seagate 5tb desktop external hard drive not working

Matthew Smothers

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Aug 18, 2013
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I have a Seagate 5tb desktop external hard drive, when I plug it in, I here it turn on with all the motor sounds but nothing happens, it also does not show up under computer maintenance, also my recovery software does not show up. Now I have disassembled the hard drive, before I did when I plugged it in after a while the LED light flashes. I bought a IDE/SATA to USB 2.0 converter to try to help, it works with everything else but that hard drive. Now I know that the hard drive might be very well dead…but what can I do to recover the files from the drive I can always buy a new one and transfer the files.

So A- How do I fix my hard drive?

Or B- How do I recover the files
 
Hey there, Matthew!

You shouldn't have disassemble the drive before checking the warranty. Getting the drive out of the enclosure voids it.
I'd suggest to test the HDD using your manufacturer's diagnostics tool - this way we can determine the damage of the drive and if it's actually possible to recover your data.
If the damage is physical, you wouldn't be able to fix it by yourself. Repairing a damaged HDD needs quite the storage technical knowledge and a specific clean room where professionals can open and repair the drive.
You can check this thread for ideas on how to recover the data though:
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/291895-32-best-data-recovery-software
But first test your drive and can you please check Disk Management and share the status of the drive there and if it's actually detected there?

Keep us posted! :)
SuperSoph_WD