My portable WD Elements 8tb hard drive may have suddenly failed. It did a few loud squeals suddenly one day, then came the problems. It is recognized as a device (device mgt) called “local disk” (was “Elements” before) and lettered as F:, but not recognized by disc management as it just spins (in a spin, pause, spin-spin, repeated pattern) and blinks endlessly when clicked on, or during startup/restart (which computer won’t do when drive is in USB port). Tried other computer, same thing. PC says drivers are up to date when checked. I have 6tb of music, personal photos, and business confidential files on the drive and would prefer not to send out. Also reluctant to purchase software to recover if seemingly not able to get to drive. For any experts who have seen this situation before, any suggestions on what this is? and any hope for repair without loss? Thank you!
