external hard drive - I/O device error

stiffyboy · 7 Sep 2009 at 21:48

hi guys,

i've had this external hard drive for a few months now, but lately it has started to behave in a weird way.

when i plug it into my computer or laptop it freezes windows explorer for a good few minutes before i can browse its contents.

while i can browse through the hard drive, i can't transfer anything to or from it because when i do it either freezes up or goes really slowly and then comes up with an error message with something about "I/O Device error" .

Does anyone have any light on this issue?

Any insight is much appreciated!

Thanks.

Undesirable · 7 Sep 2009 at 23:33

Check USB cable and try testing a different one if possible. If that doesn't work, back up all the data and get a replacement ASAP.

stiffyboy · 8 Sep 2009 at 09:51

hey thanks for the reply.

i managed to try a different cable but same problems happen.

and i can't back up the data because it freezes whenever i transfer stuff in or out.

it's looking gloomy.

i'll try and get a screenshot or details of the error message if it ever lets me get that far.

hope someone can help.

thanks.

stiffyboy · 8 Sep 2009 at 10:14

the hard drive isn't even getting acknowledged now.

when i click my computer, it's just frozen.

it was freezin for over 10-20 minutes and as soon as i cut the power to the hard drive everything unfroze...

*edit*

it now registers the hard drive as a CD drive now ...

Undesirable · 8 Sep 2009 at 17:29

If you look in Windows log you will most likely find that your drive has lots of bad sectors. If you dropped the drive while it was in operation, it can cause unrepairable mechanical damage. I have heard of software that claims to fix bad sectors such as HDD Regenerator and Spinrite, but I wouldn't trust them as far as I can throw an industrial-sized electromagnet, and they are fairly expensive shareware software.

You have a few options then:

1. Use dodgy software in the remote hope of a miracle fix.
2. Send the drive to a ridiculously expensive data recovery specialist company.
3. Buy 2 new drives and start afresh. Keep 1 drive solely for backups and switch off when not in use. Kick yourself for not making backups previously.

There is also a leeroy option: Low-level format your current drive and risk using it again.