Stop, if the files matter
If the drive holds anything you have not got elsewhere, do not keep plugging it in repeatedly and do not let Windows format it when it offers. Both make recovery harder, and a drive that is failing mechanically gets worse every time it spins up.
If Windows asks whether you want to format the disk, the answer is no. That prompt means the file system is damaged, not that the data is gone.
When it is simply not mounting
Drives sometimes appear in Disk Management without a drive letter, which makes them invisible in File Explorer while being perfectly healthy. Assigning a letter brings everything back.
Front-panel USB ports on desktops are also a regular culprit — they are often underpowered or badly connected internally. Try a port on the back of the machine before assuming the drive has died.
When the drive itself has failed
Clicking, buzzing, or spinning up and down repeatedly means mechanical failure. Power it off. Every additional attempt risks the platters.
USB sticks fail differently — usually the controller rather than the memory. The data is often still there and reachable, but not by plugging it in again.
Things worth trying first, free
Different port, different cable, different computer. That sequence identifies whether the problem is the drive or the machine in about two minutes.
Check Disk Management for a drive with no letter assigned.
Listen. A healthy external drive is nearly silent. Clicking is a reason to stop.
Getting the data off safely
If the drive is the only copy, the safest sequence is: stop using it, do not format, and get it to somebody with the right equipment. Recovery is $400 flat with nothing to pay if we cannot get the files back, and $50 covers collection and return anywhere in the Edmonton area.
Software recovery tools sold online can work on simple deletions, but on a drive with a hardware fault they make things worse by keeping it spinning. The distinction matters and it is not always obvious from the outside.
Once the files are safe, the drive itself is usually not worth repairing. External drives are cheap; the data on them is not.
Answered plainly.
The drive shows up but says it needs formatting.
Do not format it. That message means a damaged file system, and the data is usually still recoverable — but not after a format.
How much is data recovery from an external drive?
$400 flat, and nothing to pay if we cannot get the files back. Pick-up and return is $50 across the Edmonton area.
Can you recover from a USB stick?
Often, yes. Sticks usually fail at the controller rather than the memory, which means the data is intact and needs different equipment to reach.
It works on another computer but not mine.
Then the drive is fine and the fault is your machine — ports, drivers or power settings. That is remote work at $85/hr.
Not quite your problem? Start the troubleshooter and it will narrow it down, or see what everything costs.
Tell us what it’s doing.
Quotes are free, and we point you at the cheapest thing that actually solves it.