External HD no longer showing up

BtfulDisastr · 06-01-2009, 12:16 AM

Hi there. I read a stickied thread that looked like it was addressing my problem, but when I ran testdisk, it didn't seem to recognize my external either, so I'm gonna turn it over to you folks...

I have a Western Digital MyBook 500 GB external hard drive. I've had it for a couple years, give or take, and it's worked fine. Today, however, it started malfunctioning. I'm using it with an HP Pavillion notebook computer running Windows Vista.

Here's what I've noticed:

1) It still shows makes the same sound when I plug it in, as if it's recognized it fine.
2) Earlier today, when I plugged it in, it acted as if it needed to install the software again.
3) It doesn't show up in My Computer anymore, whereas it used to be drive F.
4) When I go to Computer Management, under Disk Management, my internal HD is Disk 0. What I assume to be my external HD is showing up as "Disk 1" and next to it, the icon has a hard drive with a little red arrow pointing downward. The listing for it says "Unknown" under Disk 1, followed my a blank line, followed by "Not Initialized." I really don't want to try initializing the drive as I have a considerable amount of data on it...
5) As I mentioned, I read the stickied thread and downloaded testdisk, but when I got to the part where I'd be selecting a drive, only my C drive showed up. I'd Googled another old thread and someone had recommended a program called Acronis Disk Director, and I downloaded a free trial of that, but had the same problem - it only showed my C drive, so I couldn't proceed with attempting the fix involving partitions.

I'm not the most tech savvy guy out there, so forgive me if I've given insufficient and/or irrelevant information. Any and all help is appreciated.

**manic** · 06-01-2009, 01:24 AM

If you initialize it should not hurt your data. If the data is that
important I would use someone elses pc and back it up. Then initialize
it.

**raptor_pa** · 06-01-2009, 05:18 AM

Download the western digital diagnostic tool from their site and see what it says about the disk. Let us know the results.

BtfulDisastr · 06-01-2009, 08:33 AM

Hi. Thank you both for your replies.

I went ahead and tried seeing what it'd do if I let it initialize the disk, but it just popped up with "Incorrect Function" and that was that.

I tried to run WD's diagnostic tool on the USB, which it's only reading as "(USB)" as opposed to a proper model number etc. I chose the extended test, but it immediately failed and I have this message: "Physical Drive 2: Test stopped with error(s). Cable test failed! Please check the cables."

**raptor_pa** · 06-01-2009, 08:54 AM

OK this is starting to sound like a physical failure. Next step is to remove the disk itself from the mybook enclosure and connect it directly to a desktop and see if it is recognized in BIOS.

BtfulDisastr · 06-01-2009, 09:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by raptor_pa

OK this is starting to sound like a physical failure. Next step is to remove the disk itself from the mybook enclosure and connect it directly to a desktop and see if it is recognized in BIOS.

Hello again! Thank you for your prompt response. Unfortunately, this is beyond my experience. Can you tell me how I should do this, or point me in the direction of an already-written walkthrough? Thanks!

**raptor_pa** · 06-01-2009, 10:35 AM

It is probably SATA so here you go Sata Drives as far as removing from the enclosure, the mybook enclosures use clips, some gentle popping around the seams with a small screwdriver usually will eventually get the cas apart

06-01-2009, 12:16 AM	#1 (permalink)
BtfulDisastr Registered User Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 3 OS: Vista	External HD no longer showing up Hi there. I read a stickied thread that looked like it was addressing my problem, but when I ran testdisk, it didn't seem to recognize my external either, so I'm gonna turn it over to you folks... I have a Western Digital MyBook 500 GB external hard drive. I've had it for a couple years, give or take, and it's worked fine. Today, however, it started malfunctioning. I'm using it with an HP Pavillion notebook computer running Windows Vista. Here's what I've noticed: 1) It still shows makes the same sound when I plug it in, as if it's recognized it fine. 2) Earlier today, when I plugged it in, it acted as if it needed to install the software again. 3) It doesn't show up in My Computer anymore, whereas it used to be drive F. 4) When I go to Computer Management, under Disk Management, my internal HD is Disk 0. What I assume to be my external HD is showing up as "Disk 1" and next to it, the icon has a hard drive with a little red arrow pointing downward. The listing for it says "Unknown" under Disk 1, followed my a blank line, followed by "Not Initialized." I really don't want to try initializing the drive as I have a considerable amount of data on it... 5) As I mentioned, I read the stickied thread and downloaded testdisk, but when I got to the part where I'd be selecting a drive, only my C drive showed up. I'd Googled another old thread and someone had recommended a program called Acronis Disk Director, and I downloaded a free trial of that, but had the same problem - it only showed my C drive, so I couldn't proceed with attempting the fix involving partitions. I'm not the most tech savvy guy out there, so forgive me if I've given insufficient and/or irrelevant information. Any and all help is appreciated.

06-01-2009, 01:24 AM	#2 (permalink)
manic Mod Hardware Team Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Florida Posts: 5,246 OS: xp	Re: External HD no longer showing up If you initialize it should not hurt your data. If the data is that important I would use someone elses pc and back it up. Then initialize it. __________________

06-01-2009, 05:18 AM	#3 (permalink)
raptor_pa Mod Hardware Team Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Central PA Posts: 4,883 OS: XP	Re: External HD no longer showing up Download the western digital diagnostic tool from their site and see what it says about the disk. Let us know the results. __________________

06-01-2009, 08:33 AM	#4 (permalink)
BtfulDisastr Registered User Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 3 OS: Vista	Re: External HD no longer showing up Hi. Thank you both for your replies. I went ahead and tried seeing what it'd do if I let it initialize the disk, but it just popped up with "Incorrect Function" and that was that. I tried to run WD's diagnostic tool on the USB, which it's only reading as "(USB)" as opposed to a proper model number etc. I chose the extended test, but it immediately failed and I have this message: "Physical Drive 2: Test stopped with error(s). Cable test failed! Please check the cables."

06-01-2009, 08:54 AM	#5 (permalink)
raptor_pa Mod Hardware Team Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Central PA Posts: 4,883 OS: XP	Re: External HD no longer showing up OK this is starting to sound like a physical failure. Next step is to remove the disk itself from the mybook enclosure and connect it directly to a desktop and see if it is recognized in BIOS. __________________

06-01-2009, 10:35 AM	#7 (permalink)
raptor_pa Mod Hardware Team Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Central PA Posts: 4,883 OS: XP	Re: External HD no longer showing up It is probably SATA so here you go Sata Drives as far as removing from the enclosure, the mybook enclosures use clips, some gentle popping around the seams with a small screwdriver usually will eventually get the cas apart __________________