Hard drive not accessible

[Ireland_r]

Hello Brian.  I ran Glary's on my laptop and also uninstalled some programs hoping to free up some space.  I have no idea what I did but now I cannot access the external hard drive that I am using.  I get a message that says it is not accessible access denied.  Could you please help? (I'm freaking out).

[Ireland_r]

Just a quick update. My local software guy called me back. Walked me through changing permissions and for a moment it looked like everything was back. Unfortunately most is gone now. Said there was corrupt files in recycle bin on the EHD. All files are still labeled but when I open they aren’t there. I ran Glarys again after deleting recycle bin and it’s in the process of shutting down now.  I think all is lost. 😔

[Brian]

Is the HD "Clicking" at all. Not the normal chatter you get from accessing the drive, but a click...click...ka-thump....click. It may be worth it to take the EHD to your software guy and try accessing it on another computer.

Also, do you unplug / disconnect this EHD a lot? If so, do you "Eject" the drive each-and-every-time? What make / model is this drive?

[Ireland_r]

I hear no clicking. At one point the pictures were there after he helped me but it was really slow. Now I can’t open it at all and have a message that says “the parameter is incorrect”. 
yes I’d say I unplug it and plug it back in often. I don not “eject”. 
It is a seagate 2TB. I’ll try taking it to him tomorrow, however when I called back regarding the recycle bin he didn’t think he could help. 🤦🏼‍♀️ What do you recommend for hard drives? 

[Brian]

11 hours ago, Ireland_r said:

yes I’d say I unplug it and plug it back in often. I don not “eject”. 

Oh, this is bad, VERY BAD!!

While doing this every once-and-awhile will probably not cause any real issues, but pulling the USB Drive without ejecting all the time? Sooner or later that HD or Thumb-Drive, etc. will start to get corrupted. Then we are in the position that you are in. It's like a slow leak in a Tire...sooner or later things get corrupted. I highly recommend you watch this video, Linus does a really good job at explaining why.

Do You Really Need to Eject USB Drives?

 

11 hours ago, Ireland_r said:

What do you recommend for hard drives? 

Not Seagate drives! I've been burned by them too many times over the years. I even had one physically smoke on me. I also don't buy the "$79 Special" EHD from a big box store, which people are used to buying. My external drives are closer to $500 or so. But my drives are big, beefy and Enterprise Grade. I'm kinda picky about my drives; I don't mess around. Spending more for a quality HD saves me spending $1500+ on professional data recovery. Here is one that will probably be a bit more affordable for you:

SanDisk Professional 4TB G-DRIVE Enterprise-Class Desktop Hard Drive HDD

It's $185 for a 4TB Drive. I have a 12TB drive, so it costs more.

Honestly? The better buy is getting the 6TB for $210. Think about it, for an extra $25, you get two more terabytes! So I'd really get the 6TB G-Drive.

11 hours ago, Ireland_r said:

Now I can’t open it at all and have a message that says “the parameter is incorrect”. 

Yep, that's corrupted data rearing its ugly head. I have a few things to try, but will respond later. I need to get going for my day job.   I will write later. The best thing you can do right now is leave that drive alone. The more crap you throw at it (data recovery software) trying to get to your data in a panic, the worse you will make things.

 

[Ireland_r]

Yeah I’ve definitely made it worse with my desperate attempts to retrieve the files. It no longer reads that it’s a seagate anymore. 🤦🏼‍♀️ I’ve thankfully had my clients final work backed up but I’m sure there’s a few things of my own I do not. This is the second seagate in a short time that’s done this. However I’m probably more of the problem than them by the sounds of it. I’ll buy the hard drive now and read the article as well. Thank you! 

[Brian]

Once you get the HD, let me know. I want to make sure that it's setup correctly, BEFORE you put any files on it.

Since your HD isn't coming up at all anymore, I won't bother with the commands that I wanted to try. It probably won't work anyway. At this point, you are looking at Forensic Data Recovery; meaning you ship your EHD to a company like Gillware Data Recovery Serivces and they recover things for you and mail you back a DVD or Thumbdrive. I will warn you, this type of recovery is not cheap. Like $1500-ish not cheap. But if you have client work that you absolutely need, going this route is cheaper than legal fees.

[Ireland_r]

Thank you!! It should be here by the 7th so I’ll be in touch. The people I talked to said between 700-3900 and anticipated the upward end of that. Thankfully I don’t need clients work. I just had one session on there of my daughter that I didn’t back up. Thanks for your help and I’ll let you know when HD is in. 

[Ireland_r]

Hello again Brian. My hard drive is in (I bought the 6TB and boy does it look fancier than anything I’ve ever had Lol). It is almost 1am where I am so I’m going to go to sleep but I’ll be ready to get this set up when I wake. Thanks again for your help. 

[Brian]

Deleting a Windows Partition and creating a new one is pretty straightforward; it just takes a "Common Sense Approach" and few minutes to complete. No special Utility Software is needed, especially software from the Hard Drive Manufactures; all that is required is built into the Windows Operating System. Personally, the software from the Manufacturer usually just gets in the way and causes more issues. Again, all that you need is built into the Windows OS.

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If you are using an external drive, leave it disconnected for now.

Let's begin!

1. Right-Click on the Start Button and select Disk Management:
   
   
    
2. This will bring up the main Disk Management Utility Window. Make note of which hard drives are currently mounted:
   
   
    
3. Now insert the EHD into your USB port and allow it to mount/spin up. It should appear in the list. In this example, note "Disk 1" that appeared in the list. This will be the drive that I will modifying; your Disk Number might be different. There is no difference, it's just another number in the list. It could be listed as "Disk 3" or even "Disk 5," THE IMPORTANT THING IS THAT WE CHOOSE THE CORRECT DRIVE!
   
   
    
4. Select the Partition that you would like to Delete. DO NOT WORRY ABOUT THE "EFI SYSTEM PARTITION." Pick the box next to it. The box will go from a plain white background to one that has slashes in it and should be highlighted. This is Windows' way of letting you know which Partition you have chosen:
   
   
    
5. Now Right-Click on that Partition and select Delete Volume. It should go without saying, that you really-really-really want to be sure that this is the correct Partition to delete.
   
   
    
6. A Warning Message will appear asking for permission to delete. If the Partition was created on another type of OS, such as a Mac, this error message will appear differently. This is completely normal, just click "Yes" and wait a few seconds.
   
   Error Warning with a Windows-Created Partition:
   
   
   
   Error Warning with a Macintosh-Created Partition:
   
   
    
7. Now your Disk Management should have your EHD as a large, solid/continuous black line:
   
   
    
8. At this point, if your HD is 2TB or smaller, we can continue with the Wizard to create a new Partition. If your EHD is 3TB or Larger, then we will need to covert the Drive from a MBR Disk to a GPT Disk. This step ONLY affects those with EHDs that are 3TB or larger. GPT is meant to create a single partition that is larger than 3TB since MBR has a 2TB maximum limit. Make sense? To convert it to a GPT Disk, right click on the Disk # in the left column you are modifying and select "Convert to GPT Disk" and follow the prompts. (Click OK, OK, etc., etc.)
   
   Note: I do not have a 3TB Drive hooked up for this document, and am using this next example as a guide. Your 3TB HD will be larger in capacity than my smaller one that I'm using in this tutorial. The important thing is to right-click on the Drive # box that you want to convert to a GPT Disk:
   
   
   
   After Right-Clicking on the Drive # square in the left column, select "Convert to GPT Disk" and follow the prompts.
    

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   --> Please Note!! <--

   IF you see "Convert to MBR Disk," it's already a GPT Disk, proceed to Step #9 to create the partition.

   IF your only option is "Convert to Dynamic Disk..." DO NOT SELECT THAT! It's already a GPT Disk. Proceed to Step #9.
    

   
   
   
   
   Again, this is only for the folks who have 3TB or larger Hard Drives!
    
9. Now for the fun part, creating a new Partition! Right click on the area that has a black stripe and select, "New Simple Volume."
   
   
    
10. The Wizard should appear, click Next: 
    
    
     
11. Specify the Volume Size. For the majority and this example, we will leave it at the default, which is the maximum capacity of the drive. If you are going to create multiple partitions on this Hard Drive at different sizes, I'd use an online calculator tool to create the size you need. For example, if you wanted to create a 6TB partition, you would enter 6,291,456. But to keep things simple for this set of instructions, leave it at the default and click Next. 
    
    
     
12. Assign a Drive Letter. This is the spot that you can assign a drive letter if you choose. For example, if this EHD is one that will contain personal files. we could change the Drive Letter to P:\ for "Personal Drive." Again, this is completely up to you to decide. There is no right or wrong answer. If you'd like all of your EHDs to be the "E Drive" (i.e. E:\ ) then change the default to E by clicking the Down Arrow next to the Drive Letter and selecting E.
    
    
    
    After making your choice, click Next. We will leave it at "D" for this example.
     
13. The next screen is very important. It's the "Format Partition" selections. For today's modern Windows Computers' hard drives that are meant for permanent storage, you want to use NTFS. Some devices like Thumb Drives, you would want to use FAT32. Again, for this example we will leave it at the default of NTFS. The Allocation Size should be left at the default and it is highly recommended that you give your HD a name, to keep things organized. "Data," "Photos," "EHD #2," etc. are all examples. Keep is short and simple.
    
    
    
    Before clicking Next, be sure to click the check-box next to "Perform a quick format!" Otherwise it will take HOURS to format your HD!
    Leave the "Enable file and folder compression" UN-CHECKED.
    
    Click Next.
     
14. A Summary Window should appear with your selections. Confirm them if you'd like and click Finish.
    
    
     
15. The Hard Drive will begin the process and Windows will assign it a letter and name. This process should take less than 30 seconds, but this depends on the speed of your computer and Hard Drive. Some complete this task in as little as 5-7 seconds, others take longer. When completed, the Disk Manger should have the drive in the list, along with the name that you chose for the drive:
    
    
     
16. Exit out of the Disk Manger and either use "This PC" or the "Windows Explorer" to use the new Drive.
    
    
     
17. With any new Hard Drive, now is the time to think of a Directory Structure on how you want to organize your Hard Drive. This is completely up to you, but I would take the time and think of how you are going to store stuff, rather than it become a dumping ground for your files/images. Here is one example:
    
    
    
    You could also keep things very simple, and have folders that are just the year:
    
    
    
    The sky's the limit! So make your Directory Structure a good one!

[Ireland_r]

Brian I just want to be sure I’m doing this correctly. In step 5 I want to select “Healthy (Primary Partition) in the Disc 1 section (which is the new EHD) correct? Not the EFI system partition or the unalocated. You have the primary partition selected so I’m sure that’s it but I’m questioning everything doing here. 🤦🏼‍♀️ I’m sorry to be a bother. 

Edited July 8, 2022 by Ireland_r

[Ireland_r]

Never mind, delete volume isn’t even an option on the other two! 🤦🏼‍♀️ 

[Ireland_r]

Step 8: my only option is to “Convert to Dynamic Disk…”. Is that what I select? 

[Brian]

No! Do not select Dynamic Disk  

Screenshot?

Chances are, it’s already a GPT Disk. Proceed to step 9. 

[Ireland_r]

All it took was reading, common sense and my 17 year old son for me to realize it was already GPT. Everything is done and I’m all set. One more question. Is it okay to just leave this plugged in? 

[Brian]

You can leave the thing plugged in if you don't plan on moving it. If you do decide to remove it from your system or power it off, make sure you eject it first. If Windows complains that it can't, either close out the program or Windows Explorer that still has possession of the drive, OR reboot the computer. I know it's a pain to have to reboot, it's a bigger pain trying to recover a corrupted drive.

Yeah, it was already a GPT Disk. I tweaked my instructions above.

[Ireland_r]

Great! I’ll be sure to take extra precaution from here on out. Thank you so much for all your help. I really appreciate it. 

[Ireland_r]

Sorry to bother you again Brian but I’m not seeing a way to eject the EHD. 🤔 Could you help me? 

[Brian]

 

There are two primary ways that I eject drives:

1. Click the USB icon next to the clock on the Taskbar. Your Drive should appear in the list, right-click and select "Eject."
2. Open the Windows Explorer, the Folder Icon on the Taskbar. Look in the left column for your drive, select it. Then right-click on it and look for "Eject." Be careful, I think it's just above "Format" and we don't want to do that.