Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Technical Help and How To's HELP!!!!

Does ANYONE have a way to "save" the files from a "dead" external, portable USB harddrive?

Mine was making funny noises last week when I re-watched the Smallville episodes I'd downloaded onto it, and then yesterday, when I went to put a few new things on my ipod (which I'd also stored on the USB harddrive), my computer couldn't recognize the drive.

I thought it was just that the USB port in the laptop itself was dead (which is quite possible, since that port wasn't even recognizing the ipod, which is newer). But then I put the laptop in the dock, and it recognized the ipod, but not the harddrive.

I took it to my dad, and he said it's dead, but he'll try to get the data off of it if he can.

I don't care about the Smallville episodes--it's only a season's-worth anyway, and I've seen all of those episodes twice now.

What I'm REALLY worried about is that it has on it:

-My movie database
-My music database
-All of the music I've ever had on CD or downloaded (it'll take HOURS to rip all those CDs again, and there are some songs that I don't HAVE on CD--just the ipod now)
-ALL of my LNC FANFIC
-ALL of my AUDIOFICS
-ALL of the LNC fanfic I've beta'd or GE'd for people
-My CHECKBOOK data (which can be recovered, since I backed it up on our home network, I'm pretty sure)
-The website I've been working on with a personal bio of myself, including pictures from EVERY SINGLE YEAR I'VE BEEN ALIVE
-A bunch of stuff I wanted to save from church

I'm kinda ok about the fanfic--the only thing I don't have a hardcopy of (but can still get at least a draft of) is chapter five of Kryptonian Multiplication (my current WIP). The rest, I printed out a couple weeks ago, and have been keeping in my writing binder.

But the audio fic! Oh, the audio fic! It's probably a good thing I moved THAT to the ipod too, huh?

I should probably get a new USB harddrive--AND an external cd/dvd burner or a zip/jazz drive so that I can back up the USB harddrive.

But anyway, does anybody know of a way to save the data? I'm kinda desperate not to type all that stuff up again, not to rip the CDs again, not to re-create those databases, etc.

is that a hard drive - or is it one of those little USB pen things? cause if it's a pen thingy then it's a flash memory and I know some software that can do the trick. if it's an external hard "disk", then... mmm.. I'd have to look some more...

Actually... I just found this - it's freeware and it looks like it might help.

PC Inspector

Good luck.

It's an actual hard drive, not a flash drive.

I think that software you linked to might only work for a harddrive that the PC can still see, but not read. As far as I can tell, the PC can't even SEE this drive of mine--or rather, it can see it, but it doesn't recognize that it's the harddrive I've had connected to it for at least a year. Therefore, it can't see that there are even files TO recover, and I can't get to the files to recover them either.

Maybe it's something to do with the USB part, instead of the drive itself? From what the computer guru here at work says, I might be able to just take off the USB part and the casing, and hook it up to my laptop, since it might be essentially a laptop harddrive anyway. I'll have to see what my dad says later this evening, and then try this guy's suggestion.

And then if that doesn't work, I'll try the software.

it's quite possible it's the USB plug that's busted... that might explain things.

the software was pretty much a shot in the dark. *lol* it's free, though, so worth a try, I guess.

Yeah.

I'm just trying to do everything anyone can think of so that I don't have to go to the trouble of recovering (or re-creating) all that data. Some of it, I don't even remember.

And the suggestions I'm getting about how to save it, I'm pretty much prioritizing. Here's the way I've prioritized so far:

1. Do everything I know how to do to troubleshoot the problem--which, granted, mostly involves re-starting the computer, and re-trying different connections a few times.
2. Beg Dad for help.
3. Find out that the drive's probably going to need replacing.
4. Beg Dad for help again.
5. Mention problem to computer guru guy at work.
6. Find out what Dad has been able to do.
7. If that doesn't pan out, try computer guru guy's suggestion.
8. Try the long-shot software.

I Googled for info and found a couple things. Maybe some of it is useful...

First this thing which doesn't cost much to try...
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I suggest going into the device manager and uninstall all of the USB Host controllers. Once done, turn off the system, disconnect the power (A/C & Battery) then press and hold the power button for 30 seconds. Reconnect the power and boot the system.

Sometimes, there can be transistors switched the wrong way in the hardware and that can corrupt the drivers. By doing these steps above you clear corrupted drivers and circuits. When you boot back up, Windows will reinstall clean drivers.

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And then I found this page With a few tips and tricks

Hope this helps...

When I got home last night and told my dad what the computer guy at work said, he told me that he was already planning on doing that--he just needs to make a bracket to hold the drive when he takes it out of the case.

If that doesn't work, Lara, I'll try what you just suggested BEFORE I try that software.

Good luck! I hope things turn out ok.

If the hard drive is actually dead, as in does not turn on, and you really want the data on the drive, then most likely you will need to give it to a data recovery firm. Methods to fix a dead hard drive include replacing shattered discs, replacing actuators, replacing arm/head assemblies to access the discs, replacing the circuit boards on the bottom of the drive... None of which I recommend trying at home, except possibly the latter.

Freeware programs like PC Inspector, and even commercial forensic software products like EnCase will only work on drives where files have been deleted, but the drive itself is still functioning and detectable.

What do you mean by funny noises? Clicking? Clicking is a sign that the drive is going bad. I wouldn't recommend turning it on and off more than necessary, because if you have a head crash, or something else is broken, it could really damage the disc platters where your data is stored, making any future attempts at data recovery nigh impossible. I've had disc platters shatter before -- it's never a pretty thing to have a hard drive sound like a baby rattle when you pick it up.

Things I can suggest that are easy to try at home:
1. Listen for unusual noises when the hard drive is plugged in and turned on. When the hard drive is off, pick the hard drive up and gently tilt it. Is there noise or obvious movement of parts? This is usually an indication that something internal is broken.
2. Try different cables
3. Try different computers
4. Try different operating systems

Hope this helps.

Actually, Aria, I think I'm pretty lucky. The drive still gets POWER from the USB port, but the computer just can't recognize the drive. Thanks for the info though!

USB hard drives are actually pretty simple gadgets - if the drive itself and the computer are OK you can probably just replace the outer casing and circuit boards fairly cheaply. I got an empty casing for nine pounds (about $16) not long ago, and I'll probably be buying another one with a network socket as well as USB soon, so that I can have a big drive on line at all times, and load/download from anywhere in my flat. They're more expensive, but worth it if you have more than one computer.

Ooh! That's a nice idea, Marcus. Know where I can get a new hard drive-to-USB connection? I've already got the casing--I could just re-use the old one, right?

I'm a little confused, I guess. Is this an external hard drive that connects via USB or is it a thumbdrive?

I doubt you can get this without the casing - they usually come as a complete package of USB connection electronics, an external power supply (not needed for the smaller drives that get power from the USB port), and casing. The last one I bought even included a little screwdriver for putting everything together! There are usually a lot for sale on eBay, in Britain most of the computer component shops (most notably Maplin) sell them, in the USA I'd expect Radio Shack to carry them.

It's important to get the right one, of course - there are two or three different types of hard drive connection now - so a shop like Radio Shack is probably your best starting point, assuming that they do sell them.

I've been assuming it was a hard drive - if not I'm talking rubbish!

It's a hard drive. Basically, just a laptop hard drive in a casing that had a USB connector in it.

Or, it was.

My dad hooked the hard drive (after taking it out of the casing) up to my old desktop computer--it didn't work. Now I have to either find all that data again from alternate places, or re-enter it all myself. I've got plenty of space for the fanfic and stuff--even the audio fic. But all my music will have to stay either on my CDs, on my zip disks (which I can only read from the desktop computer I never use) or on my ipod.

And don't even get me started on the website I was working on, or the data I had for church, or my pictures, or MY QUICKEN DATA, without which, I have to use a month-old backup and will never be certain if my data is up-to-date again.

GAH!

Before you give up, why not try to take it to a computer guy/firm to see if it can be saved. It might be worthwhile. I had my internal hard drive go down and my computer guy fixed it, have me a new drive, and a backup hard drive for a very reasonable price. Plus, he saved all of the data and believe me, I thought it was all gone, too. Just a thought. You're in Maryland and I'm in Pennsylvania, but my computer guy works really cheap -- it might be worth calling him to help, even if you had to ship the drive up to him. Let me know if you want his number. Take care.

It's too late to see any computer guy other than my dad--he already opened the hermetically-sealed part of the hard drive itself. (I was curious.)

if anyone else is intrested in doing this, here's what happened with this; got the casing last week and ordered a 320gb hard drive on Friday, which turned up today. So far my impressions are pretty favourable - it's a big enough drive that it's going to hold all my current downloads and a load more without problems, operating it is pretty simple (you log into the drive's control system using a browser, use its internal utilities to format the hard disk, then once that's done access it like a shared hard drive on another PC.)

Cons so far are some fan noise, a little more than I'd expected, and a little slowness - it's not as fast as a USB 2 drive, though it comes close. On the other hand I can access it from either desktop PC or my laptop, which is going to make it a lot easier to keep thing organised.

In the long term I may decide to go for a larger network server, but I think this will suit me pretty well for the next year or two. Total cost was about £90, which seems pretty reasonable for the amount of storage. I paid more than that for my first 10mb (really) hard disk when I was first using PCs in the eighties.