What do you do when your external hard drives dies?

[Robert]

The electricity went off a few seconds so I had to restart the computer.
And when it comes up my newer external hard drive is not showing on Windows
Explorer. The computer seems to recognize my old external hard drive (which
is my backup). But not the new one. The new one is only a few months old.
I won't lose everything but it would be nice to get it back. Is there
anything I can do? Where do I start? I'm using Windows XP Home. The drive
is an Eagle.

Rob

 

[jinxy]

The electricity went off a few seconds so I had to restart the computer.
And when it comes up my newer external hard drive is not showing on Windows
Explorer.  The computer seems to recognize my old external hard drive (which
is my backup).  But not the new one.  The new one is only a few months old.
I won't lose everything but it would be nice to get it back.  Is there
anything I can do?  Where do I start?  I'm using Windows XP Home.  The drive
is an Eagle.

Rob

Was the external usb drive plugged into the pc when you rebooted? If
so turn off it's power supply, unplug it, reboot and plug it back in
and see if windows finds it. Also go to the drive makers website and
download any drive maintenance software.-J

 

[Robert]

Looks like it's working! I had already tried turning off the drive. So I
pulled out the power cord and put it back in this time and now it seems to
be working, knock on wood. Does pulling out the cord actually make a
difference or was I just not persistent enough before? I did not have to
reboot the computer. It takes a while for it to scan through the drive, so
I haven't confirmed this 100 per cent but it looks good. Thank you for your
very valuable help.

I'm starting a new thread on backup services.

The electricity went off a few seconds so I had to restart the computer.
And when it comes up my newer external hard drive is not showing on
Windows
Explorer. The computer seems to recognize my old external hard drive
(which
is my backup). But not the new one. The new one is only a few months old.
I won't lose everything but it would be nice to get it back. Is there
anything I can do? Where do I start? I'm using Windows XP Home. The drive
is an Eagle.

Rob

Was the external usb drive plugged into the pc when you rebooted? If
so turn off it's power supply, unplug it, reboot and plug it back in
and see if windows finds it. Also go to the drive makers website and
download any drive maintenance software.-J

 

[M.I.5¾]

Looks like it's working! I had already tried turning off the drive. So I
pulled out the power cord and put it back in this time and now it seems to
be working, knock on wood. Does pulling out the cord actually make a
difference or was I just not persistent enough before? I did not have to
reboot the computer. It takes a while for it to scan through the drive,
so I haven't confirmed this 100 per cent but it looks good. Thank you for
your very valuable help.

Pulling the power cord and then restoring power forces the PC to
re-enumerate the drive.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Looks like it's working! I had already tried turning off the drive. So I
pulled out the power cord and put it back in this time and now it seems to
be working, knock on wood. Does pulling out the cord actually make a
difference or was I just not persistent enough before? I did not have to
reboot the computer. It takes a while for it to scan through the drive, so
I haven't confirmed this 100 per cent but it looks good. Thank you for your
very valuable help.

Glad to hear that it's working, but I have two points for you:

1. I strongly recommend that you invest $50US or so in a UPS for your
computer. Although it apparently didn't happen this time, losing power
while the computer is running can get you into very serious trouble.

2. Why do you have an external drive that is apparently permanently
connected? It's almost always far better (better performance) to have
the drive installed internally.

 

[Robert]

Computer and components are connected to a surge protector. What's a UPS?

Drive is an external drive not an internal one. Computer didn't come with
enough space. It it 7 years old. I am looking at laptops now.

 

[LVTravel]

A UPS is an uninterruptable power supply. Many different manufacturers out
there.

More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uninterruptible_power_supply
and http://www.smps.us/uninterruptible-power-supply.html

Some web sites:

http://www.apc.com/index.cfm

http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=58&name=Power-Supplies

http://powerquality.eaton.com/USA/

http://www.activepower.com/

I use APC products and have been fairly happy with them but there are many
more brands. Don't forget to replace the battery when it won't properly
hold a charge during a test.

Computer and components are connected to a surge protector. What's a UPS?

Drive is an external drive not an internal one. Computer didn't come with
enough space. It it 7 years old. I am looking at laptops now.
SNIP

SNIP

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Computer and components are connected to a surge protector. What's a UPS?

Uninterruptible power supply. It keeps the computer running for a few
minutes, to give you the opportunity to turn it off gracefully when
the power fails. See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uninterruptible_power_supply

Drive is an external drive not an internal one. Computer didn't come with
enough space. It it 7 years old.

If it were me, and I needed another drive but didn't have room for
one, I'd also buy a new case, rather than an external drive. But I do
understand that that means more work for you.

I am looking at laptops now.

OK, but if you mean a laptop to replace your desktop, I think that's a
bad choice. Laptops cost more, are more fragile, are harder and more
expensive to upgrade, and are more expensive to repair.

Laptops are meant for traveling. If you want one for that purpose,
fine, but I don't recommend replacing a desktop with one.

 

[Patrick Keenan]

The electricity went off a few seconds so I had to restart the computer.
And when it comes up my newer external hard drive is not showing on
Windows Explorer. The computer seems to recognize my old external hard
drive (which is my backup). But not the new one. The new one is only a
few months old. I won't lose everything but it would be nice to get it
back. Is there anything I can do? Where do I start? I'm using Windows
XP Home. The drive is an Eagle.

Rob

The drive is probably not an Eagle. The *box* is an Eagle.

It's important to understand that external drives in cases are - drives in
cases. Open the case, and you'll find an ordinary hard disk that can be
moved to another case.

For myself, I never buy or recommend such pre-packaged units, because you
cannot know the most important factor - who made the actual drive and what
model it is. It's easy to pick and purchase the parts you need, and
very easy to assemble. Cases start at about $20.

So, open the case, move the drive to a new case or to the internal cabling
of your PC (assuming it's not a laptop) and see what you get.

HTH
-pk

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

The drive is probably not an Eagle. The *box* is an Eagle.

It's important to understand that external drives in cases are - drives in
cases. Open the case, and you'll find an ordinary hard disk that can be
moved to another case.

Or mounted internally in a computer.

For myself, I never buy or recommend such pre-packaged units, because you
cannot know the most important factor - who made the actual drive and what
model it is. It's easy to pick and purchase the parts you need, and
very easy to assemble.

I second all of the above. Even if you are all thumbs, you can easily
put the drive into the case in well under five minutes.

Cases start at about $20.

And don't get much higher than that. I don't remember seeing any
prices much higher than $25.