External HD problem!

NoQuarter

Hi folks,

Dropped the external hard drive yesterday and thought it was ok but it froze when i tried to view pics saved on it. I didnt think too much of it though and the next time i turned on my laptop (windows XP) it said there was a disk error, done a scan, the was checkin free space i think, after like 2 hrs it was only on 19% so i restarted the laptop.

Now it comes on kind of slow, seems to know the HD is there(connected via USB) but wont let me go into it as it freezes!

Any ideas on how to fix it or salvage the files on it even???

Thanks!

bonzodog2

If you're (very) lucky it might just be the enclosure that is giving trouble. A friend dropped his drive and I got a new USB/SATA adapter via ebay

ricman

SEE here http://www.peats.com/cgi-bin/catalog.cgi?view_product=1&id=26125
i presume its sata.
put some adhesive tape on the drive pcb to stop short circuits ,from the casing.
i dont see the point in using ebay 4 this.

NoQuarter

Thanks for the replies! The casing looks undamaged, its fell a few times off my desk before with no problems and it wasnt a particularly violent fall!

Not sure id feel comfortable opening it up though! im not even sure where to put the tape! or which part the pcb even is!!!

Time to drop it to a repair store?

macnerdy

I work in a repair store so it all good!!
If it is still being detected by xp here is what we might do.
go to start-->run
type cmd and hit enter to bring up command screen
cd to the drive ie if the drive is j
type
j:
then type
chkdsk /r
this will run a complete check on the drive and fix any errors it finds but defo go get a cup of coffee as stages 4 and 5 will take a bit.

If you still have problems then maybe it an interface issue and you need to buy an empty external hard-drive and move it across.

However....instinct says that if it has been dropped a few times previous then back it up and invest in a new drive.

Hagar

king-stew wrote: »

Time to drop it to a repair store?

Time to stop dropping it...

macnerdy

hehehehe....

kippy

I dont think people reaslise how little it takes to damage one of these external drives.
This is what is happening inside the drive:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eMWG3fwiEU
If you drop a drive those platters and reader head could come into contact with each other, you're in trouble.
Even knocking the reader head by a few microns or less throws off the calibration of the drive and your screwed.
Even laptops now a days, I would be very careful moving one while the machine is powered on. A knock or jump could cause issues with the drive.
Until the SSD's become cheaper and more common dropping a HDD of any type is asking for trouble.

macnerdy

Yah I agree.....at the end of the day I think the message you need to get across is that most hard-drives contain moving parts. Drop it and those parts rub off each other.
The solution is to use drives wiith no moving parts, like usb sticks or solid state drives but both options have a price and a security value.
Till then lets just look at working out how to solve the problem as oppossed to saying...well hey you should have used this bit of kit(c)

NoQuarter

macnerdy wrote: »

I work in a repair store so it all good!!
If it is still being detected by xp here is what we might do.
go to start-->run
type cmd and hit enter to bring up command screen
cd to the drive ie if the drive is j
type
j:
then type
chkdsk /r
this will run a complete check on the drive and fix any errors it finds but defo go get a cup of coffee as stages 4 and 5 will take a bit.

If you still have problems then maybe it an interface issue and you need to buy an empty external hard-drive and move it across.

However....instinct says that if it has been dropped a few times previous then back it up and invest in a new drive.

No luck unfortunately! I get this message when i try to cd to G:\

The volme does not contain a recognised file system. please make sure that all required file system drivers are loaded and that the volume is not corrupt.

I think during startup the first time after it fell windows was checking something to do with the volume but i have no patience and cancelled it, is there any way to get back to that?

kippy

macnerdy wrote: »

Yah I agree.....at the end of the day I think the message you need to get across is that most hard-drives contain moving parts. Drop it and those parts rub off each other.
The solution is to use drives wiith no moving parts, like usb sticks or solid state drives but both options have a price and a security value.
Till then lets just look at working out how to solve the problem as oppossed to saying...well hey you should have used this bit of kit(c)

Sorry,
Wasnt trying to complicate the issue or purvey an I told you so type attitude. Just making the point for anyone reading this that these devices are delicate and dropping them is best avoided at all costs.

macnerdy

kippy wrote: »

Sorry,
Wasnt trying to complicate the issue or purvey an I told you so type attitude. Just making the point for anyone reading this that these devices are delicate and dropping them is best avoided at all costs.

Just so there is no confussion. Kippy is right. While its great that for a few euros you can slap a 1tb drive into an external housing these days the same rules still apply.
Droping an active harddrive is just bad news.I think its just part off a bigger problem of adverts showing you what you CAN do with a computer without explaining HOW TO do stuff with you new computer. Buts thats a completely different post.

h4ck573r

king-stew wrote: »

Hi folks,

Dropped the external hard drive yesterday and thought it was ok but it froze when i tried to view pics saved on it. I didnt think too much of it though and the next time i turned on my laptop (windows XP) it said there was a disk error, done a scan, the was checkin free space i think, after like 2 hrs it was only on 19% so i restarted the laptop.

Now it comes on kind of slow, seems to know the HD is there(connected via USB) but wont let me go into it as it freezes!

Any ideas on how to fix it or salvage the files on it even???

Thanks!

You idiot, going around dropping drives like that..
open the external drive case, detach the drive from electronics, attach it directly to a pc ( drive not electronics), and see if it works.( be sure that pc is turned of during this procedure.
If it does not work than the drives mechanics are damaged and or electronics.
if it works than the external usb case is damaged, and you got your data back, just take the case to a pc service shop should not be hard to fix it. you can also attach the drive back and see if it works, maybe it just lost connection...

macnerdy

if it a case that you cannont get the drive to work then...
its time to backup data from drive and format and start again.;
as regards getting info of drives then dd_rescue is the way to go. It linux but dont freak out.
The fact that your drive is at least "seen" by the os is a good sign.
As regards dropping your external hard-drive.....who hasnt at this stage.

NoQuarter

It was actually the girlfriend who dropped it this time! But point taken and i will have to find better place to put it so it wont fall again (its in quite a precarious spot usually!).

Is it possible to run dd_rescue from within windows somehow?

h4ck573r

king-stew wrote: »

It was actually the girlfriend who dropped it this time! But point taken and i will have to find better place to put it so it wont fall again (its in quite a precarious spot usually!).

Is it possible to run dd_rescue from within windows somehow?

If it is a girl than it is ok
Can't be mad at them :P

as for linux download knoppix live version and boot it from cd, should do the trick...
root@knoppix: have a lot of phun :>.sh

NoQuarter

h4ck573r wrote: »

as for linux download knoppix live version and boot it from cd, should do the trick...
root@knoppix: have a lot of phun :>.sh

L33t

ricman

THE PCB is the circuit board , always underside of the harddrive, if you have a pc you can plug it in to pc,poweroff pc, take out pc plug from esb socket.
CONNECT THE HD to data and power cables, its prbly sata.Google sata interface image.
YOU have 2 be careful cos pc,s still have power going thru em,even when switched off.
set the drive up,or screw it in,so it doesnt move when pc is turn on.
so you,ll be using the power and data, cables from the enclosure.
its also possible the data may be corrupted, if you cant recover anything,
as a LAST resort format the drive.
THIS will ERASE all the data,so only do this if NOTHING ELSE WORKS.
I HAVE a drive,i shorted it out, so its ,dead, i cant even format it.my 2 pc,s dont even detect it at all.
GOOGLE HOW TO RECOVER data from external hard drive.
First put tape on the pcb.
if the drive was powered on when dropped the drive heads would not be parked,ie the drive head or platter could be damaged.
SEE here http://www.google.ie/search?aq=f&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=sata+pic