How to know if the External Hard Drive is dead? If confirmed dead, how to recover the data?

Question

We have a 5TB Seagate Backup Plus Slim Portable that was bought on November 2018. The person using it asked me to check it because suddenly he couldn't access it from his Computer.

So as the IT guy of the company, I have tried & tested it on multiple devices with different OS.

*Windows 7 Machine:
- Drive is not Recognized in My Computer / Disk Management / Device Manager.
- Tried to connect to another Windows 7 Machine, driver installation pop-up but failed. Drive Still not recognized.
- There is the 'USB Notification Sound' but No Safely remove icon appeared.

*Windows 8 Machine:
- Driver installation pop-up completed with no error. Safely remove icon appears.
- Drive is not recognized in My Computer.
- Drive is recognized in Device Manager, then after 1 minute it disappears along with the safely remove icon.
- Tried to update the driver, windows said the best driver is installed.

*Windows 10 Machine:
- No driver installation pop-up but safely remove icon appears.
- Drive not recognized in My Computer/This PC.
- Drive is recognized in Device Manager, then after 1 minute & 30 seconds it disappears along with the safely remove icon.
- Tried to update the driver, windows said the best driver is installed.

*macOS Mojave 10.14.5 - Drive is also not recognized.

*DSM Synology NAS - Drive is also not recognized.

*Additional Findings:
- The LED lights-up.
- The drive initializes (vibrates/spins) for 8 seconds, then stops.
- Tried to use USB Cable from the same Brand, still same result.
- Not detected on HDD Tools (SeaTools, HD Tune Pro, MiniTool, Recuva, EaseUS).

Additional Questions:

1. Is the drive considered Dead?
2. I don't have a Linux Machine, but I can download and boot in Ubuntu, should I give it a try, or it's just a waste of time?
3. Is there still a chance to recover the data inside it?
4. The drive is still on Warranty, however will Seagate cover the Data Recovery if the drive is for replacement already?

PS. I have already reported the issue to Seagate and a ticket has been created. But still I would like to ask and share my experience to this Community. Hoping someone can help me and everybody else with the same issue could see the fix. I will also update here if ever the Seagate Support provides the Best Solution.

Solution

I'd wait for Seagate to get back to you before doing anything else.

Drive is probably dead, based on your tests. Seagate will likely replace under warranty, but they bear no responsibility for the data on it.
You would have to pay a dedicated recovery company for that if you have no backup.

Your one chance is if it's the enclosure not the drive that is bad… but don't open it up without Seagate's authority or you will likely lose your warranty.

Comments

[Mokubai]

You could probably remove the drive from the enclosure and plug it into a PC directly, but that would void warranty and may also invalidate the support ticket. It does sound a lot like the enclosure is okay, or at least can talk to the computer, so either the drive is dead, is not being supplied power by the enclosure, or has become disconnected internally within the enclosure. Whether anything is recoverable is dependent on whether the drive itself is dead and how it died.

[Andreas]

If it's a mechanic drive then the data should be stored on the disks even if the motors or arms are inoperable. In theory it could be repaired but the cost is probably very high. There are companies specialized in data recovery. But again. Will it be worth it?

[Tim.Towers]

UPDATE: After answering some questions from Seagate, they have confirmed that the Drive is already dead. They gave me four options. (1) They allowed me to use their 'Premium Recovery Software'. But also it didn't detect the drive. (2) They offered their 'Data Recovery Services', a fixed and flat cost of US$700. (3) Data recovery via Third-Party, provided that serial and part number are included on the invoice. (4) Drive will be replaced, but no data recovery...

[Tim.Towers]

... after doing option 1, I then replied their email saying that before we proceed with other options, I would like to open the drive's enclosure and ask them if they can waive the warranty for the purpose of 'Self-Data-Recovery'. Yesterday they replied and they allowed me to do it. So, today I will open and try it directly to a computer and will do other recommendations.