I have an old hard disk that I converted into an external hard drive when my last desktop PC became useless. I left it unused for a while and I just remembered it had some important data and so I tried to back it up. But now the external hard drive is not getting detected. How do I get the data without calling the experts that will cost me money/time/privacy etc? What's happening is - it seems(if I touch and hear carefully) - something inside the HD is spinning, then stopping, then spinning again and then stopping and so on. I have another external HDD that works, but that one spins continuously rather than how this one is doing. Is there anything I can do get the data back from that ExternalHardDrive?
It is very hard to troubleshoot a problem from a users description. There is so much info that is not in the description that might be very important. That is not your fault it is just how it is. Because this is an external drive there are some possibilities that I can think of. The fact that it worked up until a long period of disuse could be a clue. The problem could be the power supply in the external drive enclosure. Power supplies can go bad in exactly this way. Often the problem is a poor quality capacitor that has dried out. It could be the supply as some ability to detect that it is failing and is shutting down. Possibly the regulator is over heating. Or maybe if the regulator is failing the voltage is not enough to properly power the drive. This is all just speculation though. If I were you I would remove the drive from the enclosure and install it in your PC or in the other working enclosure. That should tell you if the problem is the drive or the enclosure. The enclosure is much more likely the problem than the drive IMO.
Thanks. I tried to plug the SATA HD directly into the desktop PC after removing it from the enclosure. It says - no bootable device detected. Uynfortubately I have space for only one HDD in the cabinet, so I could not check if it works together with another hard disk as a secondary hard disk.
You still have some options. Your questionable hard drive probably does not have Windows installed on it so it would not be bootable. Note that I have not done any of this in many years so my memory is a little faded. You can try putting the drive back in the external enclosure and trying it again. Perhaps one of the cables had a bad/loose connection and just needed to be reseated. Try plugging it in to different USB ports on your computer (unless it is some other type of connection). Avoid using a USB hub. Plug directly into the computer port. Try a different USB cable if you have one. You do not have to physically mount screw the hard drive into the case. You can keep your boot HDD in the computer and just lay the second drive on your desk if the cables reach. Set it on a book or something if you need to raise it up. This presupposes that you have more power connectors coming from your power supply. If there are extra power cables coming from your power supply then you are good. If they are the wrong type you might need to purchase an adaptor cable. Those should be cheap. It might be that the drive power cable from the external USB enclosure can be scavenged to work as an adaptor. Then you just need the SATA cable. Hopefully the one from the external enclosure is long enough to reach the motherboard. If you have 4 or more SATA ports on your computer's motherboard, (I think) you should try and plug it into the Secondary Master. You might have to experiment here. So if you get to the point where you have the second drive plugged into your computer then you have more options. You can just boot the computer normally and see if the second drive is recognized. If so you are good to go. Back it up pronto. You may need to go into the BIOS to set up the drive. I really can't remember if this step always needs to be done. Perhaps depends on the age of the computer. To boot into the motherboard's BIOS, hold the DEL or F2 key (which one depends on the motherboard) and power up the computer. Keep holding the key until you see the BIOS screen. From the menu select CMOS SETUP. You should see info on your hard drives. This could be very useful info and may require some research on your part to tell what you need to do here. If you see the second drive info then probably the electronics on the HDD is good. But you might still have mechanical problems. Don't change anything in the BIOS that isn't about the drives. Working on computers is time consuming and frustrating. PCs come in so many different types and configurations that it is very hard to get info off the internet that will work for you. And always realize that people giving advice on the internet don't always know what they are talking about. Be skeptical of advice from strangers, and that includes me. It has been a long time since I have had to work on a computer that my recollection is fuzzy and perhaps outdated.
Unfortunately my desktop does not have enough cables to plug two HDDs at once. May be I should look for an adaptor cable. Anyway, thanks for your advice.
