My external hard drive shows up as a LOCAL DISK

Please take the time to at least try to help because my files are very important to my work as well as personal files. My external hard drive shows up as a LOCAL DISK(F:),and when I try to access the drive, an error says that it must be formatted before use..how do i change it so it shows as a removable hard drive? The drive spins and makes no clicking sound or anything. It appears to be mechanically sound but I am not able to access the drive or my files… please help me…please…I NEED MY FILES URGENTLY… THANK YOU…

Hi blueivy. Welcome to WTT For a drive which XP has no drive letter assignment stored, it assigns the first available drive letter. From your post, I understand this a a USB Hard Drive wit stored files on it, not one that has no format (?). First off, I would try disabling write caching if it is enabled 1. Go to start / My Computer. 2. Right-click your USB Disk and select Properties 3. Click on the Hardware tab 4. Select your hard drive and click on Properties 5. Click the Policies tab 6. Uncheck the box "Enable write caching on the disk" NOTE: Enabling write caching generates the following warning. This is normal: By enabling write caching, file system corruption and/or data loss could occur if the machine experiences a power, device or system failure and cannot be shutdown properly. Cheers, Lee

Hi, I'm new! I had the exact same problem as above & ran the tests, both long & short tests failed. Does this mean the external hard drive is completely broken?? I think maybe so because during the tests I heard some clicking? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanx Oh PS– The external drive is a 1 TB Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 enclosed & sold by iOmega as a ready to go Prestige Hard Drive. Cheers

Hi starky1999, and welcome to the WTT forums
Sorry to hear of the problem with your drive

Does this mean the external hard drive is completely broken??
I think maybe so because during the tests I heard some clicking?

Yes it sounds like it has failed..if its still under warranty then its worth sending it back for an exchange….
If the files on it are important then you will need to access them from another back up that hopefully is available to you
Regards
paws

Thank you so much for your prompt reply, I would like to access the files as there are photos & video of my children on there, I'm furious with myself for not getting them on disc! You mention there are other ways to acces the drive, I have read some forums regarding retrieving data but have never tried it myself before. What would you suggest my next move should be, is it possible to retrieve the files myself or should I take it to a store. I don't want to pay a huge amount, but some of the files are dear to me.Alot is media, downloaded video's & music, which I'm not so bothered about. I'm curious, when retrieving data, is it possible to distinguish between files or are you lucky to retrieve what isn't lost/damaged? & If I took it to a proffessional could I ask them just to get the very important files or be grateful for what they retrieve? This probably sounds completely silly, I'm sorry, but I'm no Techie, I just learn as I go! Any help is gratefully recieved.

Hi starky1999,
This is what I said:

If the files on it are important then you will need to access them from another back up that hopefully is available to you

That is to say that it is going to be difficult and therefore time consuming and costly to recover anything from your drive ( the one that seems to have failed) ……. and that is why I suggested you look to another of your backups for the important files.

For Example:
Do you have copies of the important files on your internal hard drive of any computer?
Are they on any other medium (another hard drive or memory stick or DVD) etc?
Do you back up to the cloud? (online back up)
Are the files still on an old computer that you may have pensioned off….(stored in a garage or outhouse for example.)
Have you emailed them to anyone?

Sometimes it is possible for the home owner to retrieve files from a failed hard drive, however if you are not confident in creating an "Image" of the hard drive and working on the image (definitely not the actual hard drive) or you find that you cannot get it recognised, and so cannot make an image, even using Linux, then you will probably need to involve the assistance of a specialist data recovery laboratory who will dismantle the platters of your hard drive in a clean laboratory environment, replace the PCB board if necessary and then align the platters to microscopic tolerances) the eventual prices charged depend upon the amount of data that you have on the disc and that you need to recover…. However prices generally start at around £600 (GBP) say around $900 to $1000 (USD) and can increase rapidly…. this route is usually only for data that is really important and where for one reason or another all your other back up copies have also failed.

Its unlikely that a local computer repair shop would have the equipment, facilities, know how and inclination to be able to recover your data if there has been electro mechanical failure of your drive……. however maybe you will be lucky and find the right shop who will also be lucky and able to help you.
lets hope so.

Check all your back ups, and especially any disc images you may have made, as one of them may contain the files you need and this would be a great way of accessing your files and saving your cash!
Hope this doesn't sound too disheartening……
Regards
paws