An external drive that does not show up is not necessarily dead. More often than not, it is a problem with the cable, the port, the enclosure, or a software hiccup that’s easily sorted. But sometimes it is the drive, and it is important to know the difference, because a couple of the “fixes” Windows offers could quietly wipe your files. Below we outline how to work through it safely, and when to hand over to professional hard drive recovery instead.
Work from the outside in: check the cable first, then the port, then another computer, and finally the enclosure. Most “dead” externals turn out to be one of those things. The biggest risk is using Initialise or Format before you know which it is.
An external hard drive has additional links in the chain that an internal drive does not: a USB cable, an enclosure with a bridge chip that converts USB to SATA, and often its own power supply. Any of these components may fail while the hard drive itself is perfectly fine. In addition, there are the usual software causes: a missing drive letter, a corrupt or RAW file system, or a partition that has dropped out. And sometimes it is the disk itself, which is why listening to the drive when it’s turned on is so valuable in working out whether it is failing or the issue lies elsewhere.
Taking two minutes here can save a lot.
Start with the simple and inexpensive. First, try a different USB cable: USB cables fail constantly, and micro-USB ones are notorious for it. Next, try a different port, preferably one built directly into the computer as opposed to a hub, and if the drive uses a separate power adapter, verify that it is receiving power (you should hear the drive spin up or see a light). Then connect the drive to a completely different computer. If it appears there, the problem is the original computer’s drivers or ports, not the drive. If the drive appears but cannot be opened, do not force anything yet. Instead, copy off what you can and continue reading.
If the drive will not show in File Explorer, go to Disk Management (on Windows) or Disk Utility (on Mac) and see if it shows there. If it appears with a healthy partition but no drive letter assigned, simply assigning a letter can bring it straight back; it’s harmless and often the whole fix. However, if the drive shows as unallocated, RAW, or asks you to initialise it, you have a different problem: the data is most likely still intact, but the partition information has been damaged. At this point you absolutely must not initialise or format the drive. It’s a missing-partition recovery, and the files can usually be rebuilt, but only if nothing overwrites them first.
If the drive is clicking, beeping, or completely silent and undetected on every computer, the cause is hardware failure. A clicking external drive has a failing mechanism inside, so do not keep retrying it; power it down. A drive that won’t spin at all could have a faulty circuit board or a jammed motor. In either event, it’s a lab job: we open the enclosure, recover the drive at the hardware level and create a read-only image of it. Please remove the drive from its enclosure and send it on its own. External drives are the exception: send those complete with their enclosure, because on many models the encryption key is stored on the bridge board. A single drive costs from £300 +VAT, after a free diagnostic.
Mostly, the problem comes down to the cable, the USB port, a lack of power, or a software issue such as a missing drive letter or a corrupt file system, all of which can be resolved with the drive intact. Less often, there is a problem with the drive itself. Trying other cables, ports and computers, then checking Disk Management, will tell you which it is before you risk anything.
Do not initialise or format this drive: formatting erases the drive, and initialising does essentially the same thing. When a drive shows up as unallocated or RAW, it almost always means the partition information is damaged while the data remains intact. This is a missing-partition recovery, and the files can usually be rebuilt as long as nothing overwrites them, so stop making changes and have it recovered or diagnosed.
Not necessarily. If it is silent, clicking or undetectable anywhere, this points towards a hardware fault, such as a bad enclosure board, a stuck motor or failing heads; however, the data on the platters is usually still recoverable on the bench. Shut it down rather than attempting to try again, and send it in for a free diagnostic.
No, not if you’re concerned about your data. When Windows asks to format a drive, it is asking to wipe it so it can be reused, which destroys all of the data on it. Recover the files first. If the drive is showing as RAW or asking to be formatted, that is a recoverable partition fault, not a reason to format.
Recovery of a single external drive costs from £300 plus VAT, whatever the cause of the fault (a failed enclosure, a partition problem or a mechanical failure). You receive a free diagnostic and a fixed written quote before any chargeable work, and in most cases you only pay if we recover your data.
Should a different cable, port and computer have failed to resolve the issue, or the drive is clicking or silent, send it to us. We’ll recover it read-only and tell you how much data is there before you spend anything.