External hard drive problem

[SUBLIMINAL 52]

Well, it's not so much a problem as a FFFFFFFFFUUUU- I'm fucked disaster. Basically my precious 500GB external fell from the desk while I was fiddling with it and the laptop. It was running at the time. I have a lot of files on there, not the least of which is thousands of albums and pictures, as well as personal documents, translations, school work, what have you.

As it was running when it fell, I realise that chances of fixing it are slim. I assume I "jarred" and damaged the head, although the drop was only about two-three feet. When I plugged it back in, it made its usual whirring sound to signal start up, as if it was trying to work, then the noise died out. I left it for a minute, the noise started again, died out. I unpluggged it. It didn't show up under my computer when plugged in.

I'm posting this here to ask for suggestions on what I should do. All I have is take it to PCWorld and ask them to recover my data, which is a costly £100 or more, but I'm wondering if there's anything else I can do in the mean time.

Edited April 28, 2016 by SUBLIMINAL

[Mikuto 7]

Fuuuu, that sucks, I had a hard drive do that a while back, and it was pretty much dead for good.

However that might not be what's going on with yours. I know it sounds weird as hell, but try putting it into a plastic bag, then toss it into the freezer for an hour or so, then trying to plug it in and see what happens. If it starts up, you can try to get your stuff off of it. If not, you've got a paperweight.

Edit: Additionally, shock, as in dropping, won't make you lose the data on a magnetic storage medium, it just screws up the hardware. If the freezer trick doesn't work, take the hard drive to the data recovery people. You might get lucky.

[SUBLIMINAL 52]

I've been a little apprehensive about the freezer trick. I mean, I've heard it works and all but is there any chance of ruining it further by sticking it in there? Making the data irretrievable or something? I'm tempted to give it a go, I just don't want to damage it anymore than it already has been.

 

I googled around and apparently a clicking noise is the "sound of death," which thankfully isn't what I'm hearing, so it could be shock, since the floor was carpeted and the fall not too high.

Edited April 28, 2016 by SUBLIMINAL

[LIDL 692]

if the computer just cannot read the external HDD,

but it's still working, try to reinstall it's driver.

If the HDD doesn't come with driver CD-ROM,

usually their website provide it.

But if the HDD is dead, then you may have a more serious damage

[Mikuto 7]

My roommate is an IT consultant, and when my hard drive failed on me he actually held it in one hand and thumped the side of it with his other hand. I was pretty aghast about that too, but that's apparently his go-to reaction for drives that won't start up.

It's true you only really have one chance if you try putting it in the freezer, so if it's not clicking or screeching then I probably would hold off on that just in case.

The data recovery is possibly your best bet, but keep in mind that depending on what's wrong with it they might not be able to get anything off of the drive.

[sai 868]

As said before, you most probably didn't lose your data, I'm pretty sure it's all there. Since you broke it, your computer doesn't recognize it anymore. Maybe you could put the data on another external hard disk? My dad once managed to do that.

[SUBLIMINAL 52]

Well I called two PC repair / tech shops and both told me they wouldn't recover data for any less than £500, which is not the estimate I found googling around. Sadly although the data is important to me and some of it irreplacable, I can't afford to pay that and wouldn't if I could. It's outrageous.

My only other option is the freezer trick then!

[kai_desu 340]

ROFL.

This is sad, but I did the same exact thing with my 500GB external.

Unfortunately, there's nothing you can do to recover the data at a low cost :/ (as you've already found out)

It sucks ;;

Only good thing I got out of it was I was able to upgrade to a 2TB external.

EDIT: and since it was running when it fell, there's a chance the read-arm bounced around inside the hard drive, nicking the actual hard drive disc. If thats the case, there is no way you can have (all) your data restored.

And don't try opening the actual hard drive casing :x they're made to be air-tight. If you expose the disc to air, you'll be in bad shape.