Maxtor External Drive failure?

[MatthK]

I turned on what was a 'perfectly' functioning external HD and I could hear the initial hum as if it was getting ready to spin and then the hum decreased, only to come back repeatedly until it stopped. It is attached via USB and any port it is in, tells me the device is not working properly; obviously.

The problem is, I lost the data on my laptop due to malware. Now the 'backup' data I must have, is on discs that won't turn. Is there a way this data?

 

[itzdanielp]

It could be a bad HDD, hopefully not.

It could also be that it is not receiving enough power from the USB controller on the laptop. Have you tried a different port? Do you have a desktop computer that you can try plugging it into and seeing if it is a power issue?

 

[daswilhelm]

in my experience, i have seen (by far) more maxtor drives die than other brands. just as a reference for the future, stay away from them.

on a brighter note, if the drive isnt spinning up, i would try and remove the drive from its usb enclosure, and connect it directly to a sata port. when the drive attempts to spin up, give a gentle shake, and it might wake up. if that doesnt work, try lightly tapping the side of the drive with a rubber mallet. best of luck.

 

[itzdanielp]

I agree on the brand tending to fail an awful lot...