# Maxtor external hard drive problems



## Dragonrain (Jul 7, 2004)

Ahh I'm so mad! Please bear with me through all this because I really need help!

I'm working on my undergrad research project which involves taping birds with my digital camcorder. I've been working on it for like a month, and have been saving the videos in folders on my desktop. Earlier today, I took all the videos from the desktop and cut pasted them onto a new Maxtor 230 (I think it's 230, could be off) external harddrive - so everything was moved from the desktop to the external harddrive in order to free up space on the computer.

A few hours later, I had another set of videos, so I plugged the camra and the harddrive both in and was transfering the video from the camra directly to the harddrive. My sister and her baby went on the computer while I was waiting for the video to finish transfering, and I clearly told her not to let the baby touch the wires or the harddrive. Well next thing you know, my sister is telling me that the baby not only touched it, she pulled the USB cord thing out of the back of it, then my sister plugged it back it. Now I'm not sure if the video was still transfering at this time or if it was finished.

So I wanted to make sure everything was ok and see if the video went on the hard drive ok - but long story short, the external harddrive isn't working anymore. It still lights up when I plug it in - I checked all the connections and everything, plugged it into all the diffrent USB ports, plugged it into my laptop - no luck. It use to show up under my computer so I could just click on the drive and see whats on it, it doesn't do that anymore. Once when I plugged it in to the desktop it said 'found new hardware' but I didn't know what to do so I just restarted, and ever since then it doesn't do anything at all when I plug it into the desktop. When I plug it in my laptop, you hear the noise that my computer makes when you plug something in, but nothing else, no 'found new hardware' and it doesn't show up under my computer.

I'm going crazy here! If I can't figure out a way to get those videos back I have to completly start my project all over again, I'll have waisted an entire month, and pretty much my whole summer will be ruined. 

Is there anything I can do to either recover the video from the desktop it was originally on (but I cut pasted it off of) or does anyone have any ideas I can try with this harddrive thingey? I'd reallly really reallllllllllllllllllllllllllly appreciate any help!

Thanks.


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## Dragonrain (Jul 7, 2004)

Oh wait - ok so I just plugged it into my laptop again, it said "found new hardware" but then it said something but only for a second - it said something about the device malfunctioning or not being recognized.

EDIT TO ADD - Ok so I somehow opened this thing that shows all my USB ports and what's plugged into them...In the one I have the harddrive plugged into it says "USB Mass Storage Device" , then when I click on it knows its Maxtor 3200, but it says "This device cannot start (Code 10)"


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## Elvandil (Aug 1, 2003)

Right-click Computer > Manage > Disk Management.

Do you see the drive there when plugged in?


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## Dragonrain (Jul 7, 2004)

No - I only see C:


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## Elvandil (Aug 1, 2003)

If it's a normal drive, you may be able to remove it from the case and install it as a secondary in order to try to retieve your data. If it's a 3.5, you will need an adapter. Hopefully, it is the case electronics that have been damaged and not the drive itself.


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## Dragonrain (Jul 7, 2004)

Is there a good chance that's the case or no? Because I honestly have no idea how to do any of that. 

Are there any programs I can use to try to recover the videos from the desktop so I don't have to go through the trouble of dealing with taking the harddrive apart?


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## Elvandil (Aug 1, 2003)

I'm out of ideas on this if the drive is not seen from the Disk Management. It appears that it can't be accessed from Windows. Recovery software will only work if the drive is accessible in some way from the desktop.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

Did you try the drive on another computer? That will narrow it down to a drive or computer issue.


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## Dragonrain (Jul 7, 2004)

I don't mean recovery software to get the videos off the external harddrive, I mean to get them off my desktop where I originally had them stored.

I had them all saved on the desktop of my computer in folders before I moved them to the external harddrive - but I cut and pasted them off the desktop and onto the external harddrive yesterday before all this happened.

So I'm wondering if I can somehow recover them from the desktop computer? Either by using some kind of program or by setting my computer back to a few days ago or something? I dunno - if not I guess I'll just start over tomorrow.


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## Dragonrain (Jul 7, 2004)

Yeah I already said - I've tried it on the desktop computer I was originally using it with, as well as my laptop computer - and I am having the same problem with both computers.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

I think it's time to take the physical drive out and connect it to the desktop secondary IDE channel for some data recovery.


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## Elvandil (Aug 1, 2003)

Dragonrain said:


> I don't mean recovery software to get the videos off the external harddrive, I mean to get them off my desktop where I originally had them stored.
> 
> I had them all saved on the desktop of my computer in folders before I moved them to the external harddrive - but I cut and pasted them off the desktop and onto the external harddrive yesterday before all this happened.
> 
> So I'm wondering if I can somehow recover them from the desktop computer? Either by using some kind of program or by setting my computer back to a few days ago or something? I dunno - if not I guess I'll just start over tomorrow.


Some "deleted" files can be recovered, but I wouldn't count on it.

PCI File Recovery
Tokiwa Data Recovery


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## Dragonrain (Jul 7, 2004)

Ok, so after a heated 'debate' with my sister, I found out that it wasn't only unplugged, but also dropped 



> I think it's time to take the physical drive out and connect it to the desktop secondary IDE channel for some data recovery.


Does anyone have a site or anything that can help walk me through this? I don't even know how to open the external hard drive case - is there anyway to do it other then just breaking it open?

Then when I get it open, do I just install it into the desktop computer as if it's a normal hard drive? I've installed new hard drives before so I might be able to figure it out if that's all I have to do...but I don't know what secondary IDE channel is if that's somthing diffrent.

Do you honestly think I'll be able to get anything off of it even though it was unplugged and droped?


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

If it was dropped, the chances went way down for recovery.


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## Dragonrain (Jul 7, 2004)

Yeah that's what I thought - still does anyone know how I open the case and stuff? I'm still willing to give it a try if there's even a small chance I can get anything off of it.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

I don't think I've ever opened a Maxtor brand external, but the WD and Seagate ones, as well as many generic models, are pretty easy to open.


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## Dragonrain (Jul 7, 2004)

OK - did you have to break the case or? Because I've been trying to open it and it won't just come apart, the only way I can think of opening it is to just break the case somehow.


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## Elvandil (Aug 1, 2003)

No screws, even under rubber feet?


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## Dragonrain (Jul 7, 2004)

Elvandil said:


> No screws, even under rubber feet?


 Nope - there isn't any rubber feet on it, it came with a little plastic stand which I removed and looked under already. It's not held together with any screws I don't think.


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## Elvandil (Aug 1, 2003)

Just a thought. Sometimes they hide them under stickers, too.


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## Dragonrain (Jul 7, 2004)

Elvandil said:


> Just a thought. Sometimes they hide them under stickers, too.


Looked there too


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

Some of the cases have latches where you have to bend the seam a bit and it'll come loose. It's really difficult to say without actually seeing the case. I can say that I've never had one I couldn't open.


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## Elvandil (Aug 1, 2003)

JohnWill said:


> Some of the cases have latches where you have to bend the seam a bit and it'll come loose. It's really difficult to say without actually seeing the case. I can say that I've never had one I couldn't open.


My operational theory is that if they were put together, they can be taken apart. And that people who repair these things know how to open them.

The theory has been sorely tested a few times, but things *can* be opened one way or the other.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

Sometimes a hammer is required.


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## BlueKnightNZ (Jul 2, 2007)

I have just had to open a Maxtor USB HDD and thought I might give you my two cents worth. First of all, the one I am dealing with has a solid case with blue plastic bits at either end.

I undid two screws on one of the plastic ends (one screw was under a sticker, thereby voiding any warranty).

I then managed to lever off the blue plastic piece and after a little light downward shaking (over my lap), the insides slid out easily (onto my lap).

I hope that helps you!


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## Seismo (Jul 12, 2007)

Dragonrain is right. I have the same drive - Maxtor 3200 and there are no external screws or tabs or anything. It must be just snapped together (doesn't appeared to be glued) at the factory with no way to unsnap it without destroying the housing.
I've posted to a couple other forums trying to find out if anyone knows how to dismantle this drive...but no luck so far.
This is the drive:


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## Wolfcastle (Aug 6, 2007)

Hey, just thought I'd add a little something to this thread.

I managed to get the case open on my Maxtor 3200. On each side of the case there are six very thin slits. Inside these slits, you'll see some rectagular metal objects (Four on each side).
These are catches that need to be moved to either end of the case. I pushed a letter opener into these slits, and used it to move the metal catches sideways. The case should come apart easily then.

These catches are metal, so it would be extremely hard to force the case open with the old screwdriver.

Once I got it open, I wanted to find the correct side up for the harddrive. (I have a slight obsessive compulsive thing about harddrives not being upside down.)

Guess what I found inside...

http://img180.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=03232_maxtor3200ext_122_251lo.jpg

Yes, that is a Seagate Barracuda 320GB in a Maxtor external box. Just thought I'd share it.


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## Seismo (Jul 12, 2007)

That's awesome! And a 7200.10 Seagate at that.
Mine's a couple years old and is only 100GB so I'm sure it's not 7200.10 and is probably an actual Maxtor drive (I can't remember when Seagate bought Maxtor).
I'll give it a shot, though.
Thanks for the info.


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## Wolfcastle (Aug 6, 2007)

Ah I didn't realise that Seagate bought out Maxtor.  
Probably a good thing in the end, Maxtor drives were always noisy in my experience. But I'm very pleased with that find though. I've always had less trouble with Seagate and WD than Maxtor.

The drive inside the box seems to be an unmodified ATA(IDE) drive. I carefully replaced it with an old drive I had lying around (maxtor  ). After setting the drive to master and plugging in the USB cable, I turned on the power and it worked. Windows picked it up and I could access the data. So it seems to be a nice little ATA(IDE) to USB converter.


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## Elvandil (Aug 1, 2003)

Yes, those housings are pretty universal. I even use one as an external CD burner and it works fine, even though a hard drive came in it.


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## J STAR (Aug 8, 2007)

I Tried To Connect My Maxtor External Hardrive To My Mac And It Woldnt Pop Up. I Tried It On My Friends Pc And It Would Pop Up Ither. Can Somebody Please Help Me. Thanks In Advance.


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## win2kpro (Jul 19, 2005)

I've got two old Maxtor externals vintage 2002 and there is a plastic band on each side that pops loose and let's you separate the case.

On mine at the back of the case the bands have a very small notch where you can insert a small screw driver and pry up on it, and that end has to be loosened first to remove the band.


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## David_Wazza (Sep 22, 2007)

Did you get yours working - you never said! I have the same issue I think, and any lessons learned would be most valuable. I am at the stage where I have connected my hard disk to my home computer, but no luck so far. My thread is at

http://forums.techguy.org/hardware/627414-maxtor-external-hard-drive-taken.html#post5138649

Thanks mate, David.


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## Dragonrain (Jul 7, 2004)

Hey!

No, I never got mine working again, unfortuantly. I ended up having to get a new one and completly redo more then a months worth of research. :down: 

Good luck with yours though!


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## David_Wazza (Sep 22, 2007)

Oh crap, what a bugger - sounds like your problem was so similar to mine!!! At least you could replace yours though, I have my last 10 years of photos and videos, which are irreplaceable, so I am tempted to pay a bit to get mine back. Such a costly lesson to learn; not to backup one's data!

OK Thanks for that.


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## Majinalchemy (May 27, 2007)

First off, we start with your bad decisions,
- Always Copy, Paste, then Delete.
- Always Safely Remove Hardware.
...

Try plugging it in, and holding the power button on the external hard drive, I remember hearing something about this earlier.

Then, look for some kind of reset button, press/hold it.

If all else fails, your hard drive may have taken a capaci-crap. Therefore, one of your capacitors couldn't take the pressure and, popped, sadly.

--- I don't know, there are programs, for "undeleting" files. It could relocate to your drive? I don't know. call the company that made it...


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## tommoss87 (Nov 13, 2007)

You can try to access your external hard drive in Linux, Knoppix, etc. to see if it is recognized there.

If it's a true problem with the drive itself, then it will not show up there either and you will need to contact a data recovery company to retrieve the data. If you need a recommendation, I would pick ReWave Hard Drive Recovery. They have a free evaluation and upfront price (which is better than most companies I've talked to).


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