Seagate Hard drive problem

[terryco]

I have a 3 TB Seagate external hard drive thats not being recognised in my PC running Windows 7. I have tried differernt power supply's and leads It lights and starts to vibrate then stops. I then get a message saying its not properly installed. I have contacted some data recovery places, but they want more money than the data's worth to me. There's just a few pictures and documents that i would have liked back. I took it to a Computer shop who thinks its a circuitry problem but again wants a ridiculos sum of money just to look at it, even if they cant rep[air it. I have been told about Hard drive dock stations, and wonder if anyone can tell me if it will work and what one to get. Thanks for any help.

 

[Ian]

Data Recovery companies are going to be expensive. But if you're happy to risk losing the data, you can give it a shot yourself.

Did the drive just stop working out of the blue? Does the drive show up in Disk Manager at all?

• From the Start Menu, right-click on the Computer icon and choose Manage from the menu. This will bring up the Computer Management window.
• Click on Disk Management, which appears in the left-hand side under the heading Storage.
  
• The list of the hard drives available is now be visible in the centre of the window

What is the exact message you get where you mention "message saying its not properly installed"?

 

[terryco]

Thank you for replylng Ian. The drive does'nt show in disk management. It stopped being recognised without warning. so i unplugged it and it worked again, for a day or two. It clicked and buzzed. It still lights up, and starts to vibrate but then nothing. I cant remember the exact message. It was something along the lines "This device is not installed, contact your dealer" I have given it to an Electrician friend of mine, who tells me the power is going into the board but not reaching the drive. Its probably some componant that costs penny's to replace if you know what one. As i said in my previous post out of the 3TB there might be 20 or so pictures and documents that if possible i would like back, but i'm not willing to pay the prices these company's charge. Do you have any knowledge of these Docking Stations? I have Emailed two sellers on Ebay for advice but i have had noresponse. Thanks aagain for any help.

 

[Peru Bob]

I have been told about Hard drive dock stations, and wonder if anyone can tell me if it will work and what one to get.

You need to take drive out of the external enclosure to see if it is a SATA connection so that you know what type of dock to get. Most any brand dock should work as long as the dock is rated for the type of drive you have (SATA or IDE). You also need to make sure that the output of the dock is compatible with the ports you have available (USB 2.0, USB 3.0, ESATA).
Something like these:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hard-Drive-Docking-Stations/b?ie=UTF8&node=1480103031

 

[TriplexDread]

@ 3TB it will almost certainly will be SATA most probably SATA II unless you have a USB C external drive in that case it maybe a SATA III

 

[terryco]

Thanks to you all for the advice. The drive as its own power supply. I will get it back and open it to see what it is

 

[Ian]

I totally missed that it was an external drive. That's really good news, as if the drive is intact then the data could be easily recoverable using the steps that @Peru Bob mentioned .

 

[terryco]

Thanks, apparently the only marking on it is Seagate 3TB expansion desktop drive srd00f2. I have Googled the model number, but i cant find out if its Sata or ide.

 

[Peru Bob]

I have Googled the model number, but i cant find out if its Sata or ide.

As suggested by TiplexDread, it will likely be SATA.
Take it out of the enclosure and you will find out. You have to take it out anyway, so you've nothing to lose.