I can't access external hard drive

Cpt Throwz

Honorable
Nov 11, 2013
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10,510
Hi,

I can't get access to my external hard drive.

If I go to device manager I see that it needs to be initialized, but when I try to do so I get the message that "the request could not be performed because of an I/O device error".

The hard drive contains all my documents and photos so I really hope there is a solution.

Cpt Throwz
 
You don't have backup copies on another drive? Very unwise. I wish I got paid £1 for every time I've had to say that each week.
I/O Error is most likely to be a failed PCB inside the enclosure, a common fault with external hard drives. The usual fix is to extract the drive from the enclosure and put it into a third-party enclosure.

You might also wish to test the drive. Use Seagate SeaTools for Windows: http://www.seagate.com/gb/en/support/downloads/item/seatools-win-master/