Force-ejected HDD not recognized

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I'll keep this short and sweet. I have a 2TB WD Elements Drive which is no longer working after a month or so. I switched back to the Finder approximately 20 minutes after copying a small directory (~500 MB) from the drive. Though the drive registered the appropriate amount of space remaining, it was empty. I tried to eject it, but was warned that it was still in use. I quit all of my applications and then used Terminal to try and unmount it, but still couldn't. Then, a box popped up asking me if I wanted to force eject it. At this point, I figured I might as well, and did. When I plugged it back in, it did not register. I restarted, I tried different USB cables, I tried plugging in power first, and then cord, vice versa. It's not recognized. It doesn't show up in the Finder, it doesn't show up in Disk Utility, and it doesn't even register in System Profiler.

Yes, there's a new one on the way, though I really hate having to pay return shipping. Also, I have a backup, so it's not mission critical. Problem is that my computer barely works right now and if all had gone according to plan, it would be in the middle of an erase and install right now. I can't wait the week it will take the new drive to get here, so does anyone know what's wrong/how to fix it. I can format the drive if necessary. Like I said, it's just the backup of a backup at the moment and though it'll take all night to copy the files to it again, that's better than the alternative.
 

chscag

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I don't know how you could format it if it's not being "seen" by the system. It sounds like either failed electronics or firmware on the WD. Modern large hard drives have their firmware embedded on the disk in hidden non accessible sectors. The controller and all electronics are on the hard drive's circuit board.

If you're in a hurry to get your system back up, you'll probably have to take a trip to your local Best Buy or whatever and buy another drive. I know that's not a very good solution and means spending more money, but might be your only choice.
 

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