to the 'lost partitian' menu there is a list a physical drives where it shows up as '(Untitled disk)' and under disk make as 'HardDrive' with a 0.00 KB under size. So it knows something is there but it is not reading anything. I highlight (HardDisk) and click search and nothing shows up in the partitions section below. It then tells me to do a 'deep scan' if nothing shows up and again nothing appears.

So is Stellarinfo the type of recovery software you were going to direct me to? And is 'HD Sentinel' essentially the same thing?

 

@Replicator
P.S:
I have 6 USB ports in the back and tested them, message said they loaded drivers and it was successfully installed but still wouldn't show up in explorer/ removable disks. For all attempts when I click on 'scan for hardware changes' in devmgmt it would then say drivers not installed correctly, and every time in diskmgmt it would say 'You must initialize a disk before Logical Disk Manager can access it.'

I had it hooked up to a amazon basics USB hub when this all started though.

 

Are you still using the amazon basics hub ?-
Or, are you using it in a caddy, and direct to the pc/laptop ?
Try it in a different caddy (in case it is the caddy that has a problem)

 

No I only tested on the hub once and the restdirect to the PC. I wasn't useing a caddy or shell of any kind but I was wondering if I should or could. I have this WD Elements hard drive, do these shells even fit with this?
https://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX65825
As I thought caddy's were only used for the kind of drive you find inside PC's. Like what connector do I look for?
https://www.memoryexpress.com/Category/HDDCaddy

Also, if my hub and PC can't read from the connectors it currently has wouldn't it just run into the same problems with the caddy?

 

If you cannot read it directly, nor, with the hub,you may be out of luck.
Depending on how valuable your data is, on that hard drive, you have to decide....You would have to remove your hard drive from its container/caddy, and put in into another, and Try another connector, or caddy ( Enclosure) or, a dock, like possibly this one (ideal as a tool to keep in the cupboard, anyway- I do) You don't need an expensive one.
https://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX64167 ----Is it worth $25 ,or, you go to a data recovery expert ?

 

Does this work with an external drive though? The link below is again the hard drive I have. The only connector it has is for the USB 3.0 the other end of which is pictured right next the 'features' heading in this link:
https://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX65825\

The way this docking unit is described it sounds like it's for the HD in your PC.

 

Inside your external is a hard drive - Some have a wraparound cover, so both sides need to be released.
Similar ways to remove it,

If the hard drive inside is a normal sata hard drive , then you can fit it into the new 'dock', or, enclosure, and see if it is still functional.
The external connections are different to those on the hard drive.
Or, if you would rather, take it to a competent pc repairer, -or,data recovery