I'm in the middle of revising this page 'cos it's getting much too long! As a temporary measure, I've loaded part of the revised pages - if you have a brand new, never been used, drive, which fails to work when you conenct it, go to this page. Otherwise, plough your way through teh following, until I get it tidied up!
Problems with
External Hard Drives & Data Recovery
Where the drive is brand-new, or has been known to be working on another PC but won't work the first time you plug it in to your current PC, the primary focus has to be on your operating system, whether you followed the correct installation procedures, used the correct drivers, have made the physical connection properly, etc - don't leap to the conclusion that the drive itself is not working - it's frequently the aforementioned matters which give rise to these problems. If at all possible, try installing the drive on another PC - that will give you a better idea of whether your drive is actually faulty.
There's too many variables to deal with in trying to identify all the problems which could occur with a non-functioning brand-new drive, or one which is working satisfactorily on another PC - it's simply not practical to try to cover all those things here - post a message on the Freecom Forum ( http://forum.freecompromo.com/index.php ) instead and someone will probably try to assist (it might be me!). Instead, I’m focusing on this page on drives which have been operating satisfactorily but one day you switch on and it cannot be accessed – usually because your operating system won’t let you see the drive, or simply nothing happens when you switch it on..I'm also trying to address some steps that can be taken if you need to get back your data from a non-functioning drive.
Before You Do Anything Else....
Check the power supply! Some of the Freecom drives are intended to operate from power taken from your computer, via the USB connection. But some PCs - especially older ones, or PCs which have a lot of USB devices connected, cannot always supply sufficient power via USB and you have to use a mains power adapter. If your drive sounds like it starts to spin, then stops, this may be your problem. Similarly, if your drive has a lit LED showing, but the drive won't spin up, again, check the power supply. If you were not supplied with a mains adapter when you bought the drive, contact Freecom Support (supportuk@freecom.com) and ask them - nicely - if they would supply you with an adapter free of charge. They normally do that for any drive still under warranty, but there are reports on the Freecom Forum of them supplying adapters for drives which are well out of warranty. And, secondly, there have been a couple of recent reports of adapters which seemed to be working but were not - when the adapter was replaced with a new one, some drives thought to be dead burst into life! And finally, don't forget to test that power is actually coming from the mains socket also - plug another bit of electrical equipment in to check.
Return the Drive under
Warranty or try to Recover your Data?
Repair the Drive or
try to Recover your Data?
Assuming you have decided to sacrifice your warranty (or maybe your device is out of warranty) - before you launch in to tackling this, you need to first decide which is more important – recovering the data you have on the drive, or fixing the drive? The reason for that is, whenever you start messing about with computers and associated equipment, there’s always the risk that you might lose some – possibly all – of your data. Do you have a backup which you know to be fully working (when was the last time you tried recovering files from your backup…don’t assume just ‘cos you have a backup that you WILL be able to recover the files you need - make sure by trying it - now!). If you don’t have a working backup, you need to ask yourself how much of a disaster it would be if you lost all your data. And if it would truly be a disaster, your first focus should be on recovering the data – fixing the drive can come later. And golden rule number one - DO NOT ATTEMPT TO WRITE ANY DATA TO THE DRIVE! If you do, you lessen the chances of recovering files.
Data Recovery
It’s almost always the case that you can recover data from a hard drive – even ones which have broken down completely – and even when you have deleted the data, either accidentally or deliberately. There’s various ways of going about recovery, some of them extremely costly, others less so, and some which will cost you nothing other than time and effort (sometimes a lot of time and a significant amount of effort!). . First, if your data is genuinely priceless, don’t mess about – if it’s worth that much to you, go get professional help, either from your local PC repair shop or check out the Internet for specialist Data Recovery firms. But, if your data is only of some value, but not worth the cost of professional help, read on.
This help sheet can’t cover every situation and can only describe general situations so I’ll stick solely to USB and Ethernet hard drives. In very simple terms, there are a number of things which need to be considered::
(1) the actual hard drive itself (you have to consider the file system on the drive – is it partitioned & formatted correctly; is the chosen file system – ie - usually NTFS or FAT32 – the correct choice for your circumstances; is the drive’s jumper(s) properly set) - Note - if your drive has been working satisfactorily, and you have not made any hardware changes to the drive or to your computer, the jumper will not be the problem. Similarly, if the drive has been working fine, your filing system - whether NTFS or FAT32 - must have been ok at some stage - although that does not rule out the possibility that it has since become corrupted. .
(2) the enclosure in which the drive is housed (the enclosure also contains the software – properly called “firmware” - to let the drive “talk” to your computer, either through a USB or Ethernet (or Firewire) connection.
(3) your operating system (it uses various bits of software to allow it to “talk” to USB, Ethernet and Firewire-connected devices).
(4) your computer’s BIOS (needs to be capable of controlling the devices you are using, and properly set to do so)
(5) your cabling (including power cables) – occasionally cables can develop faults, from simple things (blown fuses) to more complex things (USB or LAN cables which become damaged)
If the drive has been working satisfactorily and suddenly stops, it’s possible that:
(a) your USB, network or power cabling has developed a fault
(b) the drive itself has suffered a hardware failure (in my experience it’s actually quite rare for a hard drive to completely fail, although it does happen)
(c) the file system (or the partitioning) on the drive has become corrupted – could be caused by viruses, badly-written software or, more frequently, user error.
(d)
the firmware in the enclosure has failed (see below for an example –
the Daltrey site explains the “
(e) your operating system has developed a fault (happens a lot, especially if you recently installed new software or hardware, which can knock-out your external drive if things conflict).
There can be other faults, of course, but these are the ones to check first. You need to work out which of these is the problem….and it’s not always easy to do that.
So, where to start:
(1) Are there any lights lit up on the drive? Switch the power off at the supply and check the light goes off, then comes on when you reconnect the supply. If so, you can usually discount a power cable problem (but bear in mind some drives which allegedly work on USB power actually need a power adapter from time to time – especially if your PC is delivering USB 1.0).
(2) If you’ve just installed new software or hardware on your PC, or made any changes to your operating system, try restoring your system to a point prior to the new installation. (If in Windows, check your Help files for details of System Restore). Note that, if you have Automatic Updating turned on (in Windows), it is possible that an update may have changed part of your operating system without you knowing – that could be the cause, so try a system restore to eliminate that. Note that System Restore will often not resolve a problem caused by installation of a new bit of hardware unless you remove the offending hardware.
(3) If using a USB-connected drive, try another USB device to see if Windows properly recognises that (ideally, use the cable you connect your drive with as that simultaneously checks the cable is ok). If you’ve got an Ethernet connection – well, I assume if you’ve actually got enough savvy to set up a network, you’ll know how to check the cabling!
(4) Check your drive supplier’s website to see if there are any updated drivers or new software versions or firmware updates which might solve the problem. Note in particular that, if using Freecom's Personal Media Suite, you MUST update to at least version 2.5 - earlier versions frequently result in sudden failure to see drives.
(5) Can you get access to another PC – maybe a friend’s, or perhaps your workplace will let you try it there (but ask your IT folk first!!). If so, plug your faulty drive in to another PC and see if it works. If it does, you know the problem lies with your operating system. If it doesn’t, it looks probable the drive or the enclosure has developed a fault.
(6) You now need to clarify whether it’s the drive or the enclosure/firmware which is the problem. One way to do that is to remove the hard drive from the enclosure and install it in your PC (if I get around to it, I’ll add detailed notes on this site to explain how you remove and install the drive on your PC. Meantime, you’ll need to google on the Internet for details of how to install a drive) Freecom's enclosures can be opened in different ways, depending on the model. Some are simple "unscrew the screws" jobs, with screws clearly visible on the underside of the case; others have some screws visible and some obscured by small rubber feet which have to be gently prised off to reveal the screws beneath; other models have no screws but instead have a narrow indentation or groove along the side of the case - insert a small screwdriver and gently prise the sides of the indentation apart. Once inside, it's a simple job to disconnect the IDE cable (the large, flat, probably grey or blue cable) and power cables to the drive and undo any securing clips. Before disconnecting the IDE cable, look carefully at the edge of the cable - on one edge only, you will see a thin red line. Note which end of the drive it connects to (newer drives and cables have a "bump-out" on the cable socket, ensuring the cable can only fit one way in to the drive, but older drives and older cables may not have this "bump-out", hence the need to check the red line to ensure you re-connect the drive correctly).
If you do install the drive in your PC, DO NOT LET YOUR OPERATING SYSTEM format or partition the drive – or your files will become even harder to recover. If your operating system asks to format or partition the drive, that suggests the drive’s file system has developed a problem, so you now know where to focus your attention (see File Recovery below). If it does not try to partition or format the drive, you may find that you can immediately access your files. If so, before you do anything else, make a backup copy – or ideally a full image of the drive - to another drive, of files you want to save - but remember - DO NOT WRITE ANYTHING TO THE DRIVE – copy your files to another drive instead. If you can see your files, you now know that the fault probably lies in the enclosure’s firmware or hardware. Once you have a copy of your data, go to “Fixing the Drive” below.
If you can see the drive but either can’t see any data or only some of it, go to File Recovery Utilities below
If you still can’t see your drive, you need to check
the installation. Although highly improbable that the BIOS is where the problem
lies, check your PCs BIOS (usually hit F2 or
Another thing to do is listen to the drive when you have installed it in your PC and fired up the computer. If it sounds like the drive is firing up then stops, things don't look good! Any flashing lights? Some drives have, usually only one, LED on the circuit board. A constantly repeated pattern of flashing lights can be a diagnostic error code, which the drive manufacturer may be able to interpret. Does it grind, or make repetitive noises endlessly? If it grinds or makes excessive clicking noises, it’s probably knackered - go to Professional Data Recovery below.
If absolutely nothing happens, listen to your computer's "beep" signals when it starts up - that can give you a clue whether the drive is defective, whether it is not properly connected or even whether the jumpers are wrongly set (bear in mind you probably will have to change the jumper settings when you install the drive - see the reference to "google for help on installing a secondary drive" above!.).
File Recovery
Utilities
In some circumstances, a File Recovery programme can do the necessary. Certainly, they’re worth trying if you’ve deleted files, or accidentally repartitioned or reformatted the drive, but obviously they’re no use if you can’t actually see the drive from your operating system. Google on the Internet and you’ll find downloadable file recovery programmes. Most are relatively inexpensive (maybe £20-£30). I generally use Active@FileRecovery but there’s lots of others which I’m sure are as good, possibly better. If you want to try a free one, go to http://officerecovery.com where you can download FreeUndelete, which is entirely free and, although very basic, seems to work (although I have not yet subjected it to any challenging tests) - but do give it time to work! The large drives found in external drives today take a long time - often hours - to analyse - be patient!.. Another, more sophisticated, programme is PC Inspector File Recovery (www.convar.com) which I’ve also successfully used, but not in earnest. There’s no guarantee these programmes will be able to recover your data – you might be lucky or you might not – it’s just trial and error. In a different situation – for example, where you know, or think, the drive is properly connected but can’t see it in Windows Explorer, or in My Computer, it might be worth trying a “Linux Live CD”, which is often very useful for recovering files. Go to www.distrowatch.com where you’ll find details – I usually recommend Knoppix 5 for any PC capable of running Windows XP or 2000, but there’s loads to choose from – and you don’t need to be a Linux expert to run them. Linux can often access files when Windows can’t and the beauty of the “Live CD” versions is they do not install on, or write anything to, your hard drive so it can’t knacker your Windows operating system or over-write files on your faulty drive. Whatever you do, bear in mind my earlier warning – DO NOT WRITE ANYTHING TO THE DRIVE – load the recovery programme on another drive and recover any files you find to that other drive also.
Data Recovery
Professionals
Google to find them – and bear in mind the costs (that said, as I’ve never used them, I’ve no idea what the costs might be – could be better….or much worse…than you might think!). I’ve heard they very rarely fail to recover data from drives, even ones which are totally knackered…. but I’ve also heard that many times there’s nowt wrong with the drives which are sent to them – just that the drives have been wrongly installed or there’s a simple remedy which hasn’t been tried before parcelling them off to the recovery folk. So, go DIRECTLY to the experts if your data is priceless, but if it’s less so, check out some of the other approaches suggested above.
Fixing the Drive
The Enclosure/Firmware
The enclosure -the box which the drive is installed in - can develop both firmware and hardware faults. The latter is unusual, unless you've dropped the drive at some time. But the firmware can be corrupted and seemingly quite easily. There's a very helpful website at http://daltrey.org/linux/cypress.html which, although it's a bit lengthy to read through, does provide very useful info re the sort of firmware problems which can occur and how to try fixing them. As that site indicates, sometimes a simple change to the drive jumper will help and sometimes the software programme on Daltrey’s website will help. Sometimes a firmware update might be available from Freecom, or even just re-loading the original firmware (which you will have to download from Freecom’s, or your original manufacturer’s, site, but make absolutely sure the firmware is definitely the correct one for your enclosure -using the wrong one will turn your enclosure into what computer anoraks like to term a “brick” (you’ll work out why if you think about it….). And if you’re REALLY enthusiastic - eg, you've achieved anorak status and are aiming for nerd-ship, try other Forums – the AV Forums are a good place to find info about how to sort firmware problems (although only for audio-related IT gear, but it will give you the gist). If you're on Ethernet, you need to troubleshoot your network first -which is much too complicated to explain in this short help sheet - sorry!
Last resort -buy another enclosure (maybe £15 and upwards) and fit the drive in it -chances are that will do the trick (if you've already established that the hard drive itself is working).
The drive itself is a bit more straightforward -.well, straightforward in that, if it's a genuine hardware fault, you ain't likely to fix it. Easiest way to check is to download a drive check utility from your drive manufacturer's site - that will quickly tell you whether there is any prospect of saving the drive. In the olden days, it used to be possible to switch the printed circuit board from a same-model drive but, sadly, them days are gone. If the manufacturer’s drive utility can't sort the problem, your only realistic option is paint it pink and call it a doorstop, or similar.
Conclusion
This is the end!
Good luck.
Post a message at the Freecom Forum with “Techie” in the title if any of this has been useful to you. And if it hasn’t or if you’ve knackered your drive permanently or lost your priceless files…..well, read the disclaimer right at the start of this help sheet…….
The Techie from Sneckie