external hard drive does not show any drives, but I can see in device manager

[Ed_9__]

Hello everyone,

I think I did all I could to solve this issue. It makes me go crazy.
Seagate external drive 2 TB backup plus, does not show drive on My Computer, but I can hear it connecting, I can see in Device Manager, sometime (not everytime though) I can see it in disk management, which shows 18xx GB, uninitialized.

I got family pics, otherwise this drive would be in garbage by now.

what I did to troubleshoot:
1. Removed for the enclosure, connected directly to desktop. no change
2. Boot on Zorin OS, then plug it so maybe I can see the drives, can't.
3. Connected to win 7 nothing, I can see it device manager but no drives
4. Device Manager, tried to populate the drives, no hope.
5. Removed all other drives to isolate the issue so no interferences
6. Tried 3 different laptops, win 10, win 7 nothing
7. Tried Android tablet via micro usb to usb then plug the drive (power comes from power adapter) nothing.
8. In the beginning I could see only 1 or 2 partitions, which were somehow grey, but I could not access them by clicking. Now it shows nothing, maybe after I tried to initialize.
9. Tried AOMEI partition, does not find it
10. Tried Seagate utility does not find it
11. Installed from Seagate drivers Paragon, no help.
12. Uninstalled from Device Manager, reinstalled again
13. Tried to update driver, no other drivers





So far I know I ruled out:
1. Cables, cause I tried sata and also two Micro USB 3.0 cables, so no changes there.
2. the drive is not dead (or so I think), because as soon as I connected I hear win 10 sound, and then I can see in device manage - Seagate.
3. With or w/o enclosure same impact, so enclosure is no issue.

Here is the strangest thing: I cannot boot in any PC or laptop, it this device is connected via USB or SATA.
Tried boot Repair tool usb plugged in, and at the same time plugged in Seagate, PC just clicks (not the drive) but the motherboard of the PC.

Simply if that drive is during booting of a device, it won't let boot.

I am suspicious of:
1. MBR or GPT (not sure which one I had) is corrupt
2. Could it be some weird malware block the drive from working, and from booting while connected to PC?

I need to be able to boot with this drive into a PC, but I cannot do that cause it freezes the entire system, simply even tring to go to boot devices, it freezes, it freezes also the disk management.

Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Welcome to Tom's Hardware, @Ed!

You have done an amazing job with the troubleshooting, however, I'm afraid that your external hard drive might be corrupted. If it pops in Disk Management as Un-initialized, I'd definitely consider contacting a professional data recovery company if I were you.
They would be your best bet on getting your files back. Any data recovery attempts by yourself are highly dangerous, especially when you are unaware of the damage. If the HDD manufacturer's brand-specific tool is unable to locate the drive in Windows, you might want to try the DOS version of their software. It will, hopefully, allow you to test the hard drive without booting into Windows.

It might also be a good idea to contact the HDD customer support for any specificl referrals on the data retrieving companies.

Good luck! Let me know how the troubleshooting is going, though.
SuperSoph_WD

 

[Ed_9__]

thanks SuperSoph_WD,
Definitely I'll contact Seagate.
My next step is to rebuild the MBR or GPT (I think it must be MBR.

The other thing that bugs me is: why this drive locks disk management but not device manager, it locks PC on boot (even pressing F12 to choose boot device, it won't go if this drive is installed).

I will not give up

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Hey there again, @Ed!

Unfortunately, this is a sign that the HDD is most probably damaged. It influences the system in that way because your PC is trying to read the device and the contents on it, so it basically disturbs the booting process and the overall system's performance.
I'd strongly recommend contacting the manufacturer's customer support ASAP and let them know about the issue. If your external hard drive is still covered by the warranty, they should be able to provide you with a replacement, once you send the RMA request, of course.

Best of luck!
SuperSoph_WD