Greetings! I am encountering a very annoying problem with my external hard drive and have been unable to fix it myself. I hope somebody here can help me out.
The drive is an Apollo Imation M300 (Model IM300-1000) and the main PC I use it on is running Windows 7, though I also use it on my Windows 8.1 Laptop. I have some very important files on it that I really do not want to lose, as I cannot replace them. The drive has not had any issues until it was accidentally removed without first using the "Safely Remove Hardware" option through windows. Since then, neither computer is able to recognize the drive correctly.
Upon further investigation, it is recognized as a "universal USB Mass Storage Device" with a yellow ! icon. It gives me a Code 10 error - This device cannot start. Furthermore, it tells me that there is a problem with the driver. I have tried to reinstall the driver through the properties menu, which either fails every time or tells me that the most current driver (which it lists as coming from Microsoft) is already installed. I attempted to search online for any drivers, but was unable to find any.
It is also worth noting that when I plug the drive in, the light on the drive comes on. If I place my ear on it or very close to it, I can hear a rapid series of "deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet" noises that last for about 5-8 seconds after plugging it in.
So, to recap, I have tried reinstalling and disabling/enabling the drive through the Device Manager > Properties menu. I have tried reinstalling the drive via the same menu. I have also tried plugging in the cord (it is the same one the hard drive shipped with) to various USB ports on both computers to see if it would help, after the ones I normally use failed. I also tried uninstalling the device through the device manager > Properties menu, and then plugged it back in. The computer now recognizes it as a drive and as "Apollo M300" but the device still cannot start and I cannot access any of the files or open the drive. I also tried using the "Microsoft FixIT" tool found on the Microsoft Support site. (Here: https://support.microsoft.com/mats/hardware_device_problems) It tried to reinstall the driver and failed, repeatedly.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. If you need any more information from me, please let me know.
UPDATE:
Hello, and thank you for responding!
Yes, I have tried it on 3 computers, one with Windows 7, one with Windows 8.1, and one with Linux. The drive has the same problem on each computer.
My windows 7 computer will not recognize the drive at all, but it does show up on the Windows 8.1 computer. It is listed under My Computer, but is listed as "unknown."
Here is how it appears on my Windows 8.1 Computer.
http://i1119.photobucket.com/albums/k624/rebnosity/ApolloM300_zps5a2636b6.png
The drive is an Apollo Imation M300 (Model IM300-1000) and the main PC I use it on is running Windows 7, though I also use it on my Windows 8.1 Laptop. I have some very important files on it that I really do not want to lose, as I cannot replace them. The drive has not had any issues until it was accidentally removed without first using the "Safely Remove Hardware" option through windows. Since then, neither computer is able to recognize the drive correctly.
Upon further investigation, it is recognized as a "universal USB Mass Storage Device" with a yellow ! icon. It gives me a Code 10 error - This device cannot start. Furthermore, it tells me that there is a problem with the driver. I have tried to reinstall the driver through the properties menu, which either fails every time or tells me that the most current driver (which it lists as coming from Microsoft) is already installed. I attempted to search online for any drivers, but was unable to find any.
It is also worth noting that when I plug the drive in, the light on the drive comes on. If I place my ear on it or very close to it, I can hear a rapid series of "deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet-deet" noises that last for about 5-8 seconds after plugging it in.
So, to recap, I have tried reinstalling and disabling/enabling the drive through the Device Manager > Properties menu. I have tried reinstalling the drive via the same menu. I have also tried plugging in the cord (it is the same one the hard drive shipped with) to various USB ports on both computers to see if it would help, after the ones I normally use failed. I also tried uninstalling the device through the device manager > Properties menu, and then plugged it back in. The computer now recognizes it as a drive and as "Apollo M300" but the device still cannot start and I cannot access any of the files or open the drive. I also tried using the "Microsoft FixIT" tool found on the Microsoft Support site. (Here: https://support.microsoft.com/mats/hardware_device_problems) It tried to reinstall the driver and failed, repeatedly.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. If you need any more information from me, please let me know.
UPDATE:
Hello, and thank you for responding!
Yes, I have tried it on 3 computers, one with Windows 7, one with Windows 8.1, and one with Linux. The drive has the same problem on each computer.
My windows 7 computer will not recognize the drive at all, but it does show up on the Windows 8.1 computer. It is listed under My Computer, but is listed as "unknown."
Here is how it appears on my Windows 8.1 Computer.
http://i1119.photobucket.com/albums/k624/rebnosity/ApolloM300_zps5a2636b6.png
As far as I can tell, that "deet-deet-deet" sound was the song of stuck reader heads. If yours is doing that as well... chances are the disc is all scratched to oblivion already.
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