HELP! PLEASE!!! Lacie External Hard Drive not readable by my computer

[punchkane]

Hi... I am freaking out because my Lacie External HD, which I have had for several years has seemed to crap the bed. It is no longer readable by my computer. I get this message and I go to initialize in Disk Utilities. I click on what i think is the disk, as it shows up as "disk3s6". I click repair and I get an error message that says disk utility can't repair this disk...disk, and restore your backed up files.... also i get a pop-up screen that says disk utility stopped repairing "disk3s6". It says I should back up as many files, but I do not know how to do this now, as I can't figure out how to access the files.
I took the HD apart and pulled out the actual drive. I got a USB 3.0 Universal Drive Adaptor and hook that directly to my computer, but that did not work.
I also purchased Disk Warrior and I am having no luck with it. It does not recognize the external hard drive. UGH... Can anyone help me to get access and back up my files? I am new to all this and not the most computer savvy. All my old pictures of my family and kids are on this drive... Stupid me for not backing it up in the first place, but I would really like to recover this hard drive or at least the files on it.
i have attached what comes up on my screen.. not sure if this helps...

THanks.

 

[miles01110]

You could try something like Data Rescue III. I think the preview still lets you see what files would be recovered before you have to pay for the program.

 

[Macman45]

I'm afraid

It sounds like its completely dead. You could pay a third party specialist data recovery company, but believe me, they cost $$$$ if you can't read it any other way it's your only option. I guess it comes down to how much really important stuff you have on the dead drive.

 

[Crikey]

There is only one of my three LaCie drives that hasn't failed. I used to be a fan of LaCie, but I'm not buying their stuff any more.

Forum threads around the Web suggest that their power supplies are prone to failure. If you can borrow a working power supply from someone with a similar drive, that might get you going long enough to get your data back.

But a drive that gets fed dodgy power long enough is a drive that might be toast.

 

[thekev]

I'd try data rescue. If that doesn't work I'd pop open the case and try mounting the bare drive. Disk Warrior cleans up directories. It works best as preventive maintenance to keep the structure of a given volume in good condition, but it's been known to salvage stuff before. I think if you hold down option or something is actually switches from typical repair mode to scavenge. I can't remember if that's the right key as I haven't done this in a long time.

Anyway if it belonged to me I'd do what I'd try to mount the bare drive. Two things die with Lacies. Either the drive dies from heat or the connectors around the bridgeport burn out. Either way they really aren't designed for heavy use.

 

[Fishrrman]

I suggest you check reply #16 in this thread:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1286069/

If the directory is hopelessly corrupted (which prevents the drive from mounting), you may (as a LAST-DITCH resort) be able to get your data back by:

1. Re-initializing the entire drive (yes, you're reading that correctly) and then

2. Using DataRescue3 (or Stellar Phoenix Data Recovery, or Disk Drill) to scavenge the freshly-initialized drive.

Even though a re-initialized drive appears to have "nothing on it", the old data IS STILL THERE, and file-recovery apps ignore the directory, and "go right to the platters" to scavenge and rebuild the data.

IMPORTANT!
Do not, DO NOT choose to "zero" the drive when you re-initialize! This WILL "wipe the drive clean"! You DO NOT want that to happen!

You will need a new "scratch drive" to serve as the "receptacle" for the recovered data. I suggest (see post 16 again) that you consider buying a USB/SATA dock for this purpose, and a bare drive.

Good luck!

 

[teleromeo]

Data rescue is pretty good, I used it several times for customers that had problems with their SD-cards. The only downside is you'll lose the original file names. no need to wipe or format the drive first, just use the thorough scan.