I cant get access to my maxtor 500GIG external hard drive, It keeps telling me either I/O error or file or directory is missing. I disconnected the drive and tried it on my housemates computer and it access's the drive and lists all the files, as soon as i plug it into my computer it has a hissy fit. I downloaded some software that allowed me to get access through a dos window and it showed that all the files are still on the drive but it won't let me get to them. the drive was working fine on my xp pro system until last week when i switched everything off, went to bed, got up next day and the thing just laughed at me. I have tried maxtor help but they are a bunch of idiots and offer nothing to help, I have found that a few people have had the same problem wioth these drives, is there anything i can do?

Hi.

It sounds like the disk has developed bad sectors. This should be a fairly straight forward recovery for a pro. If the data is important please do not try to access the disk any more as you could cause even more damage such as more bad sectors, firmware corruption and even head damage. This will inflate the recovery costs. You will need a specialist company to deal with this problem.

If you would like us to take a look at it please feel free to pm me, I can give you special HDD Guru discount

www.datatrack-labs.co.uk

I agree this does not really sound like a drive problem but a computer problem. Sometimes updates or virus can cause this type of problem. You might want to try a restore on the computer and then plug the drive back in. I would not start the computer with the drive attach. Attach it after start up. If it is working on a friends computer and not yours that is an indication there is not drive damage just usb or external box problems. Some of the new updates cause problems and this might be one of them. Spildit has a great idea to take it out of the enclosure and attach it via IDE or SATA cable to your working computer. This should correct your problem. I would not try and do too many updates from Maxtor in the firmware department this could only cause damage to your drive. Try and get your data off the drive. If you prefer the external box try another one and see if you can access your drive from there.

_________________
Iorana Haraharaini