Evaluating Hard Drives Not Detected and Not Showing Up

1. Understanding Hard Drives Not Detected and Not Showing Up If your hard drive is not showing up on your computer anymore, there could be a few different factors that can cause it. If the information on your device is valuable, you will want to proceed with caution so the situation does not get worse. The purpose of this PDF is to help people understand how to diagnose their hard drive when it's not being recognized anymore. This will aid in the decision making process taken to get the data off that device safely. We will discuss some general trouble shooting ideas that will help you get to the bottom of your situation quickly and safely. If your data is valuable this information will help you avoid losing your data forever. When a drive is no longer showing up on your computer, or wont detect it usually boils down to 2 basic categories of problem: 1.Simple and easily overlooked 2.Something that will require expert help and equipment We're going to help you troubleshoot your problem to determine which category you fit in. All hard drives end up failing at one point or another. When the drives are spinning they are wearing down, and they have a definite amount of read write cycles. Many drives never reach their max capacity before failing. Many times when your internal hard disk drive is not found by your computer the problem will be your hard drive. It is quite common to find brand new hard drives come, straight out of the manufacturing plant that contain errors on them. Hard drive not showing up because of firmware problems Errors are actually failed sectors on the platters. These failed sectors cannot be repaired, but instead are remapped inside the drive’s microcode (or firmware).

2. This firmware is usually written to a place called the service area, usually on the platters themselves. This microcode is made up of little software packets that contain data imperative to: proper function of the hdd error reports initialization hard drive identification bad sector location encryption repairing the drive many other functions Some drives have more than one copy of this information in case the platters are damaged and it becomes unreadable. If this area cannot be read then there is very little chance the data can be recovered. This can be due to too many bad sectors, scratches, deterioration, contact from the heads, debris, impact. This information is accessed during the initial start and powering of the drive, and is how the drive is identified with storage size, lba’s, serial number, and SMART data by the computer it’s connected to. Flash storage devices are different than hard drives in this design. They usually depend on something called a controller chip, which is usually located on the printed circuit board. These are commonly found on flash drives, SSD, and camera cards. Determining the cause of a hard drive not detected We need to quickly and carefully figure out if the problem is the hard drive or the computer. When you turn your hard drive on the platters spin very fast, minimum 5400rpm. If the problem is your hard drive, it can get worse as quickly as those platters spin, and eventually could become unrecoverable. So we want to avoid making the problem worse during the initial basic diagnostic stage. If your hard drive requires expert help and equipment, you don’t want to

3. make the situation worse before the experts have a chance. Hard disk data recovery can be quite expensive. The first chance at data recovery on a failing or failed drive is always the best and most successful. Here’s a few basic steps you can take to safely see which is the cause of your problem. I can accept no responsibility for the outcomes of your situation, however I will say with confidence, you should learn what steps to take, and choices to make, when deciding how to get your data off your storage device when your computer is not recognizing it. Step #1: You must understand why the drive is not being recognized. A few things to remember: 1.We don’t know if the drive is failing so we need to be as careful and intentional as possible. 2.During any of the procedures I’m about to cover, always keep an ear out for any sounds the drive is making. There is a healthy sound and an unhealthy sound. 3.Healthy sounds are whirring that shouldn’t be too loud. Unhealthy sounds are pretty much anything else in the family of clicking, beeping, scraping, ticking, knocking, or a motor that spins and stops repeatedly during initial startup. 4.If you hear ANY unhealthy signs stop immediately, power down your hard drive and call us or another professional recovery company. Trouble shooting steps to take: Repower the computer: many times this has fixed the immediate issue, however doesn’t preclude a more serious problem on the horizon. (back up your data immediately if it works) Check Cables: usually SATA cables for internal disks or USB cables for external drives Try to Slave the Drive: to another computer. Make sure to always handle the drive with care. Imagine your drive is an egg, and treat it that way when you move it or set it down)

4. Check Power Cable: both of these cables can be easily checked with another identical one. For the power cable make sure to use the proper voltage. Check BIOS settings: sometimes the BIOS settings can cause a device to not be detected or recognized during installation or through regular operation. (refer to the MoBo documentation to check settings) Is your computer infected? This can be a tricky one as both an infection and a failing hard drive can cause the computer to act in a similar way. It’s important at this time to trace back what has been happening to the computer over the last few days/weeks before the drive became not recognized. Slow computers, files and folders that freeze when opening them, and blue screens are all typical signs of both a failing hard drive, and an infection. If you’re infected, you will be able to be detected on another computer without a problem Did your file system get corrupted? This can happen from a power outage, or if your computer shuts down unexpectedly. You drive should be recognized by another computer if this is the case. *****If after checking all these details and your drive is still not recognizing or being detected, then you are probably going to need professional help to get your data back. If your drive is not making any bad noises, and is smooth and whirring, you still have a serious issue that will most likely require special equipment and knowledge to get your data back. You can rest assured you either have a mechanical failure, corrupt microcode, failing heads, or some other problem. It’s best to turn off your device, in order to preserve the integrity of the drive and the data on it until someone with the right equipment and experience can help you. Information provided by: SERT Data Recovery 1748 S Congress Ave Palm Springs, FL 33461 1-800-553- 5738 www.SERTDataRecovery.com