How can I check out this external hardrive

The external hardrive is a Philips make size about 9 x 6 inches, probably at least 10 years old.  Although I used it as a back up I also had most of it backed up on flash memory stick. however I would like to access it as there is a couple of not so important things I would like to recover.

All was working ok with no indication of any issues. The `blue` light still comes on to show power is getting to it but my PC doesnt appear to register it, I tried a laptop and thats the same so it does appear the hard drive is the issue and not the PC.

Is there any way I can run some checks or test it in any way?

Yes, BUT, it requires adding it as a slave to a working system, it could be the case that's the problem, so if you can remove the drive from it's case, then add it to a PC then you can access\scan it that way, if it refuses to be seen after doing this, then it may be down to the drive, but if you are able to do that then it's a way you can do what you want to, assuming the drive is still working, if you need specific guidance on how to do this just ask, but if you can supply your system details (especially the motherboard) and if you have any spare leads, then we can walk you through it.

Thanks for the reply 8210guy  I changed the connecting cable (drive to PC) and it sort of loaded up so I suppose its not quite dead, however I am getting the following eror message:

Location not available    F:\ not accessible    Incorrect function

I then checked properties and it is showing Used space 0    Free space 0

When I try to run `check for errors` it states drive not accessible.

Does this info point to anything? can I run any checks with it now sort of connected

Just to confirm, you have now removed the drive from it's case and have it now connected directly in the PC itself ?

Have you taken note if it's an ide drive about the jumpers, to ensure it's set as master\slave as appropriate ?

All that being correct, there are times when an OS will refuse to see a drive until it's formatted, but obviously that wipes what you are trying to access.

There are 2 things to try, given you want the data, I suggest getting Slacko (Puppy Linux), create the bootable disk by burning the iso, then reboot the system to the disk you have created, it runs from your ram, so it will not touch or change your system in any way, follow the wizard when it starts to get the correct settings for you to use, then you will see the available drives at the bottom left.

Launch each in turn and you should recognise the file system of each drive, and will then be able to find the problem drive, with luck you will be able to find the files you want, in which case you can move them over to one of your other drives, or even a thumb drive, it works just like it does in Windows in essence, but the appearance is not what your used to, so just make sure you place it in an easy to find location when you boot to Windows, so it could throw you a bit, the biggest difference to note is in this OS, everything opens with a single click, so try and avoid double clicking, also make sure you change nothing else, or you could mess up Windows, unlikely as you shouldn't be touching anything else, but I mention it to be safe.

All being well and you have your files, go to the drive makers site, and download their diagnostic software, use that to scan the drive to see if that gives any clues, if it reports bad sectors then the drive is dying, if it say all is well then we may need to scan with something else, but give all this a try first, and see if it helps, and feel free to ask for anything you need clarifying, I know just how overwhelming some of this can be, hope something here helps.

No what I did was I took the cable from my printer and swapped the cable and that allowed my PC to provide an icon for the external drive, I wasnt getting this before so I thought best to report that back along with the error messages to you before attacking the internals, me being cautious.

Should I proceed with removing the drive based on the info in my last post?

The problem with an external drive, is there is no real way to test the housing, if the housing has developed a fault, no amount of connecting will get the drive connecting properly, the only way to test an external drive when you can't connect to it is to remove it from it's case and attach directly to the PC.

Now I fully understand your hesitation with going inside the case, and there is a cheap(ish) way to avoid doing that if your happy to spend a bit of money, it is simply a Drive Adapter, you connect that to the PC via USB then connect a drive to that, pretty much does the same thing, but without going inside the PC, the downside is there is no guarantee it will work, because we have yet to find where the problem is, so you could be spending money to end up exactly where you are now, if your constantly helping mates then it's not a bad tool to have, but for a single use you have to ask yourself if your happy to take the chance.

That is the cheapest way to go for a 1 off, there are other more purpose built dock's, which are great tools, but if you are only doing it the once then they are a bit expensive to get, which is why I suggest this cheaper option if you wanted to go this route, at least if it doesn't work it wont hurt the pocket as much, but do take note, make sure it comes with all you need, namely the connector for your drive, e.g. Sata or ide, but most of these solutions probably have both types included, which is the better way to go, you never know what the future may throw at you, and make sure it can power the drive as well, because the drive obviously needs to power up to work.

Should you decide to go inside the case, then I suggest an initial look without touching anything, we need to know what type of hard drive the "problem" drive is, Sata or ide, then we need to know what connections are available inside your system, and more importantly in a way what cables are available, if your "problem" drive is ide, and your board etc. all Sata, you may need to get extra cables anyway, so we do need to know what you have to work with if going inside the case, if you want to check this out.

Power down the PC, turn off and remove the power lead from the wall, then remove the side, you may find it easier to manage laid on it's side, then take a picture and upload it maybe, hopefully the picture will catch all the connections and bays, and if you can take note of what the motherboard is (make\model) and let us know that as well, it's nearly always written on the board, and take note to include if it shows as a specific version, I'm just trying to cover all the bases so you don't have to mess about too much.

Of course if you decide to try the adaptor 1st then you don't need to do all this, but if you do look inside for the info then once you have that info, you just replace the side, plug it back in and power up again like normal, just let us know how you would want to proceed we will do what we can for you, if you are unsure of what adaptor to get (assuming you opt for this), then let us know what hard drive it is (make\model) and link to what you think would do, we can double check it has all you need if it helps, hope this helps.

OK what I will do is open up the hardrive and the PC case tomorrow and attempt to get the info required and any necessary pics.

I am ok for going in the case……… and then I changed my mind as the adaptors on ebay are only a few £, I thought you were talking more than that :-)

So I will open up the external tomorrow and report back. If you dont mind I will (tomorrow) post you the link to what I think I should order on ebay so as to make sure I am ordering the correct item.

If it dont work or even if it does I can resell the adaptor back on ebay.

Thanks for your time on this.

Well there are better things than those, and they are a fair bit more than these, but money is relative, I paid about £10 for my ones a few years back, so seeing them as cheap as that now is a bit gutting lol, and that was what I was basing cost on for a one off job, but just post back when your ready and we will do all we can for you.

Attached are pics of the external hard drive and below a link to what I would purchase, if you could ok (or otherwise) the intended purchase I will go ahead and order.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/190436304116?ru=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fsch%2Fi.html%3F_from%3DR40%26_sacat%3D0%26_nkw%3D190436304116%26_rdc%3D1📎drive.JPG📎label.JPG

Yep that should do fine, it's identical to the one I bought years back, you have a 3.5" ide drive, the benefit of a kit like this is it works for Sata drives as well, as you never know what the future brings, and this costs no extra it's win win, and it has a power source as well which you will need for this, just take care when inserting the plug that you don't bend any pins, also note there is a notch on both the plug and the drive, the plug only fits on 1 way, so ensure the notches on each line up to get it the right way round.

Hitachi do have a utility for testing it's drives, but I don't feel it does as well as the bigger names in this field do for theirs, but I just noticed that WD have bought them out, but when you get the files backed up you can test the drive, but if Windows still can't access the drive use Slacko above and see if that can access the drive.

When done run this utility and see what it shows, go here and get the HGST Windows Drive Fitness Test (WinDFT), hope this helps.

Thats the kit ordered,delivery probably around wed 5th Mrch.  Once I get it and connect I will post back and let you know how it goes.

I just realised I have around 4 other hard drives as I always took them out of my old PCs before binning the towers, I must dig them out and it will be interesting to see whats on them as some probably go back about 15 years.

Thanks again for your time and effort, hopefully I can report back next week with some good news.

Thank you

Scudo

Sounds like it is a good tool for you then even if this one doesn't turn out right, I help mates so much I have upgraded that tool to a 3.5" "drive" that sits in your case just like another drive, then you only need the leads, the power comes from inside the case, it's just a little less to get out when needed, fingers crossed for you.

Update…

Got the kit and hooked up the external drive, doesn’t look good.  The green bar at the top of page was slow to progress as if loading slowly and eventually just hung there. It did show an icon in `computer` for the drive though.  When I tried to exit the external …`programme not responding` and the PC just hung so I had to switch it off and reboot.

Next I downloaded `slacko` wasn’t too sure if I got the correct parts but did run it against my C disc and it was showing folders etc and a pie chart. Plugged the external in and slow loading but not completing although this time `slacko` hangs as well and once again a shut down to recover.

Reboot and put a second hard drive in and that registers with slacko ok, then I try my memory stick and that registers with slacko ok, so the new kit and slacko appear to be ok.

Yes Slacko is a bit confusing to know which bit to get, sorry I should have warned about that, but in essence they are all the same program, as best I can figure anyway, but you have obviously got the right one if you have been able to run it and view the whole system, can't recall ever seeing a pie chart though, but the version I have got is the slacko-5.6-PAE.iso one.

And given I understand you correctly, you have tried 2 drives with the new adaptors, one shows but the other problem drive crashes the system ?

If so I agree the kit and Slacko are doing what they should, and with the problem drive crashing BOTH windows and Slacko ?

Then it doesn't look good.

I hate saying something is dead until I can get physical proof, ie diagnostic software saying about it, I know if it's not working thats proof in itself, but you always have to consider some freak situation occurring, to that end I have the following things to check\try on the problem drive:-

• Check that the pins on the drive are not bent or damaged.
• Does the PCB on the drive look damaged, anything that just stands out ?
• Out of interest check what position the jumper is in on the drive, and compare to the drive that worked, not sure it would make a difference but can't hurt to check.
• Was the drive attached at boot with the new kit (Windows & Slacko) ? Or if you had (if not then give that a try), did that make the system crash as well ?

After all that I think there is 1 last ditch effort to try, get the HGST Windows Drive Fitness Test (WinDFT) and burn it to disk so it becomes bootable, then with the drive attached at boot, select to boot from this disk, you may have to use the arrow keys and enter to navigate, been years since I tried it so can't be sure, but with it being in dos mode it should completely remove any other elements causing issues, fingers crossed this will see and scan the drive, if it doesn't then I would have to say it's completely dead, other than swapping out the PCB on the drive (there's no way to be sure if this will be of any help).

I'm all out of ways to test it, and can only conclude it's gone to the PC in the sky lol, sorry I can't suggest anything else, unless you are desperate for the data then it would be a professional recovery service, which won't be cheap, sorry I can't think of anything else for you.

But assuming you are going for a replacement for this external drive, you may be able to save some money by reusing the caddy, assuming it is not faulty as well, a quick test would be pop one of the other working drives into it, if that works then you could get just a drive, but the caddy may set the limit of the drive you can get, more so with ide drives becoming less and less used, if you want to see what can be an option, but I do have to wonder if a Sata drive would be a better performer.

If you consider this route, let us know the make\model of the caddy, but also let us know if your PC has an eSata port, as this would\should make a massive difference in it's speed, but if you decide to just get a complete new unit, I suggest making sure it has an eSata connection available, even if you can't make use of it right now, when you next upgrade if you get a system with an eSata port, or even add such a card\port to what you have now, you should notice a big difference, just a thought.

• Check that the pins on the drive are not bent or damaged

   

  …………..……All OK

• Does the PCB on the drive look damaged, anything that just stands out

   

  ……………………Nothing I can see

• Out of interest check what position the jumper is in on the drive, and compare to the drive that worked, not sure it would make a difference but can't hurt to check

   

  ………………………..will check tomorrow

• Was the drive attached at boot with the new kit (Windows & Slacko) ? Or if you had (if not then give that a try), did that make the system crash as ?

   

  …………………………………………………Tried both,no joy

unless you are desperate for the data then it would be a professional recovery service,

 

……………..Not desperate, just a bit of hassle, most other things had been backed up.

B

ut assuming you are going for a replacement for this external drive

 

, ………………..…I have backed all my stuff on a memory stick and also a laptop I rarely use, plus when I find my other old hardrives I will use them as a back up so well covered.

If you consider this route, let us know the make\model of the caddy, but also let us know if your PC has an eSata port,

 

……….Will find out.

I will try some of your other suggestions and see if anything can be recovered. I can make good use of the kit in any case using old hard drives and back ups so worth the spend.

I will report back with any progress.