Second HDD not detected in Windows 10 after fresh install

[nightfxll]

So I decided to reinstall windows so I put all my important videos and pictures that i've had for awhile and don't want to lose so I put them on there so I could reinstall windows since I got a new graphics card and wanted everything to be smooth and fast. Big mistake, so once I put all my files on the second hdd I unplugged it as some people said to do when reinstalling windows just in case it were to clear the files on that drive. So everything works out perfectly. New windows and its clean and fast. Now I go to turn off my computer to plug in the 2nd hdd and I do so close the case and turn on my computer. Don't see it under this pc and neither in Disk Management. The disk spins i'm pretty sure as it vibrates and all I did was unplug it. One thing I didn't do was when I turned off my pc I didnt turn the power supply switch off. Could this have ruined my harddrive when I unplugged the sata and power? Please help I have all my data on there and need it. Thanks alot

 

[Boogieman_WD]

Hey there, nightfxll.

This shouldn't cause issues like that. Have you experienced any other problems with the drive prior to this issue? Check if it's recognized at least by the BIOS
I'd recommend that you make sure that you've connected it properly. It would be even better if you could try it with different SATA cables (both data and power) and a different SATA port, to see if the same thing happens. You could also try it out with a different computer as well.
If you can't get it to show up in Windows Explorer, perhaps you could give it a go with Ubuntu Live USB, to see if that OS is capable of recognizing the drive so that you can backup your data. Another option would be data recovery software: https://www.lifewire.com/free-data-recovery-software-tools-2622893.

Hope that helps. Please let me know how everything goes.
Boogieman_WD

 

[nightfxll]

Hey there, nightfxll.

This shouldn't cause issues like that. Have you experienced any other problems with the drive prior to this issue? Check if it's recognized at least by the BIOS
I'd recommend that you make sure that you've connected it properly. It would be even better if you could try it with different SATA cables (both data and power) and a different SATA port, to see if the same thing happens. You could also try it out with a different computer as well.
If you can't get it to show up in Windows Explorer, perhaps you could give it a go with Ubuntu Live USB, to see if that OS is capable of recognizing the drive so that you can backup your data. Another option would be data recovery software: https://www.lifewire.com/free-data-recovery-software-tools-2622893.

Hope that helps. Please let me know how everything goes.
Boogieman_WD

Good news! It works 😀 I ended up switching the sata cable for a really short one I had lying around and didnt think it would reach but it barely made it to the sata port. I switch my main HDD sata to my 2nd sata port that my 2nd harddrive was using to see if it would work using that port and using my 2nd hdd sata cable on the other slot and it some how worked. No idea why it wasnt showing up before. That sata cable was perfectly fine. Now I can finally sleep now that its pasted 3 am lol. Thanks so much again, I had alot of pictures and videos from years ago that I wouldn't wanna lose.

 

[Boogieman_WD]

I'm glad that everything worked out fine after all. However, keeping such valuable data without a backup is not a good idea. I'd strongly suggest that you think of a backup option, e.g. external drive, cloud service, NAS enclosure, etc.
As for the issue with the cables, let's hope it was a improperly seated cable, but in order to be completely sure, I'd suggest that you download the HDD manufacturer's diagnostic tool and test the drive for errors and bad sectors, just to be on the safe side.

Cheers and good night!