the drive is recognised by Windows 7 and XP both in explorer and in diskmannager, asigned a drive letter but does not open. When trying to do so Windows prompts me to format the drive and then fails to do so.
I have been trying to format in order to use a data recovery program like asoftech's free version but with no luck.
I don't believe physical damage is the cause as the drive has not been dropped and it powers up and spins without a sound.
any suggestions to recover the data and possibly the drive?