RIP my external hard drive :(

So, just like the title says, my external hard drive has officially kicked the bucket. When I plug it into my PC, the little indicator light flickers and it starts making this humming sound—I know, terrible description, but I’m just trying to be descriptive! Anyway, when I go into File Explorer to actually access the drive, nothing happens. My computer recognizes that something is plugged in, but instead of its usual name, it just shows up as "Local Disk F:". The second I try to open it or even right-click, my entire File Explorer window freezes up, and it doesn't unfreeze until I physically unplug the drive. I tried running chkdsk through the Command Prompt, but absolutely nothing happened—literally zero response. I did manage to download Disk Drill and recovered a few files, but honestly, it was a tiny amount compared to what I lost.

I really don't have the energy or the budget to drag this thing to a repair shop right now, so I was wondering if anyone has any ideas on what else I could try on my own? Or do you guys think it's a lost cause?

Sorry if this sounds like a rookie question; I’ve never been much of a tech person, so bear with me.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that it actually took a couple of falls in the past, though it worked fine every time after those. It didn't fall right before it finally gave up on me.

boldbadger0 said:As the title suggests, my external drive just died. When I plug it into my PC, the light flickers and it starts making this humming noise—as if it’s actually working (sorry, bad descriptions, I'm trying my best here). Basically, when I go to File Explorer to open the drive, nothing happens. The computer recognizes it's connected, but it shows up as "Local Disk F:" instead of its actual name. Every time I try to open it or even right-click, the whole window freezes and doesn't unfreeze until I unplug the drive. Running chkdsk through the command prompt does absolutely nothing—literally zero response. I tried using Disk Drill and managed to recover a few files, but it was barely anything.

I don't really feel like lugging this thing to a repair shop right now, so I was wondering if anyone has any ideas for things I could try myself? Or is it a lost cause?

Sorry if this is a dumb question—I'm definitely not tech-savvy, so yeah.

EDIT: Forgot to mention, it did take a couple of falls a while back, though it worked fine after each one. It didn't fall right before it stopped working.

Sorry, friend, but there aren't any good repair shops around here. HDDs aren't meant to be dropped. Say goodbye to the drive and whatever data is on it.

You know, I think I mentally braced myself for this answer, but it still stung a little bit 🙂 Oh well, it is what it is—you just have to move on. Thanks for getting back to me!