Member Avatar for ozi-dv8

dropped my external harddrive yetserday...
plugged it back in and it worked fine, about 3 hours later it started clicking <click click click ect..>
so turn off computer.. still clicking.... i had to pull it out the main power to get it to stop...
now... this morning i booted up my comp and it wasn't reading the external harddrive, went to device manager.. noluck there..
and it still clicks when the power is connected...

So... i plug it into my comp turning it into a internal hardrive and it still reads nothing and it still clicks

i have tried everything i can think of, has anyone got any ideas of how to fix it, or at least get the data of it?

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by Phaelax

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Practical next steps and safe recovery options, based on the posts here and common drive-failure practice.

First priorities: stop repeated power cycles and note what happened just before failure. unplugged the drive to stop the noise; that was the right move to avoid further wear. If the enclosure has an external power brick, try swapping only the cable/adapter with a known-good unit before doing anything else — a bad adapter or enclosure controller can mimic drive failure.

If the drive is to be worked on at home, do it in this order: remove the drive from its enclosure and inspect the PCB for burnt components or loose connectors; try a different USB port or a direct SATA connection on a desktop with a known-good cable and power; if the drive spins and the OS sees the device (but files are unreadable), image it immediately to a larger drive or file using a tool that tolerates read errors (see example below). If the drive does not spin or makes strong mechanical noises, stop and consider a professional — further DIY attempts can make a mechanical problem worse.

Imaging workflow (Linux, open-source tools): install GNU ddrescue and do a conservative first pass, then retry bad sectors. Example commands:

sudo apt-get install gddrescue
sudo ddrescue -f -n /dev/sdX /media/large-disk/image.img /media/large-disk/image.log
sudo ddrescue -d -r3 /dev/sdX /media/large-disk/image.img /media/large-disk/image.log

After a successful image, run file-recovery tools (testdisk, photorec) against the image rather than the original.

Cautions and when to pay professionals: do not open the drive outside a clean room; avoid “freezer” tricks unless data is non-critical and you accept the risk; professional recovery labs typically require an evaluation and can be costly — ask for an upfront estimate, a no-data/no-charge policy, and a written scope. For background on the common symptom known as the “click of death” and on imaging tools, see Click of death and GNU ddrescue.

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Member Avatar for katnip236

Sorry ozi, this isn't going to help you - I'm having almost the same problem, or at least the same sound (I think). All was well until I rebooted. The computer shutdown just fine, but wouldn't come back on. Instead it goes straight to that high-paced wonderous clicking sound along with the power button light blinking amber really really fast. The fan's not on and I don't think the hard drive is either. Nothing comes on the screen, no beeps, nothing. I can stop the blinking by holding down the power button or just unplugging the power supply. I've never heard a computer "click" before, so I have no idea what to do.

Member Avatar for jbennet

Its dead. Data recovery experts might be able to help recover some of it but it will be many hundreds of dollars

Member Avatar for katnip236

ok, so I'm all set i guess. I didn't really solve the problem, just did a quick fix. To me it seems like the power supply died, so I swapped hard drives with another working computer just so that I could use the computer now to do work. No data loss tho.

Member Avatar for Phaelax

Sounds like the heads in the drive are whacked out. There really is no way to fix it, back up your data now while you still can.

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