I am having problems with my back up hard drive

I didn't know it until this morning but I am having problems with my back up hard drive.  My computer doesn't seem to want to acknowledge that it is there.  I know it did at one point.   I had the backup drive set up as drive F, and had back up software set to run a backup of my main harddrive to my backup hard drive every monday morning.   I just realized today that I have not been able to do a complete backup since 01/16/2012!   the backup software log says: "Can not access F:\ The system cannot find the path specified"   Drive is just not showing up in the list of disk drives.  I do not have any idea what the $#%^ happened.  It is plugged in just has it has since I installed the backup harddrive over 4 years ago.   Any one got any advice?

Some of these suggestions may sound stupid or obvious but you would be surprised how often perfectly intelligent computer savvy people neglect to try them.

A) Check the connection leads to your computer aren't loose. It might make sense to unplug any leads (including the power leads) and give them a good wipe. Plug it in again and see if anything positive happens.

B) Try plugging the drive into another input socket on your computer (if it's a USB connecter try another USB socket.

C) Try plugging it into another computer, a laptop, a friend or relatives machine.

Anything other than your computer and see if that computer registers the connection.

Bizarrely I would also consider giving the drive a bit of a dusting.

If you have access to a hairdryer blowing cold air through the vents might loosen up any alien bodies trapped in the casing.

Try those steps first and let us know what happens.

Your computer itself is okay right? It's just the back up drive that's on the fritz?

I did all of that before posting this thread, and yes my computer itself is ok.

If you can't reformat it, nip out and get a new one and back up ASAP.

Western Digital

Bingowings said:

If you can't reformat it, nip out and get a new one and back up ASAP.

since, I my computer can't see it at the moment,  I don't know how I would reformat it.

If you can't see it you can't reformat it.

A professional might be able to retrieve some of the data but as it's all on your computer anyway you'd be better off pronouncing the drive dead and just replacing it, quickly.

You might want to remove the disc before recycling the drive if you have personal information on it.

yeah, I'll have to see if I can get it apart.

First you should really make sure it's the harddrive itself that's not working.

Does the harddrive have any light, and if so, does it blink when you connect the drive?

Does the harddrive make any sounds, if so, does it sound as it normally does or do you hear an unfamiliar "clicking"? (Clicking usually means the drive is dying)

Have you tried going into BIOS at startup and make sure that the USB (or whatever port it's connected to) is activated? Don't know why it would deactivate but always good to check.

Also, have you tried all ports in the computer, both front and back if you have any?

Have you tried going into the Windows device manager and checked if the drive is listed there?

If the drive is listed in "disk drives", remove it from there and reconnect it and Windows might find it again.

Also check disk management.

You_Too said:

First you should really make sure it's the harddrive itself that's not working.

Does the harddrive have any light, and if so, does it blink when you connect the drive?

the light comes on when I connect the drive.

You_Too said:

Does the harddrive make any sounds, if so, does it sound as it normally does or do you hear an unfamiliar "clicking"? (Clicking usually means the drive is dying)

yeah, I think I do hear a clicking.

You_Too said:

 

Have you tried going into BIOS at startup and make sure that the USB (or whatever port it's connected to) is activated? Don't know why it would deactivate but always good to check.

I don't think it is.   I was able to plug my Ipod into it and it connected to my computer just fine.

You_Too said:

Also, have you tried all ports in the computer, both front and back if you have any?

I haven't tried all ports, but I have tried multiple ports, to no avail.

You_Too said:

Have you tried going into the Windows device manager and checked if the drive is listed there?

If the drive is listed in "disk drives", remove it from there and reconnect it and Windows might find it again.

I see something in there, I am not sure what it is.   I am uncertain whether its the back up drive or something else.   I am not sure I want to remove it and risk the situation getting worse.

edit: I think it is the internal hard drive of my computer.

You_Too said:

Also check disk management.

I don't see the back drive in there.

Ok, from what you're saying, it does seem like the drive is failing, but the cable could be bad. Do you have any other USB cable that you could try connecting it with?

Does the drive have other connection options (some have firewire sockets as well as USB)?

If so giving that a try might get through to it.

If you can get thing to be acknowledged by a machine you can reformat it which would probably give the drive another lease of life.

Now that I think of it, I've heard of some WD external drives that had some faulty power cables. No idea if it can be related to this but you might wanna unplug it and replug it and see if anything happens. The drive sure wouldn't work without power.

You_Too said:

Ok, from what you're saying, it does seem like the drive is failing, but the cable could be bad. Do you have any other USB cable that you could try connecting it with?

I am not sure,  I have anything to connect it with.   I have cords with a USB end to it, but not with the end that would go into the back up drive.

edit: I just found away to test this.  Its turns out that my printer also uses a USB connection that the  part that plugs into the printer matches the part on the other cord that plugs into the back up drive.  I unplugged the cord from the printer and plugged it into my back drive.   My computer still did not recognize the back up drive.

bkev said:

As stupid as this sounds with my old Western Digital, which I think is about the same age as yours, it was VERY easy to plug the cable into the unit upside down by mistake; the lights would even go on, the computer just wouldn't register it. Make sure you're not doing that.

I apologize for assuming you'd make the same dumb mistake I would. I just had problem after problem with the cables - the plug on my unit itself is actually very loose and it's a struggle to keep a cable in.

there is no way to plug it in upside down.   I just checked.   and no need to apologize.

Bingowings said:

Does the drive have other connection options (some have firewire sockets as well as USB)?

If so giving that a try might get through to it.

If you can get thing to be acknowledged by a machine you can reformat it which would probably give the drive another lease of life.

it looks like there is another way to connect it to a computer, but I have no idea what I did with whatever cord it would take to do so, it such a cord came with the device.   This is also assume my computer can take such a connection, being a few years older than the device, that is far from certain.

If it looks like this :

It's firewire (which is a really fast way of transferring data).

If it's firewire try asking around if a friend has a cable and/or an enabled machine (most are these days).

It's worth a try.

that does not look like the kind of connection I have on the back up drive.

If it looks like this it's a network socket :

A few of my drives have one of these and a network connection is if anything more ubiquitous.

nope, its not that either.

Colour me stumped :-(

I once had a external drive stop showing up on my PC, and I called Seagate about it.  After a ton of back and forth, we discovered that my PC had a nasty virus.  I reformatted the PC and suddenly I could see the external drive again.

Oooh! Might be worth giving that computer a sweep with the mighty Clam.