I think my HD went bad... now what?

[fmonte]

Okay, last week all of a sudden my external storage hard drive(the kind you insert the HD into a case) decided not to work anymore. I posted a question and got some good information and here is a recap of where I am at:

1. the external HD was showing up in device manager but not my computer or disk management.
2. Someone said it could be the case so I took an old HD out of an old computer and inserted it into the case and it worked as it should: showed up in device manager and my computer and I was able to access it with no problems.

My question is: i have ruled out that the case is not bad. Does that mean all is lost on the bad drive. I had quite a bit of information that I would like to recover if possible. Please help. Thank you. Frank

 

[PaulieG]

Try connecting that hard drive to some else's system, and see if it is recognized. After this last effort, if you still cannot access it..you've got a dead drive. There are some hardware recovery tools out there, and some IT professionals that specialize in data recovery, if need be. However, it can be very expensive. Thant's why its SO important to back up your important files.

 

[fmonte]

That's the ironic part, this was my backup. I did try it on two other computers, same thing, in device manager but not my computer or disk management. Again, I did have it in the external case. Would it make any difference if I took it out of the case and installed it directly into my desktop. Also, I read somewhere that it might help to make it a slave drive. Do you think that would make any difference and if so could someone walk me thru the steps to take in simple layman terms. Thank you. Frank

 

[Cold Storm]

all right.. do you have the manuals to your hdds? if not, allow me to know what type of hdd's you have and I'll find the right jumper spots to make your hdd's look as master and slave...

 

[fmonte]

Thanks for the quick response. I don't have the manual but i have the HD right here and it is a Maxtor Diamond Max 10, Model 6L200PO, 200gb pata133 hdd. Also. there is a little chart here that tells me No jumper=ds slave or cover the 2 vertically on the left hand side=ds master. I don't know if that helps. If not the link below takes you to more info on jumper settings. If you can help, please remember I am a newbie so please give as much detail as possible.

http://www.seagate.com/images/support/en/us/mxo_ata_jumpers.gif

 

[Cold Storm]

all right, the third chart is the one that you need to go with for the slave...
(1). Set up the connections to make slave and master.
(2) reconnect the Hdd's to your computer
(3) go into your Bios and look and see if your master and slave is showing.
(4) if so then start computer and it will boot from your Master Hdd.
(5) the stuff off the hdd should be visible in my computer...

If these steps don't help then you'll have to get what Pulieg was saying... It means that there is some bad file on your hdd that is making it not show up... And the only thing to do is get someone to extract the files for you... then reformat and it should be nice and new...

 

[fmonte]

Thanks again, can you go into more detail on:

step 1. I lost you there.
step 2: do I still use the external case?
step 3: where do I look when I get in the bios?

 

[Cold Storm]

tell me what type of mobo you are using and I'll download the manual...
take the hdd that is giving you the problems out of the external..
then Make it the slave as what the third chart shows you on the website page you showed.
Then connect the cables to the hdd's and you'll be set there...

Take a few mins and put your system specs into your user panel on here.. that way we can use that and not have to ask.. takes us less time to help you out...

 

[fmonte]

The reason I haven't put my specs in my signature is because even when I go to the spec sheet it still doesn't seem to tell me what is in my machine. I have an Acer Aspire T180. Here is the spec sheet off their website. I hope it tell you what you need to know. Thank you. Frank

 

[fmonte]

http://www.acerpanam.com/synapse/forms/portal20.cfm?recordid=478&formid=3404&website=AcerPanAm.com&siteid=7117&words=all&keywords=&areaid=2

Link did not show

 

[Cold Storm]

thanks.. if you can on your system spcs just but the name of the mechine... and where it has benches, add the link there... that way you just type a few things and there you go!
now is the hdd that you do have sata also? or does it require an IDE cable?

 

[fmonte]

I'm not sure, it says pata133 HDD

 

[fmonte]

Okay, so let me see if I got this:

1. I am going to pull of the jumper to make this drive a slave drive.
2. Insert this drive into my desktop.
3. Boot the computer but hit del and get into the Bios(still not sure where to look once I get in there)
4. See if it is showing the 2 hard drives.
5. if so, go to my computer to see if you can acces the files.

Please confirm and I will try this tonight. It might take me a while.

 

[Cold Storm]

if your hdd that is in it is pata then its ide... so just connect them like you have them and they should be right.
In bios, since I don't have a clue and they don't give you one, just keep on going back and forth in bios untill you find the settings that show as how your system is set up...
I wish I could tell you which ones.. I'll try and get someone that knows everything about bios a call and see what he can say in here...

 

[fmonte]

Thanks so much. One last question. When I open up the computer, am I going to see the extra two cables that I need just laying there or do i have to go buy some cables? Frank

 

[Cold Storm]

If there is a cable that runs to your other hdd like this http://images.google.com/imgres?img...images?q=ide+cables&gbv=2&svnum=10&hl=en&sa=G
then you should be fine.. the second hdd will plug right into the second slot on that cable... if there isn't any room then get a nother set of ide cables to jump them together...