Question External HDD doesn't open and doesn't show disk usage bar under the name of the drive ?

[1o20]

That's how it appears. Local Disk (D) is actually supposed to be "My Passport (D)". I'm using Windows 10 Pro, and the external HDD is a 4tb drive from WD called My Passport, possibly manufactured in 2018, or at least that's what the box says. And as you can see, there's no disk usage bar under it, unlike the other two.

Basically I've got 4tb of valuable data on the drive, and I was in the process of backing it up when it stopped working. I was only able to get around 300GB of the data, and the rest of it is still on there, without any backups. Here's what I've tried so far.

1. I tried different cables. Didn't work.
2. I tried connecting it to other computers. Same result.
3. I tried connecting other external HDD's to the same port, with the same cable, always worked.
4. I tried using chkdsk, doesn't happen at all. Then once I unplug, it says "drive not found" or something like that, but it doesn't respond till I unplug.
5. I tried right-clicking and opening up properties, never shows up till I unplug, at which point it shows "0tb consumed of 0tb", which is false information.
6. I tried opening up the drive itself, doesn't happen. Explorer basically doesn't respond till I unplug the drive.
7. I tried looking at the drive through Disk Management, it doesn't load till I unplug the drive.
8. I tried Seagate and WD utility tools, they don't even show the drive as detected, let alone disk usage or any other information.

With all this, I'm almost sure that there might be a hardware issue of some sort, but maybe there's still a way to recover the data through software? I can't afford data recovery services, since they are very expensive, and I don't want trust a third party with my data, since they won't allow me to supervise the process in the clean room.

Does anyone on here have any other insights or suggestions? Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

 

[CountMike]

That's how it appears. Local Disk (D) is actually supposed to be "My Passport (D)". I'm using Windows 10 Pro, and the external HDD is a 4tb drive from WD called My Passport, possibly manufactured in 2018, or at least that's what the box says. And as you can see, there's no disk usage bar under it, unlike the other two.

Basically I've got 4tb of valuable data on the drive, and I was in the process of backing it up when it stopped working. I was only able to get around 300GB of the data, and the rest of it is still on there, without any backups. Here's what I've tried so far.

1. I tried different cables. Didn't work.
2. I tried connecting it to other computers. Same result.
3. I tried connecting other external HDD's to the same port, with the same cable, always worked.
4. I tried using chkdsk, doesn't happen at all. Then once I unplug, it says "drive not found" or something like that, but it doesn't respond till I unplug.
5. I tried right-clicking and opening up properties, never shows up till I unplug, at which point it shows "0tb consumed of 0tb", which is false information.
6. I tried opening up the drive itself, doesn't happen. Explorer basically doesn't respond till I unplug the drive.
7. I tried looking at the drive through Disk Management, it doesn't load till I unplug the drive.
8. I tried Seagate and WD utility tools, they don't even show the drive as detected, let alone disk usage or any other information.

With all this, I'm almost sure that there might be a hardware issue of some sort, but maybe there's still a way to recover the data through software? I can't afford data recovery services, since they are very expensive, and I don't want trust a third party with my data, since they won't allow me to supervise the process in the clean room.

Does anyone on here have any other insights or suggestions? Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

Is it possible to take disk out of enclosure and connect directly to SATA port ? Maybe only USB interface is at fault.

 

[SkyNetRising]

WD My Passport 4TB - has USB controller integrated on PCB.
You can not connect sata cable to it.

View: https://youtu.be/OhFPAIE-q-U?t=89

 

[1o20]

Can I bump this topic? It's been a few months, and the only replies have been "try SATA" and "you can't try SATA." The problem remains, and I'm hesitant to send it to a data recovery center. Any chance I can call someone home to repair my external HDD? I just need it to work long enough to recover the data on it and make a backup on a fresh hard drive.

 

[js2]

That's how it appears. Local Disk (D) is actually supposed to be "My Passport (D)". I'm using Windows 10 Pro, and the external HDD is a 4tb drive from WD called My Passport, possibly manufactured in 2018, or at least that's what the box says. And as you can see, there's no disk usage bar under it, unlike the other two.

Basically I've got 4tb of valuable data on the drive, and I was in the process of backing it up when it stopped working. I was only able to get around 300GB of the data, and the rest of it is still on there, without any backups. Here's what I've tried so far.

1. I tried different cables. Didn't work.
2. I tried connecting it to other computers. Same result.
3. I tried connecting other external HDD's to the same port, with the same cable, always worked.
4. I tried using chkdsk, doesn't happen at all. Then once I unplug, it says "drive not found" or something like that, but it doesn't respond till I unplug.
5. I tried right-clicking and opening up properties, never shows up till I unplug, at which point it shows "0tb consumed of 0tb", which is false information.
6. I tried opening up the drive itself, doesn't happen. Explorer basically doesn't respond till I unplug the drive.
7. I tried looking at the drive through Disk Management, it doesn't load till I unplug the drive.
8. I tried Seagate and WD utility tools, they don't even show the drive as detected, let alone disk usage or any other information.

With all this, I'm almost sure that there might be a hardware issue of some sort, but maybe there's still a way to recover the data through software? I can't afford data recovery services, since they are very expensive, and I don't want trust a third party with my data, since they won't allow me to supervise the process in the clean room.

Does anyone on here have any other insights or suggestions? Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

What is the exact model? Seagate and WD drives tend to have a screw (or glue) holding the controller to the drive. Remove it to expose the ports.

But yes. Even a recovery company will ask you to do the same or check if the drive is in warranty.

Enclosures do tend to fail. But if you can hear the drive spinning up, then your drive and data are likely fine.

 

[SkyNetRising]

Any chance I can call someone home to repair my external HDD?

No. You can't do anything there.
Professional data recovery services only.