Hard Disk Sentinel
Q&A Knowledge Base
My hard disk not detected or displays as 0 bytes. What can I do?
Yes, I'm afraid it is a very common and usual situation, this is exactly what we're fighting against in all possible ways to PREVENT, avoid this.
This happens when the hard disk surface can't be accessible at all - when the adminstrative area of the hard disk drive (and/or any components) damaged and the drive even can't provide the correct system parameters and its capacity seems 0 bytes.
In this case, the disk drive is generally not available for use: it is not possible to read/write any data sectors. The hard disk drive can't be initialised and can't be diagnosed, tested or even repaired or formatted.
Ideally (especially if it is a removable USB hard disk) the disk drive may simply not receive enough power for proper operation. Check cables, connections, power source first as in many cases, these can cause disk problems or even failure.
If you have the opportunity, I'd recommend to check
- connecting the hard disk drive to a different SATA port and power source, maybe check with a different computer
- check with an external, USB enclosure / adapter (or if this is an USB drive, check with a different USB cable/connection) just to verify that with the different operating environment and conditions (different connections, power source, etc.) may help the hard disk to identify itself correctly.
If the drive can't be detected in any cases then I'm afraid this may be caused by a permanent damage of the hard disk, for example caused by overheat condition (see https://www.hdsentinel.com/hard_disk_case_overheat.php for details) or mechanical shock.
On the above link, it is described that during such damage, the hard disk internal firmware may be damaged/broken. The result is that the hard disk can't report its actual model ID, serial number and/or the real capacity (as you can see).
If this happened, I'm afraid no software can help - as no software can make it working again, no software can fix damaged hardware.
Hard Disk Sentinel is designed exactly to prevent such situations: to reveal and fix, stabilize any possible problems long before it can result in a failed hard disk.
The cost of data recovery can be high (if it's possible at all) so it may better to avoid this by constant monitoring and tests available in Hard Disk Sentinel - until it's possible. Do not wait this situation and avoid the catastrophe (the complete data loss) - just like fastening the seat belt before a car accident.
My hard disk not detected or displays as 0 bytes. What can I do?
Yes, I'm afraid it is a very common and usual situation, this is exactly what we're fighting against in all possible ways to PREVENT, avoid this.
This happens when the hard disk surface can't be accessible at all - when the adminstrative area of the hard disk drive (and/or any components) damaged and the drive even can't provide the correct system parameters and its capacity seems 0 bytes.
In this case, the disk drive is generally not available for use: it is not possible to read/write any data sectors. The hard disk drive can't be initialised and can't be diagnosed, tested or even repaired or formatted.
Ideally (especially if it is a removable USB hard disk) the disk drive may simply not receive enough power for proper operation. Check cables, connections, power source first as in many cases, these can cause disk problems or even failure.
If you have the opportunity, I'd recommend to check
- connecting the hard disk drive to a different SATA port and power source, maybe check with a different computer
- check with an external, USB enclosure / adapter (or if this is an USB drive, check with a different USB cable/connection) just to verify that with the different operating environment and conditions (different connections, power source, etc.) may help the hard disk to identify itself correctly.
If the drive can't be detected in any cases then I'm afraid this may be caused by a permanent damage of the hard disk, for example caused by overheat condition (see https://www.hdsentinel.com/hard_disk_case_overheat.php for details) or mechanical shock.
On the above link, it is described that during such damage, the hard disk internal firmware may be damaged/broken. The result is that the hard disk can't report its actual model ID, serial number and/or the real capacity (as you can see).
If this happened, I'm afraid no software can help - as no software can make it working again, no software can fix damaged hardware.
Hard Disk Sentinel is designed exactly to prevent such situations: to reveal and fix, stabilize any possible problems long before it can result in a failed hard disk.
The cost of data recovery can be high (if it's possible at all) so it may better to avoid this by constant monitoring and tests available in Hard Disk Sentinel - until it's possible. Do not wait this situation and avoid the catastrophe (the complete data loss) - just like fastening the seat belt before a car accident.