My external hard drive is playing up. XP recognises a USB device but it doesn't show up as a drive. I've plugged it in my laptop (Vista) and it does the same. Years worth of data is on there so I'm panicking, my missus will kick the shit out of me.
Have any of you boys got any suggestions? I would be eternally grateful if someone could.
It might be the external enclosure going bad, Maybe you can remove the hard drive and slave it into the computer and see if it will show up.
If the enclosure is good, you might want to try the free "testdisk" to fix the partitions and in worst case use the "photorec" addon to recover the data.
Or the device was removed while the system or some program was still accessing it, you'll usually get an error message when trying to reconnect it "problem with usb device it may not work etc" basicly windows telling you where to go..lmao.. as jony mentioned install as a slave in a spare hdd bay if the drive is ok it will be able to be accessed,it will also be able to be put back into the USB device & it will work as it should,tho before you return it to the usb run a checkdisk on it,however don't run a checkdisk untill you can access the data as it may corrupt the lot
If windows still can't see it the only other two options i know of is partition magic or ubuntu or some other linux distro which when installed may be able to read the disk assuming the hdd is'nt stuffed
If your able to recover it get another hdd & make a backup in other words always have a 2nd or 3rd copy,been there done that wish i did it before i needed it..lol..
EDIT: Before reconnecting the usb if all goes well, go into computer management then device manager uninstall all the usb's then restart,let them be redetected & re-installed then connect the external device
The steel panel on the left side is usually how you get access to the inside,it's held by either 1 or two screws or a single thumb screw,as for the front fascia you need to be very careful as some comps have a lever that releases it or a lever & a set of clips (lever on left side which releases that side but held with clips on the right & requires very careful manouvering or if it's like mine it uses clips & can be released simply by pulling the cover,tho i've purposely removed the centre clips,best bet see your manufacturers instruction booklet or go online to their website,you'll also need to be careful if you have any components attached to the front cover like USB or LED's & not break the wiring or circuit boards,if you have to take it to a local comp store & just get them to show you how to get the front panel off
EDIT: The steel side panel once screws removed may not come off slide it backwards it can be a bit stiff i usually spread my palm & fingers & give it a minor hit in a direct angular motion towards the rear to realese it
