Drive keeps asking to format!!!

Jonah Kamalakar

Jonah Kamalakar

Geek Trainee
Hey guys,
I have a Samsung Story Station 1.5TB External USB hard drive. I have abut 800GB of data stored in it at the moment. I had some booting problems with the hard disk and had posted the question here before
http://www.hardwareforums.com/threa...t-boot-up-frequently-in-xp.27115/#post-155634

and as per the solution given by cube_ I changed my BIOS setting to default and the drive worked fine for about two days....now since yesterday the drive has been making some weird noises when it starts and does not autostart and when I click on the drive in My Computer it says that the dirve needs to be formatted....

Plzz guys help me out I have no intention of losing the data and cuz not even back it up owing to its huge size...

Plzzz helpp!!

Thanks in advance!!!
 
Glad to hear the first trial and error solved the problem! I've also had situations where my external requested a format out of nowhere, and so i recommend users purchase external drives with a power cord as they are more stable. And seeing that yours does have a power cord nulls my suggestion! Lol, but i found that after plugging in the the external to your PC, you need to "safely remove the drive" for it not to cause future issues. If you haven't been disconnecting the drive via the device icon located in your notification (lower left taskbar) already, then do so from now on. For now, i would try and connect the external to a friends PC and see if it works there. If it does, copy everything there, then format the drive, then copy everything back and continue removing the device "properly".
 
hey cube_
I tried connecting the drive to one of my laptops it still did not start it just kept on making some clicking sounds... so i decided to open it.. and to my horror i found many ants inside the drive...so opened the whole drive and cleaned out the ants (one dead ant was stuck to the magnetic reader on the plates)... then i put everything back together but still it did not start.....

The following video I recorded how the drive starts and then shuts down.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81HVh5DBZ6M

I think it may be a problem in the circuit board but i dont know how to replace it.....

Any help will be appreciated!!!
 
Ants!? Now that's a real bug :P. Wonder what error message microsoft will come up with next for this issue.
Is the drive still under warranty? Was there a sticker on one of the screws before you opened the drive? If there was it would've voided your warranty. I suggest you return it and get a replacement because at this point there's nothing you can do but format the drive. You can still try and recover deleted files after you format. However, theres a big chance you won't get all your files back...
 
How can i format it if its not being detected either in windows or linux!!!

can i still get a replacement even if the warranty is voided??
 
If the warranty is voided, then no, unless you can get the drive running some how, I'd say its very unlikely you'll get your files back.

If the files are important to you, i'd recommend contacting your local data recovery experts.
 
Oh, i though it wasn't being detected only on your other laptop. Unfortunately there's no way you can get a replacement if the warranty is voided.
How long have you had the drive for?
 
I have had the drive for two years now.... and i admit i have been pretty careless while removing it...I have a warranty of three years!!!
 
I have been researching for sometime .... and i have seen "FREEZING" the drive as a solution in many palces.. what do u guys think!!!
 
That's pretty cool i never knew you could do that.
If you've have a 3 year warranty, screw everything back and try and return it.
 
I am gonna first try to freeze it and try and if that also doesnt work im gonna return it ...but the warranty card say that if the drive is not repairable they will confisticate the drive and the data within...and provide me with a new one if the warranty is not voided.. so looks like im gonna lode the drive and the data wihtin without a new one if i return it....

But still wish me luck!!!
 
Tried freezing it ..... didnt work..... although it didnt switch off immediately after starting it.... it kept on running with the drive head just clicking away....

Then after observing it for sometime I saw that the first drive head (there are three plates so 3 heads) was broken and the magnetic reader was slightly hanging out...

Does any know where I can get a replacement drive head...maybe a spare parts website....I learnt how to replace it but cant find a spare parts website (dont know whether they sell spare parts of hard drives...)

Plzz if anybdy have some info .... plzz help out!!!
 
I've searched youtube on how to do this and i wasn't sure if i found what you're looking for. It seems that opening a hard drive and replacing parts is very risky and can lead to greater damage. I've never attempted such a procedure and wouldn't be of much guidance to you.
Have you called Samsung to verify your warranty?
 
Jonah Kamalakar said:
Tried freezing it ..... didnt work..... although it didnt switch off immediately after starting it.... it kept on running with the drive head just clicking away....

Then after observing it for sometime I saw that the first drive head (there are three plates so 3 heads) was broken and the magnetic reader was slightly hanging out...

Does any know where I can get a replacement drive head...maybe a spare parts website....I learnt how to replace it but cant find a spare parts website (dont know whether they sell spare parts of hard drives...)

Plzz if anybdy have some info .... plzz help out!!!
Click to expand...

Are you referring to the platters that are typically in the hard drive?
I heard that the second they get exposed to air they are no longer good.
Also by opening up the external you voided the warranty, but alongside by returning it for a replacement you lose your info.
Freezing the drive works rarely. It has something to do with expanding and contracting of the metals at high/low temps where you will have a short time window to access the drive before the metals expand and render the issue again.
Most of the time though, the hard drive mechanics get messed up, out of alignment, stuck, etc.
I hope you didn't take apart the "actual" hard drive...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top