My new WD elements, 1 tb HDD not detected. Please help.

Gow_sk

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Jan 5, 2015
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Hi, I recently bought a 1 Tb HDD. Its only been 2 months and all of a sudden it stopped working. It was with my friend the day before i saw this problem.Now I tried it on my other friend's computer. No good happened.! In my W-8 the error message is ' There is a problem with your drive'. Is there any problem with drivers..? I don't know a thing. Please I'm need of help. Lot of important files are in there. :??:
 
I'm afraid if you have tried it on different computers, it could be the HDD.. You can buy a cable to get the stuff off of there.. Only if it's not too dead.
 
Hey, Gow_sk!

I'm truly sorry to hear about your issues with the WD Elements. 🙁
I'd suggest you to test the drive using WD's diagnostic utility - Data LifeGuard:
http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=ZtQM9i
This will determine what's the health status on the drive. Please make sure you pass the extended test as well.
Afterwards, I recommend you share the results here, so we can further help you.

Good luck & Keep me posted! :)
SuperSoph_WD
 



Hello SuperSoph_WD.
I contacted WD customer care service today and that person told me to format the external disk. I've not done it yet. And about the test results, I didn't conduct the ' Write Zeros' test fearing that it'd erase my data in the HDD.
http://imageshack.com/a/img903/7213/vEaBzV.png
http://imageshack.com/a/img537/6144/XQlJLb.png
 


Hi. Jduke98
It still vibrates and that activity light is also functioning, which means 'Not dead'
 


Ok well it may be possible to get some stuff off of there before it dies! This is pretty much what the cable looks like I am not sure if this is universal or not.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812270245&cm_re=harddrive_usb_cable-_-12-270-245-_-Product

 
@Gow_sk, formatting your drive would have been data destructive. Did you inform "WD customer care service" that your data were important?

Your Data LifeGuard screenshot shows a drive with zero capacity. This is indicative of an internal problem, often related to damaged firmware modules. As you can see, DLG has given your WD drive a passing grade when in fact it is seriously faulty. You can draw your own conclusions about this tool.

If you want to recover your own data, then your only chance would be to remove the drive from its enclosure and connect it to a SATA port on your computer's motherboard. Then try to retrieve the drive's SMART report with a tool such as CrystalDiskInfo.

You would then retrieve the drive's firmware modules and examine them for damage. I may be able to help you with this. Otherwise visit the HDD Oracle forum.

http://sediv2008.narod.ru/Easy3.9Password01234567890.rar
http://sediv2008.narod.ru/Settings.rar

SeDiv WD Read ROM & Modules:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UgFfhkkAwY

HDD Oracle:
http://www.alexsoft.org
 

Hi again, Gow_sk!

Unfortunately, I think that fzabkar is right about the damage on the drive. 🙁
Writing zeros will erase your data, so it is not a good idea to perform this yet.
I'd try the links shared above to try and recover your files. But if it's really important data I'd suggest to turn to a professional data recovery company: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=LDyslS

Afterwards, I recommend contacting our tech support again and RMA your WD Elements. Since it's still in warranty, you will be able to get a replacement. Here's a link that explains how to do that: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=m4DbYl

Hope this helped! Keep me posted & Good luck! :)
SuperSoph_WD
 
@ fzabkar , SuperSoph_WD , Jduke98
Now I've decided to approach a professional data recovery company. Your answers helped me a lot. Thank you for that.
And Would you tell me few important things one should keep in mind while storing data ? I mean, now I feel that I should've uploaded my files and stuff into my google account. What do you suggest ?
Thanks again, friends. :) :hihi:
 


Hi again, Gow_sk!

Good choice on the professional data recovery company.
Well, the best way to store your data, IMO is to have a backup on-site as well as off-site.
You can have a backup on external hard drives and/or DVD disks. Online backup is also an option, though not as secure as the other options.
I personally keep my backups on 2 external HDDs, but I also use DVDs to have an additional backup for my precious music collection. 😀

I guess fzabkar or Jduke98 might have other suggestions as well.
There are a lot of best-case practices on storage solutions, many different configurations as well, but the important thing is to always have at least 1 backup of your data somewhere else!

Good luck! :)
SuperSoph_WD