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External Drive Wil Not Properly Load, Open, Or Move Files

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inthepink1221 Posts 5 Registration date Tuesday May 3, 2016 Status Member Last seen May 9, 2016 - May 3, 2016 at 01:09 PM
inthepink1221 Posts 5 Registration date Tuesday May 3, 2016 Status Member Last seen May 9, 2016 - May 9, 2016 at 01:12 PM
Out of the blue my external storage drive (which has about 15 years worth of files on it) has stopped working properly. I can see all of my files but it takes ages to load the file lists and when I try to click or move the files it will freeze up or knock itself off my laptop. I have never had any issues with this drive, in fact it was working fine just last week. I can't afford to lose these files but I don't know what to do. I guess the good thing is at least everything is still on there. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

4 responses

Answer 1 / 4
xpcman Posts 19528 Registration date Wednesday October 8, 2008 Status Contributor Last seen June 15, 2019 1,824
May 3, 2016 at 01:43 PM
Sounds like a normal hard drive failure to me.

You might try cooling the drive in the freezer before you use it.
15 to 30 minutes in the freezer (use a good plastic bag) sometimes will allow a drive to be used - until it warms up again.

Today's drives are only made to last 4 or 5 years and you should always have two copies of data on two different devices.

Good Luck
Answer 2 / 4
inthepink1221 Posts 5 Registration date Tuesday May 3, 2016 Status Member Last seen May 9, 2016
May 3, 2016 at 04:12 PM
It doesn't get hot or anything, would he freezer thing make a difference in this case? I have had this drive for well over ten years with no problems, never even thought about backing it up. Wish I had of :(
xpcman Posts 19528 Registration date Wednesday October 8, 2008 Status Contributor Last seen June 15, 2019 1,824
May 3, 2016 at 06:07 PM
It's not because it's overheating. The freezing changes the I/O head alignment and electrical properties of the HD controller. This sometimes (like 1 in a 1000 times) makes the drive usable for a short time.

Ten years is like 5 years beyond the normal lifetime.

Some people have also had success with booting using a bootable Linux CD. Linux will sometimes be able to read a disk that Windows fails to.

Good luck
Answer 3 / 4
inthepink1221 Posts 5 Registration date Tuesday May 3, 2016 Status Member Last seen May 9, 2016
May 3, 2016 at 06:09 PM
Those odds don't sound like it's even worth fooling with but I may just try it. If I took it to a repair place do you think they would be able to recover it?
xpcman Posts 19528 Registration date Wednesday October 8, 2008 Status Contributor Last seen June 15, 2019 1,824
May 3, 2016 at 06:21 PM
Data recovery used to start at $1,000. They sometimes use an identical HD and transfer the platters in a clean room. They may no longer have the needed drive for such an old disk. A professional data recovery operation will take your money and probably not guaranty anything. Using a local PC repair shop you might be able to limit the charges to a max of $100 and have them evaluate the chances of recovery. It all depends on how much you value the data.
Answer 4 / 4
inthepink1221 Posts 5 Registration date Tuesday May 3, 2016 Status Member Last seen May 9, 2016
May 8, 2016 at 08:35 PM
I am still trying to figure this out and IMO it is an issue with my (not even a year old) laptop. Possibly a W8 issue. because now it recognizes my external but then it just poofs away. E drive is there one minute, gone the next. It has never done this before. I have also noticed since my external can't be found that I have been having a lot of blue spinning issues with windows. Could upgrading to 10 fix this problem? At this point I think it is def the operating system not recognizing. Why I can't figure out.
xpcman Posts 19528 Registration date Wednesday October 8, 2008 Status Contributor Last seen June 15, 2019 1,824
May 9, 2016 at 01:07 PM
I don't advise upgrading the OS if there are unresolved hardware issues.

Some people have report success when replacing the cable used to connect the external drive.
inthepink1221 Posts 5 Registration date Tuesday May 3, 2016 Status Member Last seen May 9, 2016 > xpcman Posts 19528 Registration date Wednesday October 8, 2008 Status Contributor Last seen June 15, 2019
May 9, 2016 at 01:12 PM
Hmm I keep reading that upgrading could solve it. So yet another conflict there. I read that I could uninstall the drive and that might help, but I am always nervous to try things that I have no idea what the result may be.

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