Accessing an undetected HDD

[immelmann]

Hello, three days ago my storage drive 2.5 TB WD Caviar Green (WD25EZRX) suddenly stopped being detected by Windows Explorer and Disk Management. I checked in BIOS and it was only listed in Boot Priority section and not as a SATA drive but only PATA (capacity MB). I tried connecting it with other PSU and SATA mainboard sockets and with another SATA cable but without any success. During the last trial it was making low scratching noise like a miniature streetcar coming and after a few minutes it stopped. I checked in BIOS and the drive was no longer listed in the Boot Priority section. Afterwards, I replaced this WD drive with a Seagate drive used in an enclosure and it works perfectly fine. For me, the problem is mainly the loss of data, but not that I am willing to pay much for recovering it. My question therefore is: can I access somehow this drive without breaching its seal (the warranty is not over yet)? Thanks for your help.

 

[phil22]

There is strong possibility that the drive has failed, in which case you are entitled to a free replacement from WD if it's still under warranty. Contact WD and ask for for an RMA (Returned Merchandise Authorisation). They will probably ask you to test it first with their own diagnostic utility Data LifeGuard for Windows. You can get it here:
http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?groupid=608&sid=3&lang=en

If it has failed, there is no way to access the data on it since no computer will recognise it. Only a data recovery service can help in situations like that, but that is very expensive. Keeping the data backed up on another drive or on optical discs would have protected you from data loss, but obviously it's too late for that now.