ext hd not available

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September 7th, 2018, 02:36 PM
Jim1

ext hd not available

Neighbor presents ext. Seagate usb 3 hd. Has critical date to recover. Not much luck. Now and again, a hard click from the drive. Following messages:P Need to format disk E before you can use it; E is not accessible; Parameter is incorrect; Location is not available (not responding); a driver search confirms best driver installed. When plugged into computer, it does not allow the bootup to complete to the desktop or start screen. Unplugged, computer boots, drive E, the usb drive, is seen but can't open. Cannot access via the disc management screen either. Seems everything conspires to prevent access of data, and only get rotating activity circle on the screen.
Seems all attempts to access the drive are fraught with nasty messages. Neighbor not helpful on info. I tend to believe the drive is unrecoverable, due possibly to software corruption of some sort. Latest problem: No hard drive sound coming from the ext. hard drive. Power light is on, but no sound at all coming from the drive. Pick up the drive, and it begins to Whrrrrr, come alive, with clicking sound. Thanks, Jim S.
September 7th, 2018, 02:52 PM
Midknyte

If anything, you could remove the hard drive from the enclosure and try connecting it to a SATA port on the motherboard. Or you could try another USB HD enclosure.
September 7th, 2018, 03:16 PM
Jim1

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midknyte

If anything, you could remove the hard drive from the enclosure and try connecting it to a SATA port on the motherboard. Or you could try another USB HD enclosure.

Might try, though breaking through the ext case is always problematic. The intermittent clicking noise really bothers me, in addition to all the error messages generated every time something is tried. The drive is seen in Device Manager, and it confirms that the best driver is installed. When plugged in it doesn't allow for examination of the disc management feature to be displayed. Will think on it. Thanks, Jim S.
September 7th, 2018, 03:29 PM
jdc2000

Does the drive enclosure have its own power supply? If yes, then that or the power supply connector may be failing or bad. If you want to recover the data, you may have to remove the drive from the current enclosure.
September 7th, 2018, 09:00 PM
Jim1

How to open Go Flex

Quote:

Originally Posted by jdc2000

Does the drive enclosure have its own power supply? If yes, then that or the power supply connector may be failing or bad. If you want to recover the data, you may have to remove the drive from the current enclosure.

Anybody know how to open a Seagate Go Flex 1 terabyte external hard drive enclosure. Thinking about opening, but just fear from all the symptoms, the drive is shot.
Thanks, Jim S.
September 7th, 2018, 09:03 PM
Jim1

Changed USB 3 cable, no luck.
Tried from USB 3 port on computer, no luck.
Plugged drive into an external powered USB hub, no luck The fact, among the others, that is asking to format the drive before it can be used is troubling, to say the least. Not good news.
September 7th, 2018, 09:08 PM
Midknyte

What is the exact model number? It would have helped if you provided that to begin with. If it's a portable hard drive (laptop drive), it's possible that the USB port isn't providing enough power.

There are lots of Youtube videos about shucking HDs from enclosures.
September 7th, 2018, 09:10 PM
Midknyte

Just saw your second post. If it still won't work on a powered hub, that's a bad sign. Even shucking the drive might not work, but that's probably your last resort.
September 8th, 2018, 12:05 AM
jdc2000

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lkakc7QEtFs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_Rt4J9CKYo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctuYoUA-_-s

https://www.google.com/search?source...30.fJumKA--EWw
September 9th, 2018, 07:43 PM
Jim1

Seems to be working

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midknyte

Just saw your second post. If it still won't work on a powered hub, that's a bad sign. Even shucking the drive might not work, but that's probably your last resort.

Thanks. Seems to be working. Pulled the adaptor off the front of the drive, and exposed SATA connections. Didn't have to shuck the case. Fiddled around trying to find right sort of cables, thin ones, and connected to external powered IDE/SATA powered caddy. Plugged into computer, and it came alive. Copied 61,400 files to new drive, just to be sure all worked well. The original drive began showing on the hard drive lineups, and was able to determine content. Now seems to be behaving itself, though I'd suggest tot he owner to think about getting another external hard drive for future use, reformat the current one, and use it for something else. Non=powered external hard drives and other usb devices are always iffy when relying on the power of a computer to provide operating juice. Again, thanks. Jim S.
September 10th, 2018, 12:12 AM
Midknyte

Good to hear that you recovered the data. In the future, please make sure to give us the make/model of the hardware. That usually helps us troubleshoot the problem faster.