computer issues

[dehro]

I have an external HD by "extreme® technology", if I remember correctly 160GB...with about 120GB of assorted content.
until a couple of days ago it worked just fine.
yesterday I plugged it in as usual and instead of starting the autorun process (the little window that lets you decide what to do with the content of the driver)... it started to make click sounds for about a minute, after which nothing happened. I then attempted to open the driver through explorer only to find that explorer itself seizes up and freezes so long as the HD is plugged in and turned on.
the moment I unplug the USB cable leading to the external HD or set it's on/off button on OFF, explorer unfreezes and the laptop works just fine (during that time I can use any other function of my laptop I want, only explorer seems to be affected).
my laptop runs on Vista

in short, if I plug in my external HD, explorer freezes and I seem to be unable to access the HD at all.

I strongly suspect the external HD to be a goner, which after a couple of years of good service can be expected, I suppose, but... is there any way for me to save it's content?
(music, piccies, all sort of personal and some work related items as well are on it...)

suggestions?

[IonDragon]

Clicking sounds tell me the hard drive in the enclosure is probably dead or damaged. Can't tell you how it happened. If it's freezing up your computer it reinforces my prognosis. If the content of the drive is important, you can get it retrieved for 150-a couple hundred $ at most computer repair facilities. Many of them don't have the hardware to do it in house, but can recommend a clean room facility and take care of mailing it out and dealing with the company.

[Erloas]

Yep, the hard drive is failing. The reason it is freezing up explorer is because explorer is waiting for the drive to respond, but since the drive isn't responding it isn't going anywhere.

Sometimes the clicking comes from alignment issues, and sometimes a light tap (also could have been what caused the problem in the first place, though they are usually fairly good about that any more) or just cycling the power on the drive a few times will fix that. However, either way the drive is mostly dead even if you can get it to start up a time or two again. If you can get it going again then transfer everything off of it that you can/want and then throw this one away and replace it. If you can't get it going at least one more time then your choices are either to toss it and loose all of the data on it, or spend a rather exorbitant amount of money to take it into a data recovery shop and have them recover the data for you.

[monomer]

Yeah, I would say you're dealing with a dead drive.

I have read that you can attempt to retrieve your data by freezing your hard drive.

Here is the first link I got when I searched for the method.

http://www.datarecoverypros.com/hard-drive-recovery-freeze.html

Basically, you want to put your drive in a ziplock back to make sure moisture does not get in, and then put it in the freezer for a few hours. You then have to pretty much immediately get it plugged in, hope the drive spins up, and copy off what you can.

[dehro]

thank you all..
I've read your comments and suggestions, the link you gave me (and a few more in similar vein), and decided to listen to my late grandma.

I've wacked it with my slipper.:smallbiggrin:

I am happy to report that it is now working.
for good measure I'll be buying a replacement tomorrow...just in case.

P.S.btw, memory plays stupid tricks, it turns out that the Hard Disk is actually 380GB, not 180...so... very glad I got it running again

[Erloas]

If it is working you should transfer everything you can to another location as soon as possible. When they start doing stuff like that they might last another month and they might not last to the next day, there is no way of knowing.

[kusje]

Yeah, I would say you're dealing with a dead drive.

I have read that you can attempt to retrieve your data by freezing your hard drive.

Here is the first link I got when I searched for the method.

http://www.datarecoverypros.com/hard-drive-recovery-freeze.html

Basically, you want to put your drive in a ziplock back to make sure moisture does not get in, and then put it in the freezer for a few hours. You then have to pretty much immediately get it plugged in, hope the drive spins up, and copy off what you can.

Freezing? pfft. Search for "oven baking graphics card" on youtube. Or oven baking xbox or whatever other electrical components you can think of :D

[KoboldRevenge]

whats with all these computer problem threads?

[Zeb The Troll]

whats with all these computer problem threads?Ironically, there was once an attempt to consolidate all computer problems into one thread but so many new computer problem threads kept coming up that it was continually pushed off the first page and so it never got traction.

[lesser_minion]

Ironically, there was once an attempt to consolidate all computer problems into one thread but so many new computer problem threads kept coming up that it was continually pushed off the first page and so it never got traction.

Yeah...

Although I guess a lot of problems do eventually turn into a discussion of "xyzzy" vs. "yzxxz", so it might be better this way.

Some even start out like that, like the Firefox security thread, where it was noted that Firefox (whose manufacturer has about the best record for responsible disclosure, jointly with Opera) had more reported security holes in one year than Chrome (whose backend was written by Apple, who have the worst record for responsible disclosure).

[Zeb The Troll]

But this one hadn't devolved into anything like that. It was started by a tech guy working as a tech in the field and a few people even posted there and got their problems solved before it fell off the first page with, literally, seven other "Computer Help" threads on the first page. I tried to help by directing each of them to the consolidated thread and even asking for them to be merged. That didn't happen, though and then it was gone. :smallsigh:

[lesser_minion]

But this one hadn't devolved into anything like that. It was started by a tech guy working as a tech in the field and a few people even posted there and got their problems solved before it fell off the first page with, literally, seven other "Computer Help" threads on the first page. I tried to help by directing each of them to the consolidated thread and even asking for them to be merged. That didn't happen, though and then it was gone. :smallsigh:

I know - my point is that it's fairly rare for such threads to stay on topic. I guess it's nice to have a little bit of extra room, although I guess we could ask Rawhide to 'stickydex' it for simpler problems.

[Zeb The Troll]

Yeah, the problem with asking for a sticky is that they're trying to keep the number of stickied threads to a minimum. Maybe the prevalence of these types of threads would make it worthwhile, though.

[lesser_minion]

Well, I meant adding it to a 'sticky/index', like the ones in Homebrew design and roleplaying games.

Although I guess the notable threads need to be more visible on this forum.

Another thing is that not all "computer advice" threads are really about "I need teh free tech supports" -- sometimes, it's a prepurchase question like "do I want a Mac", "Is Haiku any good, or should I stick to my XFCE/FreeBSD setup?", or some general question like "should I increase my browser's maximum connections per server?" (the answer is no, by the way - setting it too high will cause issues, and won't necessarily improve performance).

[Zeb The Troll]

Ahhh, right. That's a different animal all together. :smallcool:

[dehro]

you're all off topic :smallbiggrin::smallbiggrin:

anyhoo, problem solved with a new 1TB of external hard drive on which I managed to copy everything without the old one crapping out on me

(btw, they're lying cheats..it's not a full TB at all:smallfurious::smallfurious:)

[lesser_minion]

you're all off topic :smallbiggrin::smallbiggrin:

anyhoo, problem solved with a new 1TB of external hard drive on which I managed to copy everything without the old one crapping out on me

(btw, they're lying cheats..it's not a full TB at all:smallfurious::smallfurious:)


Drivemakers use 1000,000,000,000 bytes to the terabyte, whereas Windows probably reads it as 1 099 511 627 776 bytes.

Or, in essence, Windows is expecting to see nearly a hundred extra gigabytes.

Additionally, sometimes some additional information gets stored on the drive itself, as opposed to being hardcoded into the firmware.

[dehro]

Drivemakers use 1000,000,000,000 bytes to the terabyte, whereas Windows probably reads it as 1 099 511 627 776 bytes.

Or, in essence, Windows is expecting to see nearly a hundred extra gigabytes.

Additionally, sometimes some additional information gets stored on the drive itself, as opposed to being hardcoded into the firmware.

from the very first reading, windows vista says the available memory on the drive is 931GB in total. (of which I have now 590 available:smalltongue:)

[lesser_minion]

That's 999 653 638 144 bytes.

Or, in essence, it's bang on - Windows is rounding down from 1,000,000,000,000 bytes.

Strictly speaking, 2^40 bytes is a Tebibyte (TiB), which is generally considered to be a little pedantic.

[dehro]

That's 999 653 638 144 bytes.

Or, in essence, it's bang on - Windows is rounding down from 1,000,000,000,000 bytes.

Strictly speaking, 2^40 bytes is a Tebibyte (TiB), which is generally considered to be a little pedantic.

goes to show my ignorance, lol..funny really, because I'm not quite as clueless as this thread demonstrates..and I've been around computers most of my life..anyhoo, thanks for the info