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External drive not seen - best way forward?
Hi
I've had a few external USB drives die on me lately. One of them wasn't fully backed-up, so I'm looking for the best way to try and recover the data. The disk is a 5TB Seagate Backup-plus (2.5 inch) USB3-connected drive. The data on it isn't really all _that_ important (I certainly don't want to spend hundreds of dollars having it professionally recovered), but as I have nothing to lose (I am just going to throw it in the trash anyway), what is the best way of trying to recover the data, please?
Windows plays a "dum-dubby-dum" sound when it is plugged into a USB port (same as when other PnP devices are plugged into a USB port). But after that, nada. (Actually, Windows gives a "USB Device not recognised" toaster-notification). It is not seen in 'This PC' or Disk Management. It doesn't seem to be spinning. There is a light on the case which is solid-on. I have tried it in several PCs.
It initially died when I was verifying a Macrium backup (of my PC's C: drive) that I had put on it. It started giving cyclic redundancy checks, then just couldn't be seen when it was plugged-in again. There were a few 'tinkling' noises later when it span, which I understand to be a bad sign.
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I have a new disk arriving in the mail today to take the data, so just want to know I'm doing the right thing before I start. So far, I'm looking at
How to recover files from a dead external drive | PCWorld
How to Fix 'Hard Drive Not Showing Up' in Windows [Solved]
Recover Data From External Hard Drive That Isn’t Detected
The people recommending the tools are the manufacturers of the tools, so.... is that the best advice?
I've also heard that using linux might help. Is that right ? If so, how?
I also saw a youtube video, where the guy just opened the case and manually swung the (stuck) arm back-to-base and everything was fine and dandy.
I got me a big hammer and a chisel and I'm a-ready to do me some fixin'...
Any pointers? Thanks
p.s. I dont have a desktop PC to mount the physical disk in, only laptops. Win 10 Home.
Last edited by BobSter2; 12 Aug 2021 at 05:59.