Files not accessible on an External Hard drive

[Ramirez]

I am facing a very unusual problem with my external drive which is Imation Apollo 320 gb hard disk. It was working properly but from few days the hard drive gets detected and the system shows that it contains data but it cannot be accessed. I have lot of important files on that hard drive and I dont want to lose it. I am guessing it because of some virus which not allowing me to access the hard drive but i am not sure. So please if anybody has a solution for this, let me know. I am using Windows XP pro on my desktop computer.

[Wiro]

External hard drives are the most unreliable storage equipment. There are more prone to data loss than the internal hard drive. External hard drives undergo various physical shocks which are capable of damaging the hard drive and making it inaccessible to the user. I would suggest you check you hard drive for any physical damage and get it replaced if it is under warranty. You can also check for any bad clusters or bad sectors developed on the hard drive by downloading various diagnostic tools and then scanning the hard drive with it. If there are any bad clusters, the diagnostic tools will repair them. If the hard disk works good after the tests, then it is well and good but if it doesnt then replacing it is only option.

[Lambard]

Check if the hard drive is password protected? It is possible that you or anyone using the hard drive previously must have kept a password to access the data on it. If the hard drive is password protected then you will need a correct password to access the data. If by any chance you have forgot the password then there are various applications available online to crack the password which is set for an external drive. Download one such application and run it on the drive. It will reset the password to some default password and will prompt you to enter the same. Once the password is entered you will be able to access the data without any problem.

[Bon-Z]

Many times the port on which the hard drive is connected is not able to communicate with it properly. If the port is not able to communicate with the drive properly, it will create problems while accessing data or while adding data to the drive. Check the port on which the drive is connected by connecting some other device to it. If the other device works properly on the port, the port is working properly. If the device does not work properly then the problem is with the port and therefore connect the drive to some other port and see if it works properly.

[Gonzo]

I think you will have to format the drive to make it accessible again. This type of problem arises when there is some problem with the format of the drive. If the file allocation table and the data allocation table are corrupted on the drive then the data becomes inaccessible as the operating system is not able to locate them. There is no way solve this problem but to format it because the file allocation table and data allocation table can only be modified during formatting. Before formatting try to take back-up of the data by using some recovery tool or by giving it to some vendor to physically take back-up.

[Regina]

If you are using a USB data cord to connect the drive to the system then try to change the cord and check if the hard drive works properly. Many times the system cannot access the data from the drive due to faulty connecting medium. Also the USB data cord becomes faulty if the method of storage is not proper. Change the data cord and check if the hard drive works properly. If changing the cord does not help then check for the USB drivers which are installed and try to update them. Hopefully the hard drive will work after changing the cord or after updating the drivers. If the hard drive still does not work then you will need to replace the hard drive.

[omega4enigma]

Just use HHD Regenerator 1.61