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Laura SheldonFlag for United States of America

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External hard drive blown up

I have two 500 gb external hard drives connected to my home PC where I keep backup, movies, music, etc and while my computer was on a couple of days ago, there was an electrical surge in my neighborhood that caused the PC to go down (along with everything connected to it). The computer and every other piece of hardware came back up except for my Maxtor One Touch. Windows 7 attempts to install the drivers for it and comes up with "could not find drivers" or something like that even though it worked fine the day before (assuming the drivers ARE still on the PC). Is this fixable and if not, is there any way to get the files off of it?
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How can I tell if it's a single drive unit?
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Paul MacDonald
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OK. I'll try this as soon as I can! Thanks!
You should be able to tell just by the width, but the best way to tell would be to open it up.  Some are easy to disassemble, while others are very difficult.  If it's difficult to get apart (for example, if the screws are hidden under labels), then don't open it unless you are willing to void the warranty.  Even then, don't open it if you aren't comfortable working with hardware.  As paulmacd says, you could take it to Best Buy or such to do that part (again, assuming that you are willing to void the warranty by opening it).
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Thanks for the info!
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Noxcho, please read the other comments before replying.  You should only reply with a suggestion if it is a new one, not repeating what others have suggested.  
Noxcho, please read the other comments before replying.  You should only reply with a suggestion if it is a new one, not repeating what others have suggested.  

Never knew that expressing your professional opinion here is limited to one voice.
Actually decisions are taken here by asker based on the number of similar opinions and normally the post which first mentioned the solution is admitted as answer.
If you fear that points could go to someone else than you (points for taking drive out of enclosure), be quiet - we will drag attention of moderator and assign them to you ;)
Expressing an opinion is fine, but it is generally against the etiquette of this site to simply repeat others' answers as if they were your own idea.  To say, "I agree with XYZ" is ok when there are multiple options presented and the questioner is trying to decide between conflicting answers is fine.  
From the FAQ:  

Read previous posts before commenting: It is important to read the entire thread so that you know the current situation. That will keep you from posting a duplicate answer or one that has already been shown not to work. If you basically agree with another comment but have something more to add, remember to give credit for the original suggestion -- mention that Expert by name -- in your post.
I agree with noxcho that it's likely the logic board in the USB enclosure was burnt out and the drive itself is very likely fine.   You'll find that out for sure if you follow our suggestions above r.e. connecting the drive independently.
Really? Arguing?
I've requested that this question be closed as follows:

Accepted answer: 0 points for lmlsRPhouse's comment http:/Q_27419301.html#37046194

for the following reason:

:-(
:-(
Sorry for distracting from the discussion.  In any case, my original suggestion, which was supported by gary and noxcho is still the best course of action.
Thanks.
Since y'all coulnd't get along, I'm splitting the difference. The solution (connecting w/a SATA cable), however, worked perfectly and I do thank you all for that.