[WLJohnson05]

anyone know how to get the data off a western digital external hard drive that decided to crap out on me? when i plug it in it just clicks and the light comes on but it wont spin up and recognize that the drive is there....i use that as a backup hard drive and i really need the info on it....

[00vabchgt]

i had that happen a few months back with my Maxtor external. it would click, and the computer didn't recognize it. i left it alone, and the next day, the computer recognized it, so i bought a 500 Gb hard drive and transferred everything over to the new one...
as for getting data off once it's crapped out, i think you're up shit creek...

[WLJohnson05]

Originally Posted by 00vabchgt i had that happen a few months back with my Maxtor external. it would click, and the computer didn't recognize it. i left it alone, and the next day, the computer recognized it, so i bought a 500 Gb hard drive and transferred everything over to the new one... as for getting data off once it's crapped out, i think you're up shit creek...

did u leave it hooked up or something? i really need the info off of it...i mean thats why i bought the damn thing was to make sure if something happened to my computer that i would have everything there....

[00vabchgt]

yeah, i left it hooked up. i never disconnected it, and one day, it just worked. so i got a new hard drive so i could get all the data off of it before it completely shit itself...

[WLJohnson05]

Originally Posted by 00vabchgt yeah, i left it hooked up. i never disconnected it, and one day, it just worked. so i got a new hard drive so i could get all the data off of it before it completely shit itself...

i might give that a try....

any other ideas if it doesnt work?

[Safi]

You can also try putting the drive in a zip lock back and make sure there is no hole in the bag or no way for moisture to get in. Then put it in the freezer for a little bit

Sounds crazy but this does work...just make sure you completely close the bag so no moisture gets in or your screwed

[WLJohnson05]

Originally Posted by commandersafi You can also try putting the drive in a zip lock back and make sure there is no hole in the bag or no way for moisture to get in. Then put it in the freezer for a little bit Sounds crazy but this does work...just make sure you completely close the bag so no moisture gets in or your screwed

but how does that make the drive work?

[Safi]

It has to do with what hard drives are made out of...I forget the name of what the disks are made of but its the same thing as rust. This freezer thing isn't to fix the drive....it's only enough to allow it to boot up and give you a little bit of time to backup your stuff

[WLJohnson05]

Originally Posted by commandersafi It has to do with what hard drives are made out of...I forget the name of what the disks are made of but its the same thing as rust. This freezer thing isn't to fix the drive....it's only enough to allow it to boot up and give you a little bit of time to backup your stuff

so u boot it up after it freezes....well i guess it wouldnt freeze bc theres no water...but i guess the hardcore cooling effect would work like that....hmm...ok whats the best terabyte hard drive to get...?

[Safi]

Originally Posted by WLJohnson05 so u boot it up after it freezes....well i guess it wouldnt freeze bc theres no water...but i guess the hardcore cooling effect would work like that....hmm...ok whats the best terabyte hard drive to get...?

Yeah, just leave it in the freezer for a while then take it out and plug it in and get your data off. This should work as long as you completely seal the bag and no moisture gets in.

And i personally prefer WD and Hitachi hard drives

[WLJohnson05]

Originally Posted by commandersafi Yeah, just leave it in the freezer for a while then take it out and plug it in and get your data off. This should work as long as you completely seal the bag and no moisture gets in. And i personally prefer WD and Hitachi hard drives

well i liked wd, but after looking i have found that they are gaining a history for crashing....especially just after the warranty goes out on em...

[Arsenal]

what happened to you sounds like the exact same thing that happened to me. had over 100 gb of info on my external hard drive, came back from vacation, and the little light was blinking but my computer wouldn't recognize it, I took it into a little local shop, and the only thing wrong was like the fan inside broke or something equally stupid like that, anyways, he just took out the actual part that hold all the information, and put it in the new one.

[Safi]

Originally Posted by Arsenal what happened to you sounds like the exact same thing that happened to me. had over 100 gb of info on my external hard drive, came back from vacation, and the little light was blinking but my computer wouldn't recognize it, I took it into a little local shop, and the only thing wrong was like the fan inside broke or something equally stupid like that, anyways, he just took out the actual part that hold all the information, and put it in the new one.

The "actual part" being the hard drive right lol

[Arsenal]

yeah lol

[atlacatl213]

hmm... i know theres some recovery tools where you could extract the info.... but i forgot where I put mine...

[gooberhead320]

try this

GetDataBack - Data Recovery Software