The steady, repetitive “tick” noise has a very specific mechanical definition, an ominous nickname and a single defining feature that trumps everything else: this ticking will get worse with each new boot-up. So, here is what happens mechanically in the box, some myths that would destroy clicking drives completely, and how you can actually retrieve your data.
When you hear the clicking noise, this is typically due to the read/write arm sweeping back and forth across the disk, losing its bearings, slamming into place and trying again. Each time this happens there is a chance it may brush against the spinning disks your data resides on.
On the inside of every hard drive there is an arm that moves read/write heads back-and-forth (side-to-side) on top of disks called platters. The arm uses servo tracks that are written directly onto the disk surface to guide the head’s movement. Once the drive cannot recognise those servo tracks (e.g. a head has failed, damage has been done to the disk surface at the location of the servo data track(s), or the electronic circuitry used to amplify the heads’ signals has stopped working) the arm sweeps, recognises nothing, and goes to park. This process repeats constantly: sweep-fail-park, tick-tick-tick, tick-tick-tick... With one bad head out of many heads on your drive, with a faulty circuit board starving the heads of power, or because of a crash/impact, the results sound identical from the outside, which is why guesswork can be costly.
Heads slide along the surface of the platters on a layer of air just thinner than your average fingerprint. An arm moving rapidly without proper control or bearing can hit the data surface repeatedly until it eventually causes enough friction and wear to start sending debris flying toward the platter, causing further contact. Hence the seemingly extreme nature of the honest suggestion: power it down and keep it down. Do not attempt to boot up again to retrieve that important tax file. Do not run an overnight clone. Do not scan “just to see.” Recovery software cannot access a failed disk if the disk is unable to locate itself, and every single minute the disk spends clicking reduces what would otherwise have been recoverable data to partially recoverable data. The myths surrounding hard drive failures also need to be called out. Storing a hard drive in a freezer does nothing but introduce moisture (condensation) to the mechanical failure of the drive. Using percussive taps on a hard drive does not improve anything other than add additional force/impact to the already damaged components. Using a donor circuit board will fail on newer systems simply due to the fact that each board includes calibration information specific to that particular drive.
Once we get the drive onto the workbench, the process is unglamorous but effective: determine which component failure is generating the clicking sound; replace the clicking component(s), typically a head assembly from a matched donor, ensuring that all components (heads) are properly seated and aligned; repair or rework the board maintaining the original calibration data for that drive; finally, image the drive with a low-level imaging tool designed specifically to read difficult disks, taking care to do this in one careful pass, head by head, with minimal attempts and/or system calls. The goal is to copy your data from the image created by this process, not from the physical disk. The success rate in recovering data from failing hard drives is highest when the drive has clicked least while being powered on. Therefore, shutting off power immediately after hearing the first click is critical and will help ensure the best possible outcome; then let our clicking-drive service take it from there. If you want to know more about the general warning signs that indicate potential problems, review our seven-signs guide.
Worth thirty seconds of certainty as a fan or power supply clicks too. Remove the power cord of the drive or unhook an external off the cable and listen again. If you hear a click go along with the drive then this is your answer. A click that goes with the drive to another PC or onto another cable lets you know for sure.
No, it’s the most stubborn myth about data loss. Freezing a current hard disk causes moisture to build up on the disks and temperature shock to the components; any story of freezing fixing a broken drive was done on old technology two decades back. The freezing does not mend physical breaks and every frozen hard disk we see come through our lab is worse off than when it was simply clicking.
The cost of clicking is charged per job after the free diagnostic, as there are a range of possible faults from minor misalignment that causes a slight head park failure through to full platter damage. We can tell you in advance what costs will be involved with regards to pricing for the repair. Single drive repairs start at £300 + VAT. A fixed written quote is always provided prior to any chargeable work taking place. In most cases you only pay if we recover your data. As soon as your device has been diagnosed then it will be clear exactly where it falls.
Shut it down and contact the lab: we provide a complimentary 48-hour diagnostic test, we carry out head work when required and we will provide you with a written estimate prior to performing any other work.