@theo23 Man… It doesn’t look good ngl. There is some hope though, if Disk Management can see it, maybe you can run recovery software or at least create a backup/clone the drive. But it really depends on how stable the drive is… I would try it carefully, but if you notice any suspicious behaviour, stop immediately.

Edit: There is a useful guide on a site, you can check it out, explains everything better and more detailed than I did https://help.7datarecovery.com/recover-failed-hard-drive/ 

@theo23 It’s weird, 4 years - is an older drive, but not THAT old… Was the drive heavily used? Or did something happen to it recently (any physical damage, drop, water etc???) Even if you’re certain that is not the case, I still recommend carefully inspecting the drive just in case. There are not much you can do when it comes to physical damage, and it’s better to send HDD to the lab.

If the data is important, just send it to the lab. There are many things that can go wrong with DIY methods… You also don’t need to rely on your local options. It will take a little bit longer, but you can send the drive pretty much to any recovery lab in the country. As far as I know, Western Digital offers data recovery service, but I’m not sure how good it is.

Hi, @theo23 ! I don't think you're at the point where you have to assume the drive is beyond recovery. Since it still powers on and spins, there's at least a chance that the problem is logical rather than a complete mechanical failure. The next thing I'd check is whether Disk Management can still detect the drive and whether it reports the correct 2 TB capacity. That information usually tells us a lot about what kind of failure we're dealing with. 

A few things I'd recommend:

• Don't format the drive, even if Windows keeps prompting you. That message often appears when the file system is damaged, but the actual data is still there.
• Don't run CHKDSK or other repair tools yet. They can modify the file system, and if the drive is unstable, that may make recovery harder. Recover the data first, repair later.
• Open Disk Management and see how the drive appears. If it shows up with roughly the correct 2 TB capacity (even as RAW or without a drive letter), you still have a reasonable chance of recovering the files with software.

If the drive is visible, I'd start with recovery software that supports disk imaging, such as Disk Drill. It lets you create a copy of the entire disk and perform the recovery from that image instead of the original hardware. This minimizes stress on the failing drive, which can become more unstable with every read attempt, and preserves its current state in case it deteriorates further. Disk Drill also lets you pause and resume imaging if the drive becomes unresponsive and supports scanning the image just like the original disk, so you don't have to keep reconnecting or reading from the failing device.

The recovery process is generally:

1. Create a disk image of the failing drive.
2. Load the disk image into the recovery software.
3. Run a scan.
4. Preview the files to confirm they can be recovered.
5. Recover the selected files to a different healthy drive.

If the drive cannot stay connected long enough to create a disk image, or it starts clicking, disappearing from the system, or reporting the wrong capacity, I'd stop at that point and consider a professional recovery lab instead.

However, there are situations where I'd stop the DIY approach immediately. If the drive starts clicking, grinding, repeatedly disconnecting, disappears from Disk Management, or isn't detected with the correct capacity, you're likely looking at a hardware or firmware issue. In those cases, software won't fix the problem, and every additional power-on attempt can reduce the chances of a successful recovery. A professional recovery lab is the safer option.

Thanks, everyone!

I checked the drive pretty carefully and I don't see any obvious physical damage. It hasn't been dropped or gotten wet, at least not that I know of. It's mostly been sitting on my desk and only got plugged in every now and then to copy photos or old files, so I wouldn't even say it was heavily used.

I haven't opened Disk Management yet, but that's going to be my next step. If it still shows up there, I'll probably try the recovery software route first and create a disk image. If it doesn't work... well, I guess I'll have to start mentally preparing myself for the lab bill.

And thanks for the guide too. I'll read through it before I touch the drive again. I definitely don't want to make things worse.

When you say Windows freezes, does Disk Management eventually detect the drive, or does it never appear there at all? That answer will tell us which path makes the most sense.

@theo23 Here is a great video guide on how to fix the drive that asks to format - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_nGuwBxbos That guide is actually pretty close to what I did a while back with one of my old Seagate drives. Windows kept telling me it needed to be formatted, and I was convinced everything was gone.

Turned out the drive was still being detected in Disk Management, so I ignored the format prompt, recovered the important files first with hard drive recovery software and only fixed the drive afterward (formatted it and ran chkdsk). In my case it was just file system corruption, not a hardware failure.

That said, your situation sounds a bit more concerning since you mentioned Windows freezing when the drive is connected.

Update: Nevermind, guys… I think it’s dead. My PC doesn’t detect it anymore.. Unfortunately, things got worse. After a couple more reconnects, the drive stopped showing up altogether. Now Windows doesn't detect it at all. It still spins up for a few seconds when I plug it in, but that's about it.

Thanks for the advice, though, I really appreciate it. I don't think there's much left for me to try. Based on what everyone said, especially about the drive disappearing completely, it sounds like this has gone beyond something recovery software can handle. That's disappointing, but I'd rather not make things worse by continuing to power it on over and over.

Looks like I'll start looking into a reputable recovery lab after all. The data is important enough that it's probably worth getting a professional opinion before I give up completely.

Quote from Theo23 on July 28, 2026, 10:34 am

Update: Nevermind, guys… I think it’s dead. My PC doesn’t detect it anymore.. Unfortunately, things got worse. After a couple more reconnects, the drive stopped showing up altogether. Now Windows doesn't detect it at all. It still spins up for a few seconds when I plug it in, but that's about it.

Thanks for the advice, though, I really appreciate it. I don't think there's much left for me to try. Based on what everyone said, especially about the drive disappearing completely, it sounds like this has gone beyond something recovery software can handle. That's disappointing, but I'd rather not make things worse by continuing to power it on over and over.

Looks like I'll start looking into a reputable recovery lab after all. The data is important enough that it's probably worth getting a professional opinion before I give up completely.

Welcome, @theo23. That's really unfortunate. We have a guide for drives that aren't detected at all, but based on what you've described, I think you're making the right decision.

Before sending it to a recovery lab, there are only a couple of safe things left to check. Since you've already tried another computer, I'd also try a different USB cable if you have one available, especially if the drive has a detachable cable. Take a quick look at the USB connector on the drive as well and make sure there aren't any bent pins, dust, or debris preventing a proper connection. Occasionally, the problem is as simple as a bad cable or poor contact.

If the drive still doesn't appear in Disk Management after that, I'd avoid any further DIY troubleshooting. At that point, software recovery isn't an option because there's nothing for the software to communicate with. Professional recovery labs have specialized hardware that can diagnose electronic, firmware, and mechanical failures and, when possible, stabilize the drive long enough to extract the data.

Most reputable labs will inspect the drive first and provide a diagnosis and quote before any recovery work begins, so you can decide whether it's worth proceeding (it’s quite expensive, $300- $2,000+ depending on the difficulty). If the photos and backups are important, that's the safest path from here. Hopefully, the issue turns out to be something recoverable. Good luck, and let us know how it goes.

Sorry to hear that, @theo23. Unfortunately, what you described (Windows asking to format the drive, then freezing when it was connected, and finally not detecting it at all) is pretty typical. Most likely, your drive was already developing a hardware problem, for a while.

For anyone else reading this later with similar symptoms, the important thing is when you act. If your drive is still visible in Disk Management, even if it shows up as RAW, has no drive letter, or Windows asks you to format it, that's often the best opportunity to try recovery software before the situation gets worse.

@nikaredko described in detail what you need to do. Personally, I would recommend the same steps. First, create a disk image with Disk Drill or similar tool, then recover files from the image instead of the original drive. If the hardware continues to degrade during the process, you still have a snapshot of the drive to work with. Unfortunately, once the drive disappears completely and the computer can no longer communicate with it, software is no longer able to help, and a professional lab becomes the appropriate next step.

I can actually share a positive experience. I had almost the same warning signs on an old WD drive, except mine was still showing up in Disk Management. People here recommended Disk Drill, so I decided to try it. Creating a disk image was much easier than I expected. recovered my files from the image instead of the original drive, and by the time the drive became even more unstable a couple of days later, everything important had already been saved.

Final update 

I ended up sending the drive to a recovery lab. It definitely wasn't cheap (it was almost $900…), but after it stopped being detected altogether, I didn't want to risk making things even worse.

The diagnosis was a hardware failure. They explained that the drive had been degrading for a while, which is why it first showed the format prompt, then started freezing Windows, and finally disappeared completely. Thankfully, they were able to recover almost all of my data. The family photos were intact, and they also got back nearly all of the backups from my old laptop, which was my biggest concern.

Thanks again to everyone who took the time to reply and explain what was happening. I learned a lot from this experience, even though it was an expensive lesson. I've already replaced the drive and finally set up a proper backup routine, so hopefully I won't find myself in this situation again.