[Help] My Seagate external hard drive won't mount. Want Help.

[ahmedbatty]

Hello,

I have a Seagate Expansion 1 TB external hard drive which I bought back in 2015. The problem I'm having is that it just won't mount (since just a few days ago). It powers on, the light on it powers on, the spindles inside move meaning that the drive is working. I have tried Windows 10 (latest update) and Ubuntu 17.10, the drive just won't show up anywhere.

 

I have also tried connecting the device to any other computer I had access to, but showed the same problem. Here are the specs for the laptop I'm using:

• Dell Latitude E6430
• Intel Core i5-3380M
• 8GB RAM
• 240GB SSD (Windows drive)

 

In Windows 10:

• The USB device connection sound and disconnect sound can be heard.
• File Explorer doesn't show the drive.
• Disk Management doesn't show the drive.
• Device Manager shows "Seagate Expansion SCSI Disk Device" under "Disk drives". (I tried a few things with this, more on that later)
• Devices and Printer shows "Expansion" under "Devices".
• Windows 10 Settings app shows "Expansion Connected to USB 3.0" under "Other Devices".
• DISKPART in CMD doesn't show the drive when the "LIST DISK" command is entered.

 

Note:
Since I can't see the drive anywhere, I can't "chkdsk" in CMD. I did run a "chkdsk" but that was probably in early 2016 after that it was working perfect till now.

 

In Ubuntu 17.10:

• The USB device connection sound and disconnect sound can be heard.
• Linux Disk utility doesn't show the drive.
• Nautilus File Explorer doesn't show the drive.

 

What I have tried so far:

• In the Device Manager entry "Seagate Expansion SCSI Disk Device" under "Disk drives", I tried every update, disable, uninstall device and tried to reconnect, but it didn't solve the problem.
• I tried to so similar things in "Devices and Printers", but it didn't solve the problem.
• I tried to run DISKPART in the Windows installation, but it didn't show up.
• I tried all USB 3.0 and 2.0 ports, but nothing.
• It did mount once but it slowed down my laptop and it wouldn't even shutdown as quickly as it usually does.
• When I click on "Safely Remove Hardware" my laptop slows down.

 

Note:
I always safely remove USB drives and external hard drives. My USB drives are working perfectly in the ports on my laptop.

 

What I would like to know that, is there any way I can just copy the useful data I want? Can this drive be repaired and how? Should I continue to use this drive once it is repaired or get a new one? If I would get a new one then which external hard drive should I buy (other than Seagate)?

 

Please any help would be appreciated.

 

Thank you for your time.

 

P.S.

I'll attach some screenshots if required.

[Thermite]

Either the drive itself is dead or the enclosure is and the drive is ok. You might have to remove the drive from the enclosure to tell. But that will probably void any warranty so i’d check and see what warranty you have first and then make your decision.

[seagate_surfer]

Sorry to hear you're having trouble with your Expansion drive.  ^^ brings up a good point. You can find our Warranty Validation Tool here. If you are going to try "shucking", which is pulling the enclosure apart to get at the bare drive inside, to plug directly into your system, then just make sure and give this Why Is My Drive Out of Warranty FAQ from our Knowledge Base a read.

[ahmedbatty]

2 hours ago, seagate_surfer said:

Sorry to hear you're having trouble with your Expansion drive.  ^^ brings up a good point. You can find our Warranty Validation Tool here. If you are going to try "shucking", which is pulling the enclosure apart to get at the bare drive inside, to plug directly into your system, then just make sure and give this Why Is My Drive Out of Warranty FAQ from our Knowledge Base a read.

I did check with the Warranty Validation Tool and also checked again just to make sure, but the warranty period has ended.

 

4 hours ago, Thermite said:

Either the drive itself is dead or the enclosure is and the drive is ok. You might have to remove the drive from the enclosure to tell. But that will probably void any warranty so i’d check and see what warranty you have first and then make your decision.

 

Now, about removing the drive from the enclosure, I was seriously hoping there would be some software solution so I wouldn't have to open the enclosure (I'm a bit lazy at times).

 

I'd like to add something to my original post, there is no physical damage on the outside and I keep the drive in a case when I'm not using it (mentioning it if this info helps).

[Thermite]

15 minutes ago, ahmedbatty said:

I did check with the Warranty Validation Tool and also checked again just to make sure, but the warranty period has ended.

 

 

Now, about removing the drive from the enclosure, I was seriously hoping there would be some software solution so I wouldn't have to open the enclosure (I'm a bit lazy at times).

 

I'd like to add something to my original post, there is no physical damage on the outside and I keep the drive in a case when I'm not using it (mentioning it if this info helps).

I think your only option at this point is to shuck the drive and plug it directly into your machine using known good cables. I know this is a bit annoying but it will tell you for sure wether the drive is working or not.

 

In the future if you plan on buying any external drives you might want to look into solid state drives as they won’t be damaged by shocks as easily. Plus they can be smaller with the same amount of storage. (You probably already know this considering your first post)

 

Best of luck.

[AshleyAshes]

21 minutes ago, ahmedbatty said:

I did check with the Warranty Validation Tool and also checked again just to make sure, but the warranty period has ended.

 

 

Now, about removing the drive from the enclosure, I was seriously hoping there would be some software solution so I wouldn't have to open the enclosure (I'm a bit lazy at times).

 

I'd like to add something to my original post, there is no physical damage on the outside and I keep the drive in a case when I'm not using it (mentioning it if this info helps).

If the USB to SATA bridge on the enclosure is dead, then opening it up and installing it directly could work.  However if the drive is dead then you don't have nearly so many options:

 

1) The drive is kaput, you have to pay for data recovery, learn a valuable lesson about keeping backups.
2) The drive is kaput, data recovery is expensive, lose your data, learn a valuable lesson about keeping backups.

[ahmedbatty]

On 1/31/2018 at 11:17 PM, Thermite said:

I think your only option at this point is to shuck the drive and plug it directly into your machine using known good cables. I know this is a bit annoying but it will tell you for sure wether the drive is working or not.

 

In the future if you plan on buying any external drives you might want to look into solid state drives as they won’t be damaged by shocks as easily. Plus they can be smaller with the same amount of storage. (You probably already know this considering your first post)

 

Best of luck.

I'll do it. I'll go get some of those prying tools today.

[ahmedbatty]

On 1/31/2018 at 11:25 PM, AshleyAshes said:

If the USB to SATA bridge on the enclosure is dead, then opening it up and installing it directly could work.  However if the drive is dead then you don't have nearly so many options:

 

1) The drive is kaput, you have to pay for data recovery, learn a valuable lesson about keeping backups.
2) The drive is kaput, data recovery is expensive, lose your data, learn a valuable lesson about keeping backups.

This drive contained all of my backup.

I'm a student, so even when storage on something like Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive etc. falls short, I don't have money to pay for more storage, that's why external hard drives are a much better option for me.

As for data recovery, I hope the drive inside is working fine and I won't have to find someone who can recover my data, because these people are pretty difficult to find in my city and country and their services are very expensive.

[AshleyAshes]

Just now, ahmedbatty said:

This drive contained all of my backup.

Then if you've only lost the backups, then you at least have the originals.  So that's good.

[Thermite]

12 hours ago, ahmedbatty said:

This drive contained all of my backup.

I'm a student, so even when storage on something like Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive etc. falls short, I don't have money to pay for more storage, that's why external hard drives are a much better option for me.

As for data recovery, I hope the drive inside is working fine and I won't have to find someone who can recover my data, because these people are pretty difficult to find in my city and country and their services are very expensive.

Let us know what you find out @ahmedbatty.

[ahmedbatty]

On 2/2/2018 at 9:10 PM, Thermite said:

Let us know what you find out @ahmedbatty.

I couldn't get one of those guitar pick type prying tools, so I opened the enclosure with a flathead screwdriver.

I have an Aukey 2.5" external enclosure and I inserted the drive in that.

The drive still didn't mount and I could hear clicking noises. Not loud, I could only hear them when I put my ear very close.

[ahmedbatty]

My theory is that the head is stuck and to release that I would have to open the drive.

But still I am waiting for what you people recommend I should do.

[Thermite]

The drive is probably dead. I would not suggest opening it. You can take it to a data recovery place (I know its expensive there) or let the backup die and get a new backup drive @ahmedbatty.

[AshleyAshes]

2 hours ago, Thermite said:

The drive is probably dead. I would not suggest opening it. You can take it to a data recovery place (I know its expensive there) or let the backup die and get a new backup drive @ahmedbatty.

I don't understand why he wants to try at all.  It's highly unlikely that the drive can be repaired and he clearly stated that the drive only contained BACKUPS.  That means hey has originals.  Replace the drive and make a new backup from the originals.  So far no irreplaceable data lost has happened and you'd have to be insane to then use a drive like this for backups even if you got it working again.

[Thermite]

22 hours ago, AshleyAshes said:

I don't understand why he wants to try at all.  It's highly unlikely that the drive can be repaired and he clearly stated that the drive only contained BACKUPS.  That means hey has originals.  Replace the drive and make a new backup from the originals.  So far no irreplaceable data lost has happened and you'd have to be insane to then use a drive like this for backups even if you got it working again.

Your right 100%. He just seemed very interested in making the drive work again so I thought no harm done if he gets it working. That being said @ahmedbatty even if the drive did work again it is not something you should rely on. For your next backup drive I would highly suggest a solid state drive like the ones samsung makes here http://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/minisite/ssd/product/portable/t5

Or others like it.

[ahmedbatty]

On 2/5/2018 at 8:55 PM, AshleyAshes said:

I don't understand why he wants to try at all.  It's highly unlikely that the drive can be repaired and he clearly stated that the drive only contained BACKUPS.  That means hey has originals.  Replace the drive and make a new backup from the originals.  So far no irreplaceable data lost has happened and you'd have to be insane to then use a drive like this for backups even if you got it working again.

@AshleyAshes, you are totally right but I had a ray of hope that the drive will be repaired. That's why I wanted to repair it even if it contained backups. You are totally right that I should not repair it at all. That's why I have not gone further.

@Thermite I am slowly shifting to the SSD scene. I replaced my laptop hard drive with an SSD and my goal is to be free of any mechanical drives wherever possible. My next shopping will be of course the portable SSD you recommended. I have had my eyes on the T3 for a while but the T5 looks nice. I have even heard a lot about the WD portable SSD.