Tough question

[Amino_man]

okay I have Windows Vista with this issue...

Here it is:

I have an external hard drive. When ever I turn it on (plug&play) goes through it's crap like always and says you have a new external hard drive. Okay, cool.

Well for a while I was just putting my pc into sleep instead of shutting it down all the way or leaving it run for hrs when I wasn't around and when the external hard drive would be connected and the pc would wake up it would say that it found a new hard drive and asks me if I want to install the driver.

Well... It worked just 3 hrs ago so I clicked NO.

After having to always click No I decided to see if I clicked YES if I would stop getting these prompts coming out of Sleep Mode.

Well... I clicked YES and it "installed" the "new driver." The next time I went to save something on the external hard drive it showed up under (My computer) just fine as the drive letter and name it should have but when I went to open it, it told me that I HAD TO FORMAT this "NEW DRIVE" before it could save anything to it.


Holy Marry Mother of God!!!!! I have my wedding pictures, all my son's pictures over the last 17 yrs, and just all the regular Holiday, Birthday and just digital family pictures on this thing.

Granted some (very few) have been scanned and added but the majority of them were only digital and only on this hard drive.

Things I have tried so far:

So far I have tried to "roll back" the driver under properties, no luck it says new driver so no prior version.

I have tried to go to the manufacture of the external hard drive and download an old version of the original driver, no luck yet again because any time you "install" a new driver you have to format in order to use the drive.

I have tried to contact the manufacture via email and they recommended that I try X-Y-Z "data recovery software." Well, no luck because I have no idea if I'm suppose to boot into the software or just run it by opening it. I never was able to boot into it but I did open all 3 different versions of data recovery software and none of them are clicking with me to resolve my issue.

I have been told to try and "Ghost" the hard drive onto another external hard drive but I do not know how to do this or if the drive will allow the data to transfer since there is no driver to read the drive. I'm not that smart to figure this out without trial and error/hands on experience.

So today, I am going to try and install a old ass version of Ghost I have and see if the Ghosting image idea works.

Other than that, I have run out of options so this is why I have turned to see if maybe someone out there has gone through this very same thing and knows how to save me years off my life by helping a bro.

Thanks for any comments!!

 

[Kaiser]

okay I have Windows Vista with this issue...

Here it is:

I have an external hard drive. When ever I turn it on (plug&play) goes through it's crap like always and says you have a new external hard drive. Okay, cool.

Well for a while I was just putting my pc into sleep instead of shutting it down all the way or leaving it run for hrs when I wasn't around and when the external hard drive would be connected and the pc would wake up it would say that it found a new hard drive and asks me if I want to install the driver.

Well... It worked just 3 hrs ago so I clicked NO.

After having to always click No I decided to see if I clicked YES if I would stop getting these prompts coming out of Sleep Mode.

Well... I clicked YES and it "installed" the "new driver." The next time I went to save something on the external hard drive it showed up under (My computer) just fine as the drive letter and name it should have but when I went to open it, it told me that I HAD TO FORMAT this "NEW DRIVE" before it could save anything to it.


Holy Marry Mother of God!!!!! I have my wedding pictures, all my son's pictures over the last 17 yrs, and just all the regular Holiday, Birthday and just digital family pictures on this thing.

Granted some (very few) have been scanned and added but the majority of them were only digital and only on this hard drive.

Things I have tried so far:

So far I have tried to "roll back" the driver under properties, no luck it says new driver so no prior version.

I have tried to go to the manufacture of the external hard drive and download an old version of the original driver, no luck yet again because any time you "install" a new driver you have to format in order to use the drive.

I have tried to contact the manufacture via email and they recommended that I try X-Y-Z "data recovery software." Well, no luck because I have no idea if I'm suppose to boot into the software or just run it by opening it. I never was able to boot into it but I did open all 3 different versions of data recovery software and none of them are clicking with me to resolve my issue.

I have been told to try and "Ghost" the hard drive onto another external hard drive but I do not know how to do this or if the drive will allow the data to transfer since there is no driver to read the drive. I'm not that smart to figure this out without trial and error/hands on experience.

So today, I am going to try and install a old ass version of Ghost I have and see if the Ghosting image idea works.

Other than that, I have run out of options so this is why I have turned to see if maybe someone out there has gone through this very same thing and knows how to save me years off my life by helping a bro.

Thanks for any comments!!

Driver is not the problem. Sounds as though your BIOS on your PC may need an update as its sleep does not enumerate the USB stack correctly when it wakes OR it needs new chipset drivers. nVidia for instance, while I love their hardware, has numerous sleep problems.
As for it asking if you want to format it, sounds like you are going to need a file recovery tool like Ontrack or one of the others. It seems as though it may have corrupted your FAT (file allocation table) and index. You say however that it does indeed have a drive letter. Can you confirm for me that it has a drive letter? If it does, try this from a CMD Prompt after you CLOSE ALL other windows:

If your drive letter is D: then use this or subsitute your correct drive letter:

chkdsk d: /r

Then hit enter. It may say the drive is locked and needs to be rebooted to continue, select yes, then reboot.

Let men know what you come up with. It will take a long time, so make sure your power settings are set to performance and not to sleep after a certain amount of time.

Incidentally, I never like leaving a computer sleep with a remote hard drive attached. Ever. I've seen way to many problems. Never store your data solely on a remote drive as they are way to volatile. Keep a back up on a normal drive.

 

[Amino_man]

Driver is not the problem. Sounds as though your BIOS on your PC may need an update as its sleep does not enumerate the USB stack correctly when it wakes OR it needs new chipset drivers. nVidia for instance, while I love their hardware, has numerous sleep problems.
As for it asking if you want to format it, sounds like you are going to need a file recovery tool like Ontrack or one of the others. It seems as though it may have corrupted your FAT (file allocation table) and index. You say however that it does indeed have a drive letter. Can you confirm for me that it has a drive letter? If it does, try this from a CMD Prompt after you CLOSE ALL other windows:

If your drive letter is D: then use this or subsitute your correct drive letter:

chkdsk d: /r

Then hit enter. It may say the drive is locked and needs to be rebooted to continue, select yes, then reboot.

Let men know what you come up with. It will take a long time, so make sure your power settings are set to performance and not to sleep after a certain amount of time.

Incidentally, I never like leaving a computer sleep with a remote hard drive attached. Ever. I've seen way to many problems. Never store your data solely on a remote drive as they are way to volatile. Keep a back up on a normal drive.

When I go to run chkdsk it tells me I need to invoke this utility running in elevated mode. What does that mean when I already have admin rights assigned to my user name under control panel?

 

[Amino_man]

Well I figured out to right click the CMD and run as Admin but when I do that it tells me something new. It says CHKDSK is not available for RAW drives. So that leaves me with trying the data recovery software you recommended.

My question about that is, what should I see, to know that it's either going to work or not because I used the one you recommended based on the suggestion from tech support from Western digital and I installed the software and ran it like normal but I couldn't get it to read the drive so I could see even 1 file.

What am I doing wrong with it?

 

[Kaiser]

Well I figured out to right click the CMD and run as Admin but when I do that it tells me something new. It says CHKDSK is not available for RAW drives. So that leaves me with trying the data recovery software you recommended.

My question about that is, what should I see, to know that it's either going to work or not because I used the one you recommended based on the suggestion from tech support from Western digital and I installed the software and ran it like normal but I couldn't get it to read the drive so I could see even 1 file.

What am I doing wrong with it?

This all depends on how much you want to spend. You can take it to a specialist or you can try purchasing software yourself. If it comes down to it, you may have to go as deep as using something like Spinrite, which you will need to remove the drive from its casing and plug it directly in, as I dont think it has USB support. This brings up another fact that the USB controller may be screwed, so if you can, take it out and install it in your computer then see if it has data.

I like Ontrack Easy Recovery, and also Norton Unformat works well. Again this is totally subjective to your abilities.

As a last resort, Spinrite:
GRC|SpinRite Overview

If you have a lot on it, I would take it to a professional, as there is a method to recovery and it needs to be thought out correctly or more data will be gone.

 

[freddyz]

Have you tried disconnecting the drive and plugging it into another computer?
A laptop or something? It sounds like a windows error, I don't think anything has happened to the info on your drive.

Found this a guy had a similiar problem

"Solved !
The problem IS, after all, 'Permissions'.
Permissions need to be set, not only under 'Sharing', but more importantly, 'Security' / 'Advanced'.
On the system that your MyBook was originally installed on, right-click the folder on the drive which you wish to permit access to from other systems, select 'Security' and select 'Advanced'.
Create a new user 'Everyone' and give 'Full Control' to this new user.
The drive will then be available on other systems as mine now is.
Phew!"

Basically you need to give yourself full permissions to access it. Here's the link good luck. **broken link removed**

 

[Kaiser]

Have you tried disconnecting the drive and plugging it into another computer?
A laptop or something? It sounds like a windows error, I don't think anything has happened to the info on your drive.

Found this a guy had a similiar problem

"Solved !
The problem IS, after all, 'Permissions'.
Permissions need to be set, not only under 'Sharing', but more importantly, 'Security' / 'Advanced'.
On the system that your MyBook was originally installed on, right-click the folder on the drive which you wish to permit access to from other systems, select 'Security' and select 'Advanced'.
Create a new user 'Everyone' and give 'Full Control' to this new user.
The drive will then be available on other systems as mine now is.
Phew!"

Basically you need to give yourself full permissions to access it. Here's the link good luck. **broken link removed**

This does not sound like that sort of case to me. The drive is reporting that it needs to be formatted, not that he just cant see anything. Also, if he is using home version, there is no security tab. Only professional, ultimate, enterprise and business have NTFS security tab so he will need to use something like xcacls instead. All in all, as he seems to be a lamen, I would recommend him bringing to a tech so that he doesn't lose important data.

 

[freddyz]

Yeah I get what you're saying, but he stated that he had no problems with drive until he installed windows driver, Installing a driver will not cause you to lose data. And the link I posted has many very similar problems listed, some of which are nearly Identical. And changing permissions in windows, won't change or make anything worse.

But I agree he should take drive in to get it looked at if the info on it is that important.

 

[Amino_man]

Yeah I get what you're saying, but he stated that he had no problems with drive until he installed windows driver, Installing a driver will not cause you to lose data. And the link I posted has many very similar problems listed, some of which are nearly Identical. And changing permissions in windows, won't change or make anything worse.

But I agree he should take drive in to get it looked at if the info on it is that important.

Installing a new driver for a "drive" will make it inaccessible until your format the drive or find another way of retrieving your data. Data is not "lost" but is not able to be recovered unless a "data recovery" software is used.

I will try the recommended software you all recommended this weekend when I have time to deal with it. My external hard drive is already out of it's enclosure and attached to a SATA / IDE cable connector already.

I will try both the Ghosting option and the data recovery options this weekend. I have looked up using a "service" to recover my data and I feel that I am safe to try the same measures they will attempt and then if I fail, I will use a service to restore my data.

It is important data/photos to me of my family and my resume but still. I don't want to use a service until I max out my abilities. It's the same thing with calling an electrician or a plumber.

Nobody wants to tell another guy they can't do something. That's also why guys don't ask for directions when their lost.

I appreciate all the help you guys!! Who would have thought that to get help in such a specific area like this to come to Professional Muscle...

I was afraid I was down to the data recovery or ghosting options and so that is why I posted here. The data recovery software was giving me problems seeing even the simplest file or folder so with that, I don;'t know if I'm even using it correctly.

I have called on a friend of mine to come over this weekend to bounce things off of while I pull out my hair so I will update you all on how I resolved this issue sometime next week.

Again, thank you all for the prompt responses and the seriousness you all used in helping. I figured to get comic relief from all my stress and you all have impressed me greatly!!

Thank you!!

 

[Kaiser]

Installing a new driver for a "drive" will make it inaccessible until your format the drive or find another way of retrieving your data. Data is not "lost" but is not able to be recovered unless a "data recovery" software is used.

I dont have time to answer right now but this statement is very wrong, buddy.

 

[Kaiser]

try the same measures they will attempt and then if I fail, I will use a service to restore my data.

This may, in effect make it so they cannot recover it. If you do not know what you are doing, you can very easily corrupt what is left.

 

[Druss]

dont worry

step 1:
Unpluge the usb drive reboot computer

Step 2 plug in different usb port - check if it works, which it should.

step 3 - if it doesnt work check it on another computer - if its really wiped then get a new drive and do step 4

Step 4 download GetDataBack **broken link removed** install and analyze the faulty drive once done just check off all the files you want to recover and copy them over to your new drive. Getdataback will recover a formatted drive, a drive that is recognized as RAW, a drive that windows cannot detect, its easy to use and user friendly. there are other similar programs, just google data recovery software

Step 5 make a back up on dvd off all the precious shit

 

[Amino_man]

I dont have time to answer right now but this statement is very wrong, buddy.

What do you mean? I was explaining my problem I'm having and what my options are. If this is wrong then, what you've been telling me is contradicting to what you told me to do.

 

[Amino_man]

dont worry

step 1:
Unpluge the usb drive reboot computer

Step 2 plug in different usb port - check if it works, which it should.

step 3 - if it doesnt work check it on another computer - if its really wiped then get a new drive and do step 4

Step 4 download GetDataBack **broken link removed** install and analyze the faulty drive once done just check off all the files you want to recover and copy them over to your new drive. Getdataback will recover a formatted drive, a drive that is recognized as RAW, a drive that windows cannot detect, its easy to use and user friendly. there are other similar programs, just google data recovery software

Step 5 make a back up on dvd off all the precious shit

Thanks bro, I'll download that and use it if you think it's the best. Ans yes, all my USB ports work just fine and the external is showing up under (My Computer) with a drive letter so I think if this software your recommending is "user friendly" then I should have great luck this weekend.

Again, I will post my results when I get to dedicate enough time to this project to see it to it's final point but, father in-law is in ICU and doc told my wifes mom to call everyone because they don't think he'll be leaving the hospital ever again.

Cancer & ammonia has caused a collapsed lung and has high amounts of carbon monoxide in his blood. finger are crossed that he makes it but this is the second time he's gone in for all of this.

Thank you all for the support on my issue.

 

[Kaiser]

Thanks bro, I'll download that and use it if you think it's the best. Ans yes, all my USB ports work just fine and the external is showing up under (My Computer) with a drive letter so I think if this software your recommending is "user friendly" then I should have great luck this weekend.

Again, I will post my results when I get to dedicate enough time to this project to see it to it's final point but, father in-law is in ICU and doc told my wifes mom to call everyone because they don't think he'll be leaving the hospital ever again.

Cancer & ammonia has caused a collapsed lung and has high amounts of carbon monoxide in his blood. finger are crossed that he makes it but this is the second time he's gone in for all of this.

Thank you all for the support on my issue.

Very sorry for your hard time. If you would like, I will recover your data for free if possible. PM me for details.