A computer’s hard drive could fail in as many as twelve different ways; so the solution depends on whether it has failed mechanically, electronically, logically, or physically. This page provides a list of common problems that users will commonly enter into their search box (clicking sounds coming from your drive, drive does not show up at all, “You need to format this disk”); an explanation of exactly what these mean, how to go about solving them, and the one or two steps you take to convert recoverable files into unrecoverable ones.
Any mechanical symptoms generally worsen with each spin-up. Generally, the source of failure will also produce a distinct noise.
The most important thing you should know about your failing hard drive is when to shut it down. Most serious hard drive failures get worse the more you use them: a clicking drive wears out the platter slightly more with each spin-up; a drive with bad sectors loses some more data with each sector read across; the corruption level in a corrupted file system increases with each bit of new information written to it. If there is valuable data stored on the hard drive and/or if it is acting strangely, the best first step is usually to stop, power down, and identify the kind of problem you have prior to doing anything else. The descriptions provided below categorise problems by four different groups (mechanical, electronic, logical, physical damage) and solving one group can exacerbate others.
Nearly all noise generated by a hard disk is mechanically related. Nearly all mechanical-related noise indicates that you need to immediately shut down the device. Clicking, known as “the click of death,” relates to the read/write heads’ failure to locate themselves and repeatedly reset. The majority of the time this type of activity relates to either a head crash or failure of the head assembly. Each time you start up the system, there is potential for the damaged heads to scrape against the platter(s), where your files reside. If you have a hard drive making noise like a ‘click,’ we’ve provided a complete guide in why is my hard drive clicking, however, the bottom line is: do not continue to try and use the drive, and do not freeze it. A ‘clicking’ drive requires head replacement and imaging on the bench. Beeping represents a strain on the spindle motor due to its inability to rotate the platters. This is typically caused by the heads being adhered to the platters (stiction) or a motor bearing has frozen; attempting to power cycle the unit will not resolve the issue and may cause damage to the motor. Grinding or scraping is likely the most destructive of the three types of noises described above. Something has made physical contact with the platters and is damaging data. In each case, the correct course of action is exactly the same: turn it off, and leave it turned off.
When you cannot hear your drive making sounds, spinning around etc., the electronics or firmware of the drive have most likely failed, and the data is often completely intact. However, when your drive won’t power on at all, it will probably have a damaged circuit board (usually due to a TVS diode having been shorted by a power surge or a bad converter or adaptor), however this damage does not affect the physical storage of your files and data as the platters remain undamaged. A replacement circuit board with matching firmware ROM transferred from the original board should restore functionality. Although a ‘plug-and-play’ solution may seem possible, replacing one circuit board with another will usually fail because the ROM contains the firmware calibration information specific to each individual drive (see hard drive won’t power on). A drive that spins but isn’t detected is slightly more difficult to diagnose and could be down to either a faulty circuit board, firmware corruption in the service area or even just an issue related to how the drive recognises itself logically. Therefore, rule out the obvious causes first (using a different cable or adapter, using a different port or computer) before checking if the drive appears in Windows Disk Management or Mac’s Disk Utility. If the drive appears there but not within Explorer or Finder then it is most likely a logical problem; if the drive does not appear anywhere then the problem lies with either the firmware or hardware. Our guides on hard drive not showing up and drive not recognised recovery provide further guidance on these areas.
Sometimes, the drive appears to work properly, however, the information it stores is incorrect; in many of those cases, a user’s good intention to “help” will be the biggest hazard. When Windows states that ‘You need to format the disk before you can use it’, or when the drive indicates that it is in RAW mode, this generally denotes that there was damage to your file system, not deleted files. There are still files located on the disks’ platters; if you were to format them (the one action most liable to render files irretrievable), they could become unrecoverable. Therefore don’t format it; create an image or attempt to recover the data before attempting to format. A similar circumstance occurs with missing directories, a ‘file or directory is corrupted’ error message appearing when accessing the drive, or a drive mounting correctly yet providing access to nothing: these are typically file-system failures which may have been caused by an improperly shut down computer or when a drive is slowly developing bad areas. In such cases, on a drive that’s mechanically healthy and silent, a reputable recovery application can repair or restore the file system and retrieve the files stored. Never perform a scan on a drive that is making noise while spinning, is slow or generates any type of error messages during operation. The act of reading the drive may generate enough stress to cause complete failure of the physical storage components. Refer to corrupted drive recovery and, for drives that have failed entirely, refer to recovering data from a dead hard drive.
Physical damage requires immediate care. If a drive was dropped or knocked, the heads could crash into the platter even if the unit appears operational; thus, make an immediate backup of all data and if the unit begins clicking or turns off then treat the unit as having experienced physical failure and turn it off immediately (see dropped & damaged drive recovery). Units that are wet or flooded should be treated with caution. The desire to quickly dry out and power up a unit that has been exposed to moisture will result in shorting and further accelerate the corrosion process. Treat this type of damage with respect by sealing the unit and sending it to a professional laboratory immediately; units sent in before they have been powered up after being subjected to water are usually recovered successfully. Fire or heat damage is similar to moisture exposure; do not attempt to use or operate the unit, do not disassemble it, and do not assume that it is beyond repair. Hard disk platters often remain intact despite extensive damage to their casings. Information about recovering your water or fire damaged unit is available at our water & fire damage recovery webpage.
Most drives do not fail before giving some sort of warning; in many cases there will be a slowdown. Slowing down means files may take longer to open, freezing often occurs when you try to copy items; “Not Responding” messages are typical; you see folder names popping in and out as if being constantly refreshed; high temperature readings from your drive; or, during a copy operation, everything slows down or even stalls. All of these symptoms are indicative of your drive developing “bad” areas and attempting to retry failed reads. If you receive a SMART warning (Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology) from either your operating system, or another tool stating something about “your impending drive failure”, then trust the drive’s built-in monitoring tool. Your drive has probably developed bad sectors; however, your drive is usually still readable at this point, which gives you time. You should back it up now, while you can, because with each passing day, the likelihood of a successful recovery decreases. Our articles detailing signs your hard drive is failing and how to check hard drive health provide guidance on how to determine whether your drive is showing the early stages of failure.
Reasonable to try yourself if the drive is mechanically good (no grinding, beeps, SMART errors) as you can at least isolate the problem. Try swapping the cable, ports and computers to eliminate common issues. Run Disk Management or Disk Utility to verify whether the fault is logical or a result of hardware failure. If possible, restore from a backup, use version history or access the data via cloud storage. For a logically corrupt drive that has otherwise been deemed “healthy”, use a reputable data recovery program; ideally create an image of the disk before proceeding. Stop and get help if the drive begins clicking, beeping or grinding; if it won’t spin; if there appears to be some form of physical damage such as water or fire; if it shows SMART errors or bad sectors (pounding on a dying drive will ultimately kill it); or if the data is irreplaceable and you’re unsure. Three methods (opening a mechanical unit yourself; using the “freezer” method and/or using a circuit board donated by someone else) are all commonly used methods to recover drives, which may also be fatal to them. Once you’ve determined your data is beyond your ability to safely recover, professional hard drive recovery starts with a complimentary diagnostic evaluation along with our honest assessment regarding potential data recovery opportunities, and in most cases you only pay if we recover your data.
Usually yes, but only after you turn it off. Typically clicking signifies a head stack failure. We replace the faulty head(s) on the bench and then begin imaging. However, since every spin-up damages the surface slightly more than the last, each time you switch it on, the likelihood of successful data recovery decreases. Turn it off and keep it off. And please do not utilise any “freezer” type procedures.
No. A drive that is showing up as “RAW” or requiring formatting is usually just damaged in terms of its file system. The vast majority of times the actual data is completely intact. Formatting is the one step most likely to make it unrecoverable, so don’t format it; image or recover it first.
Only if there was no mechanical failure on the disk, i.e., no clicks, slow speeds, SMART errors etc. If the disk is mechanically bad, running a full scan could cause additional failures. In such cases, it’s better to image the disk first (and/or send it off to a recovery lab) to ensure recovery tools run from a good copy of the disk rather than trying to run tools directly on the bad original.
Not always. A “not detected” error doesn’t always indicate a loss of data. It could also mean that something is wrong with the drive’s circuit board or firmware (but the data should still be intact) or it could simply be a matter of a logical error. Check the cable and port first, then try a different computer. Also, check the built-in Disk Management or Disk Utility software from Microsoft or Apple. If neither will recognise the drive, then this may require either firmware- or board-level recovery (not a sign the data itself is lost).
Receive complimentary diagnostic service in the laboratory: an honest assessment regarding exactly what is actually wrong with your unit and whether or not your unit is capable of recovery, with a fixed written quote prior to beginning any work.