Western Digital WDBAAU0020HBK problems

[photonut]

I have this hard drive and like an idiot, it has a life time of pictures on it. (I thought I knew better, but I guess I guess not. Well, it shows up as a striped drive in "computer management/storage/
disk monitor", but not in "My Computer, it won't let me initialize it, and once I did get a message once "too many bad sectors", so how can I scan it for bad sectors or initialize it, or salvage the pictures. I REALLY want those pics and I just can't afford to have it done professionally. Can anyone help? Thank you in advance.

 

[Shaun o]

Is this drive internal?
Or would it happen to be a WD passport, or element external drive solution ?

The only reason why a drive would be listed as striped is if it was part of a raid array.
A raid array requires two drives.

The errors are because the data is stored on two drives, but they are combined when in a raid array to look as one drive.

 

[photonut]

Is this drive internal?
Or would it happen to be a WD passport, or element external drive solution ?

The only reason why a drive would be listed as striped is if it was part of a raid array.
A raid array requires two drives.

The errors are because the data is stored on two drives, but they are combined when in a raid array to look as one drive.

Wow Shawn, Thank you so much for the fast reply...I forgot to mention I am on Win 7 and it was on one free program that said bad sectors so I'm not sure that is true. One more bit of inf, according to device manager and computer management the drive is working and healthy. I have never heard a single click.. I just seem to have this feeling, because when it quit working I just put it away for a while, I tend to become obsessed...I seem to have a memory of deleting something think it was a virus or a bad file. I'm thinking I may have deleted a crucial file. I do tend to do stupid things. I am own worst enemy! Just a thought. I do have a hard drive that is raid and I don't know what else, but this hard drive has since been reformatted. The other externals still work and have never been changed. And I do believe it is a Western Digital Passport. not as fat as their book external, but not small and thin like the newer ones.
I know quite a bit about computers, but I don't know crap about RAID. . So you can talk to be pretty much in computer lingo...I
'm not uneducated in that way...but about some things YES. I sure appreciate your patience and trying to help.

 

[Shaun o]

If the drive is external, and in quiet a large black box, and it requires you to plug a 12v power supply into the back of the drive, and uses a usb data cable.

The drive is likely to be a standard 3.5" sata hard disk drive.
If it is the case then the enclosure can be taken apart to reach the hard drive.
The likely cause of the drive not reading will be a result of the interface board used inside the enclosure.

It bridges the sata interface of the drive to a usb connection.
The boards often fail, or become faulty leaving to the drive not even seen when connected, or the ability to read or write data to them, a moan about bad sectors on the drive.

If you by pass the interface and connect the drive via the sata ports provided by your motherboard and add power to the drive it may work fine.

Smaller 2.5" drives are more of a problem in the WD range.
You can tell if it is a 2.5" drive because most of the time the enclosure does not require and external power source to be plugged into the side, or back, just a usb cable to be connected to it.

Let me know which one it is by the description`s above of the two types.

 

[photonut]

If the drive is external, and in quiet a large black box, and it requires you to plug a 12v power supply into the back of the drive, and uses a usb data cable.

The drive is likely to be a standard 3.5" sata hard disk drive.
If it is the case then the enclosure can be taken apart to reach the hard drive.
The likely cause of the drive not reading will be a result of the interface board used inside the enclosure.

It bridges the sata interface of the drive to a usb connection.
The boards often fail, or become faulty leaving to the drive not even seen when connected, or the ability to read or write data to them, a moan about bad sectors on the drive.

If you by pass the interface and connect the drive via the sata ports provided by your motherboard and add power to the drive it may work fine.

Smaller 2.5" drives are more of a problem in the WD range.
You can tell if it is a 2.5" drive because most of the time the enclosure does not require and external power source to be plugged into the side, or back, just a usb cable to be connected to it.

Let me know which one it is by the description`s above of the two types.

First of all Shaun, REALLY, I can't thank you enough for your time and help. Ok it has 2 cords one is sort of a USB , the part that goes to computer is normal, the end that goes into drive is a small like baby usb the similar that digital camera use. And then it has a power cord. I do have 4 images I took for you, but have no idea how to get them to you, I could email you a link to my Picassa album, but then my entire life and family are up there, so that would be kind of dumb, can I message them to you here? I can made them pdf's or whatever your require. I can email them if you are Ok with that. I can tell you I am an OK person, but I know the net, and you certainly don't have to believe me even though it is true. Just speak of guru, and I shall listen.

 

[Shaun o]

Ok please click on the links bellow, does the picture match the drive enclosure you have?.

Wd Elements.
http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=260

 

[fzabkar]

Be warned that "initialising" your drive is data destructive. Please don't do it.