[SOLVED] No access to external HDD

[Inet]

Hi

Your help, please.
I have an external HDD that only appears in disk management. It appears online, but not allocated. I can eject it, but I cannot access the content. This HDD is full and I didn't want to lose the content. Will it be possible to have access to the contents of the HDD?

Thanks

 

[Grobe]

You need to assign a drive letter so you can see it an navigate to it in windows explorer.

 

[USAFRet]

Hi

Your help, please.
I have an external HDD that only appears in disk management. It appears online, but not allocated. I can eject it, but I cannot access the content. This HDD is full and I didn't want to lose the content. Will it be possible to have access to the contents of the HDD?

Thanks

What was this connected to before?
It may be formatted in a way that Windows does not recognize, hence "Unallocated".

Please show us a screencap of the Disk Management window.

 

[Inet]

You need to assign a drive letter so you can see it an navigate to it in windows explorer.

I am not able to do that.

 

[Inet]

What was this connected to before?
It may be formatted in a way that Windows does not recognize, hence "Unallocated".

Please show us a screencap of the Disk Management window.

It was connected to a laptop. I have now connected it to my desktop to solve the problem.

My PC
https://ibb.co/Vjtf6fr

Disk management

https://ibb.co/svM5vWT

 

[USAFRet]

It was connected to a laptop. I have now connected it to my desktop to solve the problem.

My PC
https://ibb.co/Vjtf6fr

Disk management

https://ibb.co/svM5vWT

If you reconnect it to the laptop, can you access?
What, specifically, was/is on this drive?

 

[Inet]

If you reconnect it to the laptop, can you access?
What, specifically, was/is on this drive?

I can't access. On the laptop it's the same as on the desktop. It has copies of photos and works from my daughter's college.

 

[USAFRet]

I can't access. On the laptop it's the same as on the desktop. It has copies of photos and works from my daughter's college.

So this happened on the laptop first, and still the same connected to the desktop?

 

[Grobe]

Can that be the same as "raw disk" on english windows? In that case, it probably happens because the user have forgot to use "save removal of harddrive" (put that term in your language here).

 

[USAFRet]

And, I hate to say it, but I will anyway....where is the backup of this important data?

 

[Inet]

So this happened on the laptop first, and still the same connected to the desktop?

Yes, this happened first on the laptop. Intermittently. I thought it was a cable problem and changed it, but it continued to happen. The same problem happens on the desktop.

 

[USAFRet]

Yes, this happened first on the laptop. Intermittently. I thought it was a cable problem and changed it, but it continued to happen. The same problem happens on the desktop.

This is sounding more and more like a physically failed hard drive.

And after the first time (actually before) you should have backed this data up to something else.

 

[Inet]

Can that be the same as "raw disk" on english windows? In that case, it probably happens because the user have forgot to use "save removal of harddrive" (put that term in your language here).

yes, possibly a removal problem.
What do you mean "( put that term in your language here )"?

 

[Inet]

And, I hate to say it, but I will anyway....where is the backup of this important data?

Some are on the internal disk, others are in the cloud, but I don't have a copy of the oldest one.
Is it a problem with a blocked head on the disk?
I can try to open the HDD .

 

[USAFRet]

Some are on the internal disk, others are in the cloud, but I don't have a copy of the oldest one.
Is it a problem with a blocked head on the disk?
I can try to open the HDD .

NOOOOOOO.
Do not do that!

 

[Inet]

I've seen a guy doing this operation, and the hard drive is working again. The head was parked in the middle of the hard drive. But of course, all drives are different. But if I have no other solution ... I may have to take a chance, right? What other solution can i have? Deliver to a specialized company?

 

[USAFRet]

I've seen a guy doing this operation, and the hard drive is working again. The head was parked in the middle of the hard drive. But of course, all drives are different. But if I have no other solution ... I may have to take a chance, right? What other solution can i have? Deliver to a specialized company?

If it is really important data, send it to a professional recovery service.

Opening up the drive lessens any possibility of ever getting anything from it.

 

[Inet]

OK. I will take your advice.
Thanks

 

[USAFRet]

And for the future (like tomorrow), please start a good backup routine.

Drive space is cheap, free software....things like this do not need to be a real problem.

What is your backup situation at home?

What is your backup situation at home? And if you don't do that, why not? Every single day, I read multiple threads here of "How do I get my stuff back?" or "That drive had 5 years of photos of my kids!!" Be it a dead drive, dropped phone, virus, accidental deletion, formatting the wrong...

forums.tomshardware.com

 

[Grobe]

What do you mean "( put that term in your language here )"?

Because I don't know that term in your language