Resolved SATA drive disappers

i have a sata drive Western digital 2tb green 3 months old

It has been working fine but now disappears occasionlay and now is more so never there

The boot screen shows it as being there but it doesn't show in Windows8 anymore

I have done the usual swapped leads, slots etc. I even have an external usb sata dock and it still doesn't show on that

Any ideas as there is important info on the drive

 

If it shows up in the BIOS, you should see it in Disk Management.

Disk Management should tell you the state of the drive. Disk Management is in Computer Management. Look it up in Help and Support if you are unsure.

If the drive was "built" as a Logical Drive from the primary partition, it may have corrupted information (in it's Boot Sector?). Personally, I try to avoid making Logical Drives and set extra hard disks as Primary.

Matt

 

It doesn't appear in disk management only in the bios

Sorry not that computer savy. I bought the drive as a spare for storing files. I used the software on their website to format and made 1 partition. Not sure if logical or primary! Whats the difference?

 

I used to know partitioning by heart, a bit fuzzy now, so anyone is welcome to correct me.

You can only have 4 Primary partitions on a HDD. You can use as many Logical drives as you want, these are an "extension" of a Primary partition. When you make more than one partition, the usual default is to make it as Logical. If you add a second HDD and want to make a partition on it, again it defaults to Logical. If you accept this, it then becomes an extension of the first (Primary) HDD. That should work fine as long as the setup is maintained. If you change the arrangement or your Primary HDD breaks down, the Logical drive (HDD) will no longer work. I am careful to make any partitions on another HDD as Primary.

Get the WD Lifeguard diagnostics
WD Support
It should be able to "see" the drive when nothing else can.

I have saved data by using the manufacturer's diagnostic boot disk, checking what it says about the drive, then "exiting" (close the program), which leaves you at a DOS prompt and using DOS to copy the data off.

A diagnostic boot disk might allow you to back-up and rebuild the Boot Sector of the HDD (which holds all the partitioning information).

Matt

 

Hi Matt

I think i get it

Do you know of an acceptable boot disk for windows 8?

I have tried using the windows 8 repair disk but that takes me in and gives me command prompt but still can't run relevant software such as 'data lifeguard for dos'

Or do i need some other type of boot disk to get the command prompt up after bios to run relevant software such as data lifeguard. how do i get this onto an iso boot disk

Also i don't have a floppy drive on dvd and usb

 

http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/
This iso has the tools already built in. Scroll down the webpage so you can locate the needed software easier when running the disk.

 

The following instructions may prove helpful for burning the UltimateBootCD (UBCD) .iso file to disc:

How can I write (burn) ISO files to CD or DVD?​

 

Okay. I have run the boot disk and tried a few things. Here are my findings

• data lifeguard for WD. It doesn't see the drive eveytime and if it does the test won't run

• VIVARD - showed the drive as 'HDD SCSI 190702' then next time i rebooted actually showed the correct name for that drive but returned 'disc not ready'

Short self test = aborted 'device open failed or device did not return an identy device structure'
Conveyance self test 'completed with read failure'

This drive still occasionaly shows up in windows. When it does i go into the drive and can see the original information still on the drive. I try to copy but this is when it usally diappears again

Any ideas guys. Not 100% savy with these tools. I did read one said it can bypass the boot sector on the disk. and get infromation that way. Is this something i can try. This wasn't an os drive just for storage

 

Sounds like a flaky/failing/bad drive. Return it for a replacement.

 

Yes. But i need to try and get some information of it first if i can

 

You are doing very well. I think I would have given up.

Hold your breath and try "repairing" it. When you see it in Windows, open Start -> Computer and right-click on the drive. Choose Properties -> Tools -> Error Checking and select to "scan and reprair the surface of the disk" for your version of Windows (do all scans and repairs).

It might take a very long time. Don't interrupt it.

If you can access the data after that, copy it off immediately.

Matt

 

I agree, if and when you see any data, grab it immediately. The platters may grind to a stop at any second.

If you "gotta have" your data, stop everything you're doing to the drive (and your data) and contact Ontrack.com. They can get expen$ive but, they have the equipment and the expertise to retrieve everything that's still retrievable.

 

I only had an experience yesterday.

I have some files that took a lot of time, self-education, blood, sweat, blah, blah. I had them backed up on another drive. Part of the procedure I use them for involves formating a drive. You can guess, the wrong drive got formatted. No problem, got a backup. Guess what I find...the drive is failing! Looks like I have lost one of my files.

If you have any files that are important, back them up. Even double back them up.

Matt

 

I have managed to get a few files off through just waiting

Bottom line is nothing could fix it so have now given up and will return it for a new drive which i will sell. No more greens for me. Already bought a replacement black

Thanks everyone for their input

 

Thanks for letting us know and marking the thread Resolved. Bad luck you couldn't get them all.