External Hard Drive Stopped Working - Need to Recover all Files Lost
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Ramon
If your HDD is still readable you can still recover your data but if it's dead you won't be able to get your files unless you send your HDD for repair.
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That drive is 18yr old and it is long past its useful life.
Have you tried connecting the drive as an internal drive? It requires an IDE controller on the motherboard OR an adapter. I would try connecting the drive as an internal type drive first. If you do not have a system with an ide controller on the board, you can also attempt with an adapter like this one SATA/IDE/PATA to USB 2.0 Adapter Converter Cable <Ships from USA> for 2.5/3.5 Hard Drive, Compatible with USB 1.1/2.0/3.0 - Newegg.com
Have you tried connecting the drive as an internal drive? It requires an IDE controller on the motherboard OR an adapter. I would try connecting the drive as an internal type drive first. If you do not have a system with an ide controller on the board, you can also attempt with an adapter like this one SATA/IDE/PATA to USB 2.0 Adapter Converter Cable <Ships from USA> for 2.5/3.5 Hard Drive, Compatible with USB 1.1/2.0/3.0 - Newegg.com
This is why we stress backups SO much. Data you do not have at the very least two copies of (on separate media) is data you do not care about. All drives fail; it is only a question of when your drive will fail.
I seem to recall those drives where having issues with abruptly losing data. I think I have one from a friend I tried to recover data from. I hooked up the drive to an external HD controller. The drive was recognized but there was no data showing on the drive. I don't think the official cause was ever publicized, but I think based on the reported failures it had to do with the controller in the enclosure.
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I am crossing my fingers hoping that with an EXTERNAL HD CONTROLLER i'll be able to recover at least all WORDS DOCUMENTS .I just order ONE of this from AMAZON. Thanks for your patience...
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Ed
Even though the drive has probably failed are you sure the enclosure itself has not failed? Have you tried another drive in the enclosure to verify it is still working?
I suggest people with hard drives to periodically check their health with a program like Crystal Disk Info or Hard Disk Sentinel. Many times you will get some warning when a drive is starting to fail.
I suggest people with hard drives to periodically check their health with a program like Crystal Disk Info or Hard Disk Sentinel. Many times you will get some warning when a drive is starting to fail.
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UHHH Thanks.... I will try your suggestion....
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Ramon
I always store my documents in an external HDD and when I don't need them I just unplug the HDD to extend the life of it. I also have some copies of documents in a USB Flash with encryption just in case I need them when I go out.
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I recall something similar to that.
That's the rub though. The external drive enclosures I'm thinking of were from what I can see lightly used and still lost data. It's usually advisable for one to have two backup copies of important data; especially when using consumer grade products.
I'm running a little afoul to this advice as my main backup for my important data is on a single server with multiple drives in a RAID 6 setup. The only weak spot to this is if the RAID controller or the motherboard of the server goes belly up. But I should be able to restore that as I have other servers with the same RAID controller and motherboard to throw in. I was also planning on getting a tape backup unit that uses either LTO5 or 6 tapes running. But hit a road block with understanding how to configure the tape unit.
Glad I'm not going senile then. LOL.
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Well, lets not get ahead of ourselves here....
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Ed
Of my remaining 7 IDE drives only 2 are shown as Good by Crystal Disk Info. The 4 showing Caution still work but are not trusted because they may fail at some point without warning.
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That looks very much like the one I use. It is a VERY useful tool to have if you intend on working on hardware.
Now you know the drive itself is still working; it is the enclosure that failed.
FWIW now would be the time to formulate a backup plan for your data files.
Now you know the drive itself is still working; it is the enclosure that failed.
FWIW now would be the time to formulate a backup plan for your data files.
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