My Book Essentials 2TB - no longer recognized

[zamru713]

I purchased a WD My book 2TB external hard drive several months ago, and it is no longer recognized by either my usual computer (running Linux Mint 12), nor by a Windows PC. Although both computers the computer makes a sound that signifies that the computer recognizes that something has been plugged in, but the hard drive then never mounts, and I can't access the files on the HDD in a file explorer. the blue light on the front comes on, but the hard drive makes a clicking sound rhythmically. Please help - I have just switched OSes, and this hard drive has all my data backed up on it.

[Awopero]

Ok, in the Windows computer

- Do you see the drive under disk management?

- How about device manager?

- What's the drive file system?

[dsexton321]

I have been having similar problems. It shows up in Disk Management and Device Manager but it still won't pop up and let me view my files.

[Wizer]

If it says unallocated as you stated on your original post you should look for data recovery software

Reformatting the drive will make the drive work but it will erase the data

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dsexton321 wrote:

I have been having similar problems. It shows up in Disk Management and Device Manager but it still won't pop up and let me view my files.

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[HDDRS]

Do not run recovery software on clicking drive. if usually ends badly:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um_ftVnS4i8

clicking sound is the sign of failed heads, I would not recommend running any software if the data is more important the the cost of recovery process. Using software can in some cases give you partial access to data, but it is not safe to use without specialized equipment that can enable/disable heads, set time delays, and control heads performance. I would consult with data recovery firm before its too late.