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External hard drive not working anymore

LexiePetra Posted messages 3 Status Member -  
Sern1ne Posted messages 3 Status Member -

Hello everyone

I have a problem: my hard drive is not working. When I plug it into the computer, it appears on the DESKTOP with this message: "MAC OS is unable to repair the disk 'diskname'. You can still open or copy files on the disk, but it is impossible to save changes made to the file on the disk. Please back up the disk and reformat it as soon as possible."

Then, I click on it, and I can see my folders and subfolders. However, all of my Word or PDF folders are no longer there. When I try to copy the folders from my external hard drive to my computer, the following message appears: "Finder can't complete the operation because some data on 'diskname' can't be read or written. (error code -36). The folders are on the desktop but grayed out with a small arrow next to the folder name, and when I click on them, it says, 'You can keep a recoverable copy and reconnect 'diskname' to finish the copy, or stop the operation and keep a partial copy.'

I tried typing "dot_clean" in the Terminal and dragging the disk: without success.

I tried changing the Sharing and Permissions settings in "Get Info" on the disk: without success. Yet it clearly states "read and write" next to my administrator account. It shows me "unable to perform the operation because you do not have the required permissions." However, I am indeed the administrator. It is only marked "read only."

Finally, I went to Disk Utility, clicked on "First Aid," and the result was: the First Aid process failed.

My computer is up to date. I had never had a problem with my external disk until today, when, while I was editing a Word file, it stopped responding, and I had to force shutdown my computer because nothing was responding.

This is really bothering me because I especially cannot copy my folders and empty the hard drive to move them elsewhere.

Thank you in advance for your help.

4 answers

  1.
    Aliboron Martin Posted messages 3661 Registration date   Status Contributor Last intervention   992
     

    At first glance, your external drive is dead or at least on its way to being so... I think your only chance of recovering anything, given your various attempts, is to do it with an appropriate utility, like PhotoRec (free, but with a "rough" user interface), iBoysoft, and others.

    After that, it will be time to see if it is still possible to format this drive for reuse... ;)

    Hello to you!
    Bernard

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    1. Cousin-Kevin
       

      Huuummm, will these programs be able to open if the PC reboots without being able to access the HDD?

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  2. Cousin-Kevin
     

    OK, thanks for the info. I'll take a look.

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  3. LexiePetra Posted messages 3 Status Member
     

    But the problem is that even when I try to recover my files, it doesn't work, so can Photorec, etc. really help me with something? I don't care about the disk itself, it's what's inside that matters, and already I can't copy/paste my files onto my computer...

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    1. Aliboron Martin Posted messages 3661 Registration date   Status Contributor Last intervention   992
       

      PhotoRec is free, iBoysoft offers a free scan of what it finds. It's up to you to make some attempts and see what you get. Let's say that, overall, these software programs "see" data better (because they operate differently) on disks that the system can no longer manage. That’s exactly what they are for. If they only allowed recovery on disks where you can copy the data yourself... they wouldn't be very useful. ;-)

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      1. LexiePetra Posted messages 3 Status Member > Aliboron Martin Posted messages 3661 Registration date   Status Contributor Last intervention  
         

        yes, okay, I understand better. Only Photorec is free? And Iboysoft analyzes what it finds for free, but then it's paid? Sorry, I don't know anything about this at all...

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      2. Aliboron Martin Posted messages 3661 Registration date   Status Contributor Last intervention   992 > LexiePetra Posted messages 3 Status Member
         

        That's right. Just take a look at the pages I linked to for more information. In the case of paid tools, you'll see if your data is worth the asking price... ;-)

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  4. Sern1ne Posted messages 3 Status Member
     

    You can use Disk Drill.
    It should normally allow you to recover a maximum of lost data. Just let it run to perform a complete check of the disk and you will find your files of all types. In addition to recovering the raw files, it can also restore them to their original directories.

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