clicking hard drive.... - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

boink · 03-10-2010, 05:33 PM

hey all...so a while back I transferred all my old junk onto a USB hard drive, it was a used hard drive I bought and stick into an external enclosure. well it's making a -click click- werrr -click click- werrr kinda sound when I plug it in to power and connecting a USB cord I get no prompt to copy files etc.

I haven't done anything yet, but I wonder what my chances are that the drive is messed up or maybe the enclosure ?

anyone know a good place to take it in Seattle for a fix...I can drop it at RE-PC on my way home from work or take it to geek squad this weekend. but no idea who else.

anyone ever try to do their own wrenching inside a hard drive ? I've read about modding a HDD case, for a plexiglas window, by using shower steam to remove all dust in the bathroom and doing the work in there.

thanks !

Martian · 03-10-2010, 06:04 PM

The drive is dying. It happens.

This isn't fixable. If there's anything important on there, get it off ASAP.

As an aside, Geek Squad is craptastic. I've heard a lot about them, none of it good. Some of it very, very bad.

boink · 03-10-2010, 06:15 PM

heh....well just hoping I can get my comp to recognise it at all. no luck yet. I still have some of the data on my old comp. but I had added maybe 8 months of stuff...random music and pics. difficult to say just how much stuff I'd loose.
it'd be tough to replace the music and pics from random web sources, but I'd guess I still have 75% of it on my old comp.

RE PC saved it from my old comp once so they can do it again. time for me to buy anther TB external anyway.

thanks

Canine · 03-10-2010, 06:21 PM

The clicking means that your disk read heads are going bad. If you can still access the drive at all, get everything off of it immediately. If its very important, the drive can be repaired professionally, but that can cost USD 1000+, so it might not be worth it for you.

As a last ditch effort, you can put the drive in your freezer overnight and, depending on how bad it is, it might (not guaranteed) start working long enough to retrieve your data. This has a high possibility of permanently (irrecoverably) damaging your drive after its warmed up (half an hour at most), so only do this if you have no other option.

boink · 03-10-2010, 08:57 PM

ok...ehh I'd miss some of the pics alot. I wish I could remember what all music I've collected since I got the new comp. I can't justify a grand over it.

I'll see what RE-PC can do with it and then I guess it'll be the freezer. must it be frozen or just real cold ?

---------- Post added at 08:57 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:01 PM ----------

just found this so I feel hopefull.
Freeze your hard drive to recover data: Myth or reality? - [Geeks are Sexy] technology news

Vigilante · 03-10-2010, 09:33 PM

Frozen is a misnomer as metal and most other parts in that drive aren't going to freeze. Just let it sit overnight then give it a whirl.

The purpose of freezing is that it is supposed to decrease the warping/stretching effects of repeated thermal expansion/contraction on the platters over time. There is very limited success with recovery from freezing.

If the data is extremely important, you can have the drive recovered professionally. I have had very good luck with Gillware. It will cost you, of course. Most recoveries I have sent off have been around 700 dollars. If that's not your goal, then try the freeze and don't sweat it of the drive doesn't work.

BACKUPS PEOPLE, Always have 2 copies of anything you wish to see tomorrow

(I have at least 3 at any given moment)

Redlemon · 03-11-2010, 06:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vigilante

BACKUPS PEOPLE, Always have 2 copies of anything you wish to see tomorrow

(I have at least 3 at any given moment)

And, if all 3 backups are in the same house, you aren't really backed up. Get one offsite.

Vigilante · 03-11-2010, 06:44 AM

Well, this is just for home use

For business (and when I call the shots), my backups schemes will always have offsite.

Lasereth · 03-11-2010, 07:21 AM

Download PCLinuxOS live CD and boot to that. I've had clicking hard drives read on a live Linux CD and not Windows. You could then copy the data to another USB drive.

Vigilante · 03-11-2010, 09:22 AM

You know, the datacenter I work with does that sometimes. I haven't tried that yet but hey, whatever works.

boink · 03-11-2010, 05:29 PM

tomorrow night I'll stick the drive in the fridge overnight. I'll buy a bag if ice and bury the drive in ice and plug it in. hopefully it'll work long enough to save the stuff I need.
it's either a 60 or 80 gig drive and I have a ton of space on my comp for it. if it works I'll get another TB drive for back ups. maybe I ought to get one of those mirror drives with two duplicate drives inside.

what sucks is I just moved all my music to the damaged drive cause my other USB drive was full, just a day or two before. =P
but then there's my old school portfolio work too...>_<

would you all go for a diagnosis @ $47.00 or just go for the ice pack solution ?

Martian · 03-11-2010, 08:08 PM

Burying the drive in ice sounds like a recipe for disaster. Make sure it's well-sealed against moisture.

Freezer, not fridge. Work quickly when it comes out.

Mirrored RAID drives are for up time, not back-up.

Craven Morehead · 03-11-2010, 08:36 PM

I wouldn't place it near ice, some will melt before the drive's temperature is reduced below freezing. In the end, ice won't make it any colder than the temperature of the freezer.

boink · 03-11-2010, 09:22 PM

heh, yeah I know but I've read too many positive reports not to believe it can work. I'll have a bucket with a bed of ice in a bag, the drive in a zip lock bag, and a bag of ice on top of the drive.

I can get the drive in the ice bucket and hooked up in 30 seconds or less. I have three or four folders I really want most. the rest can be dug up out of my old NT machine that's packed away and a pain to get to.

Canine says this could work just one time only but several in the link I posted mention a second try, and one guy mentioned a heat gun !?!

---------- Post added at 09:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:41 PM ----------

the ice buckett is for after 24 hrs in the freezer. all ice as well as the drive will be in separate bags.
the only thing that worries me is condensation.

Lasereth · 03-12-2010, 05:21 AM

You're sticking this thing in a freezer instead of trying the Linux CD first?

Shadowex3 · 03-12-2010, 05:24 AM

If you already have the Click of Death condensation is the least of your worries, and you're also not likely to make it any worse. If it concerns you that much though get some desiccant packets like you find in shoeboxes at the store and stick those in with the hdd.

Good luck with this, I suggest in the future getting a nice fast Sata DVD burner.

LordEden · 03-12-2010, 06:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lasereth

You're sticking this thing in a freezer instead of trying the Linux CD first?

Come on lasereth, you should know no one wants to try the easy way first. How long have you been working in IT? Geez.

TheProf · 03-17-2010, 07:13 AM

I wanted to second the idea of using a Linux LiveCD first. While there is some success with putting a clicking drive in the freezer, the issue is everytime you put it into the freezer you're actually ruining the drive further once it has returned to room temperature. So that solution should be a last-ditch effort as it furthers the problem.

Good luck!

boink · 03-17-2010, 06:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LordEden

Come on lasereth, you should know no one wants to try the easy way first. How long have you been working in IT? Geez.

well...nothing happened this weekend due to some bad teriyaki, I got sick as a dog.

as far as the linux live CD goes...heh, I have no clue what your talking about.
I will bring it up to my guy at RE-PC though, he's offered to give me a deal on the charge to recover my stuff.
meanwhile I'll search on the Linux CD here....thanks !

Shadowex3 · 03-17-2010, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheProf

I wanted to second the idea of using a Linux LiveCD first. While there is some success with putting a clicking drive in the freezer, the issue is everytime you put it into the freezer you're actually ruining the drive further once it has returned to room temperature. So that solution should be a last-ditch effort as it furthers the problem.

Good luck!

The problem is that the Click of Death is almost always a hardware problem. Linux can fix a lot of things but a head crash isnt one of them.

boink · 03-17-2010, 10:45 PM

that's kinda what I thought but I'll have a go at it first.

LordEden · 03-18-2010, 04:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shadowex3

The problem is that the Click of Death is almost always a hardware problem. Linux can fix a lot of things but a head crash isnt one of them.

I understand that, I've had the click of death many times at home and at the office. I *always* try to mount it in a linux live boot before I would try freezing it. I've had to send a HD back to one of those recovery centers for a client. He had to shell out $1200 to get his family pictures back.

All I was just saying was, I try the easiest route first then work my way to the drastic measures.

Lasereth · 03-18-2010, 12:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shadowex3

The problem is that the Click of Death is almost always a hardware problem. Linux can fix a lot of things but a head crash isnt one of them.

Well of course the click of death is a hardware problem. But that doesn't mean that Linux will read it and Windows won't. Since I've been at my current job I've recovered 3 clicking hard drives that won't even boot in Windows with Linux. Linux is like I'll read whatever tore up shit you throw at me!!

boink · 03-18-2010, 01:14 PM

I looked it up on wikki and...I dunno. worth a try for shure.

Shadowex3 · 03-19-2010, 08:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lasereth

Well of course the click of death is a hardware problem. But that doesn't mean that Linux will read it and Windows won't. Since I've been at my current job I've recovered 3 clicking hard drives that won't even boot in Windows with Linux. Linux is like I'll read whatever tore up shit you throw at me!!

That's because when you work in a monkeyhouse you're used to having shit thrown at you. The same effect is why IE tends to handle broken HTML better than Firefox.

boink · 03-23-2010, 07:04 PM

well. I took the drive to my man at RE-PC and he had it overnight. today I got it back and it's alive and transferring files now. it started up fine w/o clicks.

he said it must be a bad enclosure/controller. -but he didn't check it. didn't have the power cord. I didn't bring it cause he said he'd have one..

but he backed up my stuff and sold me an IDE/SATA patch cord thing, you all know what I'm talking about. so as I said I'm home copying the files.

plus I got another TB external.

so I guess I'll keep this old 80GB drive on a shelf somewhere and sort out a back up process for myself.

I used to think if I had important files stored off my computer on an external they'd be safe, because my main fear was loss due to windows crashing and the need to reinstall.

this has made me realise that one copy of a file off my comp isn't a back up. minimum 2 copies. nice to lean that without an actual loss of data.

this is the same guy that helped my transfer from my old NT computer. I'd forgotten to tell him it was raided ( I didn't know it would matter that much) and we nearly lost the whole thing cause it had been partly taken apart. we went through hell for this data and he didn't charge me for all the screw ups. but I felt it was partly my fault for not telling him it was raided.

anyway, this help he gave me now was free. aside from the help I get here (and thanks alot for your thoughts on this) I'll be a loyal customer of this guy when I need some hands on work.

03-10-2010, 05:33 PM	#1 (permalink)
boink Addict Location: Seattle	clicking hard drive.... hey all...so a while back I transferred all my old junk onto a USB hard drive, it was a used hard drive I bought and stick into an external enclosure. well it's making a -click click- werrr -click click- werrr kinda sound when I plug it in to power and connecting a USB cord I get no prompt to copy files etc. I haven't done anything yet, but I wonder what my chances are that the drive is messed up or maybe the enclosure ? anyone know a good place to take it in Seattle for a fix...I can drop it at RE-PC on my way home from work or take it to geek squad this weekend. but no idea who else. anyone ever try to do their own wrenching inside a hard drive ? I've read about modding a HDD case, for a plexiglas window, by using shower steam to remove all dust in the bathroom and doing the work in there. thanks !

03-10-2010, 06:04 PM	#2 (permalink)
Martian Young Crumudgeon Location: Canada	The drive is dying. It happens. This isn't fixable. If there's anything important on there, get it off ASAP. As an aside, Geek Squad is craptastic. I've heard a lot about them, none of it good. Some of it very, very bad. __________________ I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said - Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame

03-10-2010, 06:21 PM	#4 (permalink)
Canine Upright Location: Fort Bragg, NC / Kandahar Province, Afghanistan	The clicking means that your disk read heads are going bad. If you can still access the drive at all, get everything off of it immediately. If its very important, the drive can be repaired professionally, but that can cost USD 1000+, so it might not be worth it for you. As a last ditch effort, you can put the drive in your freezer overnight and, depending on how bad it is, it might (not guaranteed) start working long enough to retrieve your data. This has a high possibility of permanently (irrecoverably) damaging your drive after its warmed up (half an hour at most), so only do this if you have no other option. __________________ Awesome sig coming to a post near you! If you say plz because its shorter than please, then I'll say no because its shorter than yes.

03-10-2010, 09:33 PM	#6 (permalink)
Vigilante Broken Arrow Location: US	Frozen is a misnomer as metal and most other parts in that drive aren't going to freeze. Just let it sit overnight then give it a whirl. The purpose of freezing is that it is supposed to decrease the warping/stretching effects of repeated thermal expansion/contraction on the platters over time. There is very limited success with recovery from freezing. If the data is extremely important, you can have the drive recovered professionally. I have had very good luck with Gillware. It will cost you, of course. Most recoveries I have sent off have been around 700 dollars. If that's not your goal, then try the freeze and don't sweat it of the drive doesn't work. BACKUPS PEOPLE, Always have 2 copies of anything you wish to see tomorrow (I have at least 3 at any given moment) __________________ We contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle. -Winston Churchill

03-11-2010, 06:44 AM	#8 (permalink)
Vigilante Broken Arrow Location: US	Well, this is just for home use For business (and when I call the shots), my backups schemes will always have offsite. __________________ We contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle. -Winston Churchill

03-10-2010, 06:15 PM	#3 (permalink)
boink Addict Location: Seattle	heh....well just hoping I can get my comp to recognise it at all. no luck yet. I still have some of the data on my old comp. but I had added maybe 8 months of stuff...random music and pics. difficult to say just how much stuff I'd loose. it'd be tough to replace the music and pics from random web sources, but I'd guess I still have 75% of it on my old comp. RE PC saved it from my old comp once so they can do it again. time for me to buy anther TB external anyway. thanks

03-10-2010, 08:57 PM	#5 (permalink)
boink Addict Location: Seattle	ok...ehh I'd miss some of the pics alot. I wish I could remember what all music I've collected since I got the new comp. I can't justify a grand over it. I'll see what RE-PC can do with it and then I guess it'll be the freezer. must it be frozen or just real cold ? ---------- Post added at 08:57 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:01 PM ---------- just found this so I feel hopefull. Freeze your hard drive to recover data: Myth or reality? - [Geeks are Sexy] technology news

03-11-2010, 07:21 AM	#9 (permalink)
Lasereth Knight of the Old Republic Location: Winston-Salem, NC	Download PCLinuxOS live CD and boot to that. I've had clicking hard drives read on a live Linux CD and not Windows. You could then copy the data to another USB drive. __________________ "A Darwinian attacks his theory, seeking to find flaws. An ID believer defends his theory, seeking to conceal flaws." -Roger Ebert

03-11-2010, 09:22 AM	#10 (permalink)
Vigilante Broken Arrow Location: US	You know, the datacenter I work with does that sometimes. I haven't tried that yet but hey, whatever works. __________________ We contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle. -Winston Churchill

03-11-2010, 05:29 PM	#11 (permalink)
boink Addict Location: Seattle	tomorrow night I'll stick the drive in the fridge overnight. I'll buy a bag if ice and bury the drive in ice and plug it in. hopefully it'll work long enough to save the stuff I need. it's either a 60 or 80 gig drive and I have a ton of space on my comp for it. if it works I'll get another TB drive for back ups. maybe I ought to get one of those mirror drives with two duplicate drives inside. what sucks is I just moved all my music to the damaged drive cause my other USB drive was full, just a day or two before. =P but then there's my old school portfolio work too...>_< would you all go for a diagnosis @ $47.00 or just go for the ice pack solution ? Last edited by boink; 03-11-2010 at 05:31 PM..

03-11-2010, 08:08 PM	#12 (permalink)
Martian Young Crumudgeon Location: Canada	Burying the drive in ice sounds like a recipe for disaster. Make sure it's well-sealed against moisture. Freezer, not fridge. Work quickly when it comes out. Mirrored RAID drives are for up time, not back-up. __________________ I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said - Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame

03-11-2010, 08:36 PM	#13 (permalink)
Craven Morehead Custom User Title	I wouldn't place it near ice, some will melt before the drive's temperature is reduced below freezing. In the end, ice won't make it any colder than the temperature of the freezer.

03-11-2010, 09:22 PM	#14 (permalink)
boink Addict Location: Seattle	heh, yeah I know but I've read too many positive reports not to believe it can work. I'll have a bucket with a bed of ice in a bag, the drive in a zip lock bag, and a bag of ice on top of the drive. I can get the drive in the ice bucket and hooked up in 30 seconds or less. I have three or four folders I really want most. the rest can be dug up out of my old NT machine that's packed away and a pain to get to. Canine says this could work just one time only but several in the link I posted mention a second try, and one guy mentioned a heat gun !?! ---------- Post added at 09:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:41 PM ---------- the ice buckett is for after 24 hrs in the freezer. all ice as well as the drive will be in separate bags. the only thing that worries me is condensation.

03-12-2010, 05:21 AM	#15 (permalink)
Lasereth Knight of the Old Republic Location: Winston-Salem, NC	You're sticking this thing in a freezer instead of trying the Linux CD first? __________________ "A Darwinian attacks his theory, seeking to find flaws. An ID believer defends his theory, seeking to conceal flaws." -Roger Ebert

03-17-2010, 07:13 AM	#18 (permalink)
TheProf Crazy	I wanted to second the idea of using a Linux LiveCD first. While there is some success with putting a clicking drive in the freezer, the issue is everytime you put it into the freezer you're actually ruining the drive further once it has returned to room temperature. So that solution should be a last-ditch effort as it furthers the problem. Good luck!

03-17-2010, 10:45 PM	#21 (permalink)
boink Addict Location: Seattle	that's kinda what I thought but I'll have a go at it first.

03-18-2010, 01:14 PM	#24 (permalink)
boink Addict Location: Seattle	I looked it up on wikki and...I dunno. worth a try for shure.

03-23-2010, 07:04 PM	#26 (permalink)
boink Addict Location: Seattle	well. I took the drive to my man at RE-PC and he had it overnight. today I got it back and it's alive and transferring files now. it started up fine w/o clicks. he said it must be a bad enclosure/controller. -but he didn't check it. didn't have the power cord. I didn't bring it cause he said he'd have one.. but he backed up my stuff and sold me an IDE/SATA patch cord thing, you all know what I'm talking about. so as I said I'm home copying the files. plus I got another TB external. so I guess I'll keep this old 80GB drive on a shelf somewhere and sort out a back up process for myself. I used to think if I had important files stored off my computer on an external they'd be safe, because my main fear was loss due to windows crashing and the need to reinstall. this has made me realise that one copy of a file off my comp isn't a back up. minimum 2 copies. nice to lean that without an actual loss of data. this is the same guy that helped my transfer from my old NT computer. I'd forgotten to tell him it was raided ( I didn't know it would matter that much) and we nearly lost the whole thing cause it had been partly taken apart. we went through hell for this data and he didn't charge me for all the screw ups. but I felt it was partly my fault for not telling him it was raided. anyway, this help he gave me now was free. aside from the help I get here (and thanks alot for your thoughts on this) I'll be a loyal customer of this guy when I need some hands on work.