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I have read a lot of posts about using a different enclosure, but I am not sure how that works. By the "enclosure" are we talking about the outside plastic case? If so, how does that affect whether the drive works or not? OR, are we talking about something else? Sorry, if this sounds dumb, but this is all new for me. I have had a PC since 1988, but I never had a drive crash.
As far as the warranty is concerned - I am sure I have the receipt (I never throw anything away), but I am not sure how it comes into play when it comes to data recovery. Aren't they going to want to charge me the same exorbitant fee as the other data recovery companies? When I emailed Seagate a week ago here was their response:
"I understand that you are not able to access your drive. Have you tried a new cable or different usb ports. Have you tried the drive on another computer? If none of those things work for you I suggest you replace the drive."
When I replied that I had tried all those things, without success, and that just replacing the drive would not solve my data problem, and asked them to send me info on their data recovery services, they never replied.
Yes, the enclosure is the plastic case that the drive is in. If it's a problem with the electronics in the enclosure then replacing it would get you access to the drive again. IMO it's probably not the enclosure but there's always hope.
As for warranty and recovering your data; the warranty doesn't cover data at all, and if they even offer the service (most manufacturers don't) it would be very expensive to try to recover it. The only thing that the warranty will cover is a replacement drive, although opening the enclosure may void the warranty.
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Originally Posted by hubsm
Thanks, I'll try that.
So that I can expand my understanding, if the drive does not spin up using USB and Firewire, even though both worked before, why might SATA have a different result?
If the USB or Firewire interface is damaged, then the SATA port may work, but it's a long shot.
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Originally Posted by hubsm
I searched Newegg and came up with 377 results. How do I know which one to choose?
Also, how do I get the old enclosure off? It does not seem to open.
If you are going to open the enclosure, and you have a tower, then you can just plug the drive directly into your PC.
Any enclosure would work as long as it's the right size for your drive, and has the correct interfaces inside and out. Your drive appears to be a 3.5" SATA drive, so using those parameters to filter Newegg will eliminate a bunch of enclosures right away. Then find a Firewire one with good reviews and you should be good to go.
Since the drive fell (I'll never understand why they make those external drives that stand up on their side like that) there is a pretty good chance of physical damage.
Originally Posted by hubsm I searched Newegg and came up with 377 results. How do I know which one to choose?
If you have PayPal, do the search on Ebay (US only) and order the cheapest one that states USB 2.0/3.0 compliant. Its the cheapest route to check if its a drive problem or an enclosure electronics problem. You can also take it to a private computer repair place (Not BestBuy) and ask them to remove it from its enclosure and test the drive on their bench machine to see if it spins up and if the data is readable.
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....and you have a tower, then you can just plug the drive directly into your PC.
If you purchased a name brand computer, you won't have the extra data cable and you might not have an extra power connection to add it as a slave. You could pull the cables off your existing hard drive inside the new PC and connect it to the bare hard drive and see if it will spin up (the bios will tell you if its seeable but wont tell you if its readable).
Thanks for everything so far. It all seems a bit extreme. Should I try the freezing method first since it does not require tearing the enclosure apart?
Your mention of a buzz every 3 seconds makes me think the damage may be to the drive. This is the sound/rhythm I'm used to hearing when a drive is trying to do a seek and can't. I'm not sure if a problem with the interface would cause this, but another poster may know.
As for the process being complicated it all boils down to how badly you want what's on the drive. If the solutions provided seem to be too much, then take it to a local tech shop and pay them.
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Originally Posted by hubsm
I have used USB and Firewire. I don't have a SATA cable and neither of my PCs has a port for SATA.
Externally they may not, but they might internally.
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Originally Posted by jcgriff2
You could try a USB/SATA adapter + SATA cable from ext HDD.
I don't think that drive came with a SATA cable. If there is a connector in one of his PCs then a cable would allow a direct connection if he takes the drive out of the case.
Did you try plugging the drive into another USB port on the rear of the PC?
Can you try it on another computer?
I plugged it into USB and Firewire ports in the front and back of my old PC and several different USB 2.0 and 3.0 ports on my new PC (it has no Firewire ports) - no joy
My drive looks just like that although it is 1TB and did not come with the stand they show in the picture. I wish it had because it would never have falled over in the first place.
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