Yet another unrecognized external disk problem

[rpochoda]

I have 2TB WD external drive that I use with a Windows 7 Pro laptop. It stopped working after a light fall. I took it out of the enclosure and when I plugged in the power, I got a single LED flash, and then when I connected it to my laptop with the USB cable, the light flashed continuously and the drive spun with no clicks for about 2 minutes. But it didn’t show up on the Device Mgr or the Disk Mgr.
Hoping it’s just the SATA to USB adapter, I removed it and connected the disk with a portable adapter. Now the Device Mgr recognizes it as a “USB device” under Disk Drives. The Disk Mgr recognizes it as Disk 1 but says it needs to be initialized.
Three questions (at least): Is there a level of initialization that will not overwrite my data? Is it likely that the whole problem is with the enclosure and so replacing it would solve the problem? In any case, what is the safest way to proceed?
Thanks.

 

[DR_Luke]

If it is a 3.5" desktop drive, it is likely encrypted through the USB bridge.

Edit: If you value your data, it is always best to seek professional data recovery assistance, though it is tough to find a lab you can trust not to overcharge and make it sound worse than it is. I suggest labs who have prices posted on their websites:

Https://www.recoveryforce.com
Https://www.data-medics.com
Http://www.pcimage.co.uk

If you do want to try things on your own, start by cloning the original drive with a program like ddrescue or hddsuperclone and then play with the backup copy.