External harddrive problem

davemckenna25

My external hd has stopped working on me.
Giving a clicking sort of noise. Problem is that I have pictures of my kids as babies and newborn on it. Really need to see can I access it. It's a few years old.
Western Digital. My Book Essential. Version 2.
I have heard that people can get the info back, but i've been told that its very expensive and i can't afford it.
It their anyway of getting it done cheaper.

The hd shows up as being connected in the bottom right corner of the laptop(where i click to stop it before disconnecting) but its not showing up in my computer.

Any ideas. I live in Naas, Co. Kildare.

Thanks.

riclad

You can open the case ,buy sata caddy 15euro, put it in the caddy.Connect
to pc ,via usb,copy all important data off it.I cant gaurantee ,it,ll work,
make sure caddy is plastic,do NOT touch the pcb,circuit board.
how old is the drive.
see here,
http://www.insidemylaptop.com/recover-files-from-broken-laptop/

Access is Denied” error message
While accessing user files you can get “Access is Denied” error message. It happens because your user account on the broken laptop was password protected.

In order to get access to user files on the external hard drive you’ll have to take ownership over the user folder.

Here’s how you can take ownership over the Users folder (if you had Windows Vista or Windows 7 installed) or Documents and Settings folder (if you have Windows XP installed).

STEP 1.

1. Access files located on the external hard drive and
- Right click on Users folder (if you had Windows Vista or Windows 7 installed on the failed laptop)
or
-Right click on Documents and Settings folder (if you had Windows XP installed on the failed laptop)
and after that click on properties.

2. Click on Security tab in User Properties windows.

3. Click on Advanced button.



STEP 2.

1. Click on Owner tab in Advanced Security Settings for Users window.

2. Click on Edit button.



STEP 3.

1. Left click on Administrators group.

2. Check the Replace owner on subcontainers and objects box.

3. Click OK button.



STEP 4.

Click Yes in Windows Security windows.



Process of taking ownership might take a long time, it depends on how many files you have in Users or Documents and Settings folders.

After it’s done, you should be able to get access to your files.


try open,drive, e,f ,etc external drive/caddy.
if drive works,leave on pc,

copy ALL IMPORTANT FILES,photos.KEEP ON COPYING,
UNTIL u have all the important files.

if u switch off pc ,drive may never work again.
clicking ,grinding noise usually means drive is nearly dead.
do not move caddy while pc is on.

riclad

Try caddy first,

if necessary it might be possible buy identical enclosure, on ebay or adverts .ie .
if so it must be the same model.
mybook essential version 2.
its very likely 2.5inch sata drive.try plug in to another pc,
is the led power light,hd acess light flashing when you try,acess drive,explore?

ArtyM

It is highly unlikely that you would get a clicking sound coming from an enclosure, so the noise is prob coming from the drive.
A clicking noise coming from the drive is an indication of hardware damage, never a good sound.
Usual recomendation is to stop using a drive as soon as this starts as you risk further harm by continuing.
You may, possibly, be able to retrieve your files using an ext caddy or recovery software that is likely to be suggested - just please be aware that the more you attempt to access the drive, the more potential damage you may cause.
If these files are truly important to you, take the time to assess all the options available to you.
Wish you luck
ArtyM

It is highly unlikely that you would get a clicking sound coming from an enclosure, so the noise is prob coming from the drive.
A clicking noise coming from the drive is an indication of hardware damage, never a good sound.

Agreed, I don't know why this caddy thing comes up so much.

The electronics in an enclosure are 100x more reliable and robust than the drive itself. Every time i've looked at a dead external from falling or otherwise, its the drive itself that's damaged.

Your enclosure is just basic SS electronics on a controller board whereas the HDD is full of amazingly precise and fragile components hovering a couple of nanometers above a disc spinning 100 times a second.

riclad

TRY it in another pc, laptop,
I,m not saying the caddy is gauranteed to work,if you have a pc with
a spare sata connector on the motherboard,you could connect it to the pc motherboard,
theres sata data, 2 cables, data, and sata power.
i had clicking drive,in laptop, lasted bout 2 days before it stopped reading.
i never tried to fix it, just replaced it.
theres also hd freeze trick,
http://www.knowledgesutra.com/discuss/ttsicm-hard-drive-freezer-trick.html
make sure bag is sealed,watertight,

copy ALL the important,pics ,
first.in order of importance to you.
you,ll need to open the case.remove drive.
MAKE sure theres loadsa empty space on the pc to copy pics,

or buy another external drive,
500gig ,60 euro last time i checked.
dont have heat on in room where pc is ,when you
are acessing,copying the data from drive.
This trick sometimes works ,not gauranteed to work.
be careful,be gentle,
drives are sensitive to knocks,.
do not touch DRIVE circuit board.
Drives are designed to work a few years,they eventually wear out.
even if it works ,you may only get one chance to copy files,
leave pc on,till you have the files you need,
if you have to leave it on for 6 hours ,be patient.

backup anything important to 2 or 3 places,dvd, pc, usb drive.

davemckenna25

Thanks lads.

I have tried it in another enclosure, same problem. The prob seems to be the harddrive itself. Think I may have to resign myself to the pictures being gone.
Will def be backing up in future.

Crap but thanks.

riclad

TRY freezer trick, put in sealed bag, 60 minutes freezer.You,ve nothing to lose .try it in a different pc,laptop.

DOES it show up in bootup, screen, ie before windows loads.
PLUG into pc before you turn on pc.
my external drive 6 months old, 320gig
works on my pc,
is completely invisible to my sony vaoi 2011, laptop, other usb drives work fine in the laptop.
try go to pc bios, set fastboot off,
this gives pc abit more time to connect to external drives.
freezer wont damage it ,as long as drive is in a sealed bag.