I need help, guys. My 1 tb Hitashi HDD had a problem and was requesting to be formatted before it could be used. I tried using windows (Win 7) to format it but it was not able to format it. I came across the Hard disk low level format and decided to try formatting the hard disk with it. It ran a check and kept returning SEEK ERROR, but continued with the action of formatting. when it was done, I was asked to creat a partition for the drive and format it. Unfortunately, my PC does not recognise the drive anymore. Is there anyone that can help me with a solution?

Sounds like the drive is bad. Try running hddscan on it and see what the "smart" stats tell us about the drive.

@networks, I can't even find the drive. when it is connected, it only makes an intermittent sound but doesnt come on. I presume I can only run the scan when I can see it.

You don't say whether the drive is internal or external, or whether there is any possibility of mechanical shock / drive being dropped etc. - more info about what happened to the drive, just before Windows started prompting you to format it, would be helpful.

However, since it seems you don't need the data from this disk (you tried to run the "low level format" tool to erase the disk - although that failed), and since it makes a sound (meaning that a simple power-related PCB repair is unlikely), then it's almost certainly going to be cheaper for you to just buy a new disk, than to try to fix that one.

Or was your attempt to erase the disk a mistake, and there really is data on the disk which you need?

@Vulcan: the drive is external and there was a mechanical shock as it almost dropped on the floor while still running. However, it was still working after that until (about 2 hours later) when I tried to restart the drive. I want to know my options between being able to format this one and buying a new one.

And if it is possible to recover the data in this one

Your drive got most probably a mechanical problem. As you dropped it (nearly) its no warranty
case and you should buy a new one and not put your (valuable) data at risk with this drive if
you would somehow be able to get it alive again....

As you would even format the drive I assume there is no importand data on it.
So no data recovery is needed, what would cost you much more than a new drive.

Its your decision.

+++

WOW External Drive who would have known! Try connecting the drive to the actual computer and bypass the external case. What type of Ext case is it anyway ?

@denass16: Thanks for the reply.


That is vital information, and based on your comment of the drive making an "intermittent" sound, this is what I was afraid of. It takes relatively little shock, while a drive is running, to cause internal damage.

You've had advice from other members now, so I'll just briefly summarise my view based on this your new information. IMHO it's likely that you've caused internal damage to the disk by mechanical shock, as falther said. However, depending on your skills and available equipment / interfaces, then the suggestion from networks to direct-connect the drive, would allow you to confirm that it is definitely a drive (and not an enclosure) fault.

Unfortunately you still didn't answer my question about whether the attempt to run a "low level format" (i.e. to erase the disk) was a mistake or not - so any discussion of data recovery seems pointless, since the data cannot be important, if that attempt at erasure was intentional.