External Hard Drive is not detected by computer

[Koktave1]

I have a Seagate 120 GB external hard drive that connects via USB. I just got it a couple of months ago and it has been working fine. The other day I plug it in and my computer does not detect it. I checked the device manager and nothing was there. I called the company and did troubleshooting and they determined something was defected and I could get a new one under my warranty. I then ask them about data recovery because I have all my pictures on it. They tell me it will cost between $700-$2200 for them to get my data. I was SHOCKED. Does anyone know of something I should try? I tried to connect it to another computer and it didn't work so I know the problem is notthe computer, but the external harddrive. Thanks!

 

[G0AOZ]

You could try something GetDataBack or Easy Recovery Pro. Used them both in circumstances very similar to yours. Neither of them is free, nor can results be guaranteed, but this is probably your best shot...

ROGER - G0AOZ.

 

[RICHINMINN]

Most external USB drives that I've seen use a regular IDE drive inside the case. Take the case apart and remove the hard drive, then hook it up to your PC on an available IDE cable. Be sure that it doesn't conflict with an existing drive on your system. You've normally got four options: as PRIMARY - MASTER,
PRIMARY - SLAVE,
SECONDARY - MASTER,
or SECONDARY - SLAVE.

You can see what drives are installed on which devices via the BIOS, or sometimes at boot time. If the drive is still accessible via the IDE cable, you'll be able to recover your files on it.

Rich (in Minn)