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External hard drive not opening files

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  • 27-07-2016 2:49pm
    #1
    homer1982
    Registered Users Posts: 262 ✭✭


    Hi All
    I have a 500GB external hard drive with mainly movies and more importantly my CV that I am trying to access. When I connected the hard drive to my laptop it recognises it and I can see all my files but when I try open a movie file or my CV file it won't open and it seems to stall. I have opened Disk Management and the hard drive is showing as healthy.

    Does anyone know what the issue is or if I can get my files back or go somewhere to retrieve them?


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    #2
    mordeith
    Registered Users Posts: 5,278 ✭✭✭mordeith


    homer1982 wrote: »
    Hi All
    I have a 500GB external hard drive with mainly movies and more importantly my CV that I am trying to access. When I connected the hard drive to my laptop it recognises it and I can see all my files but when I try open a movie file or my CV file it won't open and it seems to stall. I have opened Disk Management and the hard drive is showing as healthy.

    Does anyone know what the issue is or if I can get my files back or go somewhere to retrieve them?

    Does copying/pasting work or you get the same issue?


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    #3
    homer1982
    Registered Users Posts: 262 ✭✭homer1982


    mordeith wrote: »
    Does copying/pasting work or you get the same issue?

    As soon as I try copy and paste it brings up the file moving tab but nothing happens, no data is copied over it just stalls and then the hard drive does not respond at all.


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    #4
    bonzodog2
    Registered Users Posts: 6,220 ✭✭✭bonzodog2


    I'd start with drive properties->check for errors
    Then its onto data recovery software, e.g recuva or photorec (free). in this case, if it finds files, make sure to copy them to a different drive


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    #5
    Fysh
    Moderators, Arts Moderators, Regional Abroad Moderators Posts: 11,057 Mod ✭✭✭✭Fysh


    There are a few different issues that could be happening here - you could be looking at some kind of file corruption (seems unlikely, as it would have to have happened during the copy process), some kind of partition corruption (unlikely if the partition itself can be mounted), or problems with the disk or the disk controller (most likely, at least from the available information).

    I'd be checking the drive SMART data if it's accessible - Acronis Drive Monitor is free and will show this for you from Windows.

    If the SMART status is not healthy, the disk is failing and it's time to back up anything stored on it and replace it.

    If the SMART status is healthy, the next steps are to check for errors with /f and /r options enabled, and if the issue persists reformat the drive. If it still persists, test on another machine and see what you get there.

    Edited to add:
    One more thing worth noting - if it's an external drive that you connect by USB, that means you've most likely got a SATA disk sitting inside a plastic case with a (frequently quite shoddily-made) USB-SATA bridge. I've seen those bridges fail on several occasions - if it's still in warranty check with the vendor first, but most of the time removing the SATA disk from the actual case and hooking it up (either directly to a SATA port or via a different bridge, USB or otherwise) has allowed the data to be recovered. So that's another option if you have access to the parts.


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