technology E:/ (Documents) Drive no longer visible...

[Guest]

Hello,

 

Something very weird has been happening to my computer since a feww days ago.

 

Basically, I have three hard drives: One SDD for Windows (C:/, of course), a Documents (E:/) drive for my personal stuff, and an external (F:/) drive for my programs.

 

And all of a sudden, the E:/ drive doesn't show anymore. So, I rebooted my computer, looked in the Device Manager : Nothing. Same thing for the next day.

Then, shortly after booting up my computer today, it appears again. I try to click it, and it seemed to load for a very long time, so I closed the window and opened it again.
Everything was gone, the only thing left were the Favorites, Libraries and Computer tabs with a spinning magnifying glass icon next to them. I left it for a while, then closed and opened it again.

It was back to normal... Except my E:/ drive is still missing.

 

I looked in the Device Manager and the Stockage Tab in Computer Managment, still no trace of the drive having ever existed...

 

Does anyone have a possible explanatin for what is happening  ? It's a drive that's quite important to me (Music, my whole image collection, TXT archives, WIP drawings...) so I'd hate it if it was really unrecoverable.

[Simon 4,557]

I assume it's an internal drive?

 

It could be a physical problem with the drive like the drive has become physically detached so the computer isn't recognizing it.  Or if you've recently made any changes to your computer, it could be a software issue that's causing your drive to no longer be recognized.

 

You might want to try going back to a restore point or recent backup to see if something like a recently updated driver is causing a conflict which is causing the drive to not properly connect to your computer.  Also double check to make sure all your drivers are up to date.  If that doesn't work or you don't have a restore point, you might need to open up your computer's case and check to make sure the drive is securely attached and there aren't any loose connections.  

 

Of course any time you open up your PC or make software adjustments you can end up causing more damage, so make sure you create a backup before attempting to make any repairs, so you don't lose the files on the remaining disks.  And if you don't know what you're doing definitely consider hiring someone to check it out for you.

[boiteporte 591]

Have you ever heard sound coming from your computer ? Such as clicking sound ?

The symptoms you are describing are typical of a dying drive.

 

You might want to make a backup of your files on another drive before it's too late.

 

If the drive disappeared permanently from the computer, that means it is most likely dead. However, the data is physically present on the hard drive and it is possible for specialists to recover it. 

 

The prices range from a few hundred to a few thousand British Pounds depending on the amount of data to recover.

Edited July 28, 2014 by boiteporte

[Evilshy 5,090]

You might try booting from a Linux disc and seeing if you can see the drive from there, transfer files to an external disc of something. That'll only work if its a software problem, though, and in that case there would probably easier ways to fix things.

 

Or, if you have access to another computer, put the drive in that one and see if you can see it. That would rule out if being a problem with the drive itself.

[Mlpfan185 1,763]

Something was here. Something was here. Something was here. Something was here. 

Edited October 10, 2018 by NONAME

[Guest]

Thanks everyone for your replies.

  On 2014-07-28 at 7:22 PM, Simon said:

I assume it's an internal drive?

 

It could be a physical problem with the drive like the drive has become physically detached so the computer isn't recognizing it.  Or if you've recently made any changes to your computer, it could be a software issue that's causing your drive to no longer be recognized.

 

You might want to try going back to a restore point or recent backup to see if something like a recently updated driver is causing a conflict which is causing the drive to not properly connect to your computer.  Also double check to make sure all your drivers are up to date.  If that doesn't work or you don't have a restore point, you might need to open up your computer's case and check to make sure the drive is securely attached and there aren't any loose connections.  

 

Of course any time you open up your PC or make software adjustments you can end up causing more damage, so make sure you create a backup before attempting to make any repairs, so you don't lose the files on the remaining disks.  And if you don't know what you're doing definitely consider hiring someone to check it out for you.

Yup, it's an internal drive.

I don't have a restore point, but I don't think I've done anything drivers wise before this. I'll try to update them.

I've moved the computer recently so it might have disconnected itself though.

  

  On 2014-07-28 at 7:31 PM, boiteporte said:

Have you ever heard sound coming from your computer ? Such as clicking sound ?

The symptoms you are describing are typical of a dying drive.

 

You might want to make a backup of your files on another drive before it's too late.

 

If the drive disappeared permanently from the computer, that means it is most likely dead. However, the data is physically present on the hard drive and it is possible for specialists to recover it. 

 

The prices range from a few hundred to a few thousand British Pounds depending on the amount of data to recover.

 

That's what I find really weird. The drive never made any unusual sounds, and it still spins when I start the computer.

The only "unusual" thing I've noticed is that it starts spinning a bit after the fans when the computer hasn't been used for a few days, but that's since I bought it.

 

Well, if it's really toast I'll never be able to afford recovery...

I have a friend that could help but I'm not quite sure.

 

  On 2014-07-28 at 9:46 PM, Evilshy said:

You might try booting from a Linux disc and seeing if you can see the drive from there, transfer files to an external disc of something. That'll only work if its a software problem, though, and in that case there would probably easier ways to fix things.

Or, if you have access to another computer, put the drive in that one and see if you can see it. That would rule out if being a problem with the drive itself.

I think I still have a Linux iso on a flash drive somewhere, I could try that.

The only other computer I can access is a Mac, and I doubt there's enough space to move that HDD.

  

  On 2014-07-28 at 9:53 PM, Detective Butler said:

Alright, right click computer, and click manage.

Go to Storage->Disk Management.

 

See if the drive is there.

Does it say healthy?

Does it say unformated?

 

If it says anything but healthy, if it doesn't show up, or if it says unformatted; it is probably shot.

 

Also, try this program:

http://www.almico.com/sfdownload.php

 

Go to the hard drive tab, and click test.

If it is not there, or showing up in manage. Try switch the power connector to a different one, and plugging it into a different (I assume) sata port.

 

I can safely say though, it sounds like the HDD is shot.

I already tried the Manage Computer panel and it doesn't show up here. I'll try your program and see if it appears here.

 

Thanks again everyone. I don't have access to my computer right now but I'll keep in mind your solutions.

If nothing works, I'll see if it's physically disconnected and if it's not...well I'll see what the lowest recovery price is and hope I can afford it.

[Guest]

Okay... So I'm back home, and the hard drive appeared again.

So, I tried to make a backup copy on another drive (74 Gigs), and it disappeared again before the copy could complete...

I have a few things backed up but a LOT is still missing... I'll see what I can do.

[LunaP0n3 5]

Things I would do:

-Does the drive show up in the BIOS? You can get into it by pressing F2, F12, ESC or something similar depending on your PC before Windows starts.

-Do you have a friend's PC you can borrow? If so, connect it to their PC and see if the problems manifest themselves on their PC.

-Check the data and power SATA leads for loose cables or breaks in the cables

Those are some of the things I would try anyway.

Failing them, I'd be willing to wager that the drive has died.

[boiteporte 591]

 

 

  On 2014-08-06 at 10:47 AM, LunaP0n3 said:

Do you have a friend's PC you can borrow? If so, connect it to their PC and see if the problems manifest themselves on their PC.

 

I wouldn't recommend connecting a faulty drive to someone else's computer. 

[Guest]

You're a bit late but thanks for your solutions anyways

 

I opened it up and plugged it on a different port, and it is back. I made a backup just in case but crisis averted.

 

Thanks everyone !