Each noise will tell you what specifically has failed on your computer and how fast it is going to fail further. Clicks are typically an indicator that the heads have lost their way and are trying to find their bearings; scrapes indicate that they’re contacting the platter surface. Each is worsening as each disk rotates, so the time from the first noise to switching off the power will largely determine the outcome.
Clicking means the heads cannot read their location; grinding means they are making contact with the platter. Neither will get better on a subsequent attempt and the amount of data that can be recovered is typically determined by how long the drive has been running after the noise starts. Shut it off now.
Hard drives fail in such a way as to provide useful information. In this case, the failure pattern often limits the possible fault before anything needs to be opened.
By the time we receive a drive, most of the outcome has already been decided based on what transpired while at home or in the office.
A head that’s starting to go bad isn’t just reading poorly; it could also be flying too low or occasionally hitting the surface. Every time you spin the disk (at either 5,400 or 7,200 rpm) every bit of the track under that particular head will pass under it again. Thus a 10 minute test run on your hard drive immediately after a failure starts is a much different type of test than one which runs for 48 hours; this shows up in the form of unreadable areas on the disk which cannot be read no matter what methods are used to attempt to read them.
That’s the reason we are so honest on this issue. There is nothing that will have as big an effect upon your results from sitting at a desk as turning the drive off as soon as possible: not your software, nor any cable, nor another computer. The recovery process starts with whatever remains of the surface area.
We use very specific techniques in our lab (bench) to ensure that all steps we take are very conservative.
Prior to spinning up the drive we identify the type of drive being used (family), its firmware version, and how many heads it has.
In order to recover data using a donor unit, there needs to be a matching unit: same family as the failed unit, compatible firmware revisions, and same number of heads. It is quite common that identifying a match is one of the longest parts of the entire recovery process. Due to their age/obscure nature, older drives often require additional time in finding a suitable match.
The damaged assembly is removed and replaced by the donor unit, while keeping the platter surfaces untouched. Throughout this process, alignment is maintained.
The drive is copied as read-only with timeouts tuned to each head, giving priority to the areas containing the data you require. A repaired drive may only offer one acceptable read, therefore its use is cautious.
All file system repairs, extractions, and verifications take place upon the copy (clone). The original is never written to and should be assumed not to operate once this process is completed.
The costs associated with donor part operations are incurred regardless of the result of those operations.
A single “clicking” or “grinding” drive can cost from £300 +VAT, which would be quoted in writing after an initial 48 hour free diagnostic. Due to the requirement of using donor parts and lab time, there is a 50% deposit required prior to undertaking the service; however, the balance is only due when we have successfully recovered your data.
Please send the drive alone, without any other hardware components. Do not attempt to energise the drive to determine if it works before sending. Complete details of our procedures: IBM Deskstar Recovery: The Click of Death.
Before we can start work on your unit you will need to send it in for a free diagnostic review and tell us briefly what happened. We then have one of our engineers review your unit & verify your exact quote in writing prior to starting any work.
Before dropping off or posting your device please request a quotation either by telephone or using our quotation form. The first step to recover your data is to get the device to us. Please ensure that you pack the device securely, include your contact information and then forward it to us. Once we have completed the free diagnostic of your device we will provide you with your exact price in writing prior to commencing any further work.
Posting it? We would suggest using a tracked and insured delivery method. Want to drop it off? That’s okay too. Monday to Friday, from 9am to 5:30pm is good; no appointment necessary: simply prepare the item as described above.
If you want a few more details first, fill out this form and let an engineer go through it and send you back a custom quote.
We’ll be in touch shortly. If it’s urgent, call 01865 593000.
What people ask us most often when they’re concerned with the clicking and grinding of their hard disk drives (HDDs).
Because there’s no way for the read/write heads to find their servo position data, the drive pulls the entire head assembly back into its parking area and attempts to resynchronise. This action is called the “click”. In most cases this indicates that the heads have been physically damaged or will soon fail.
No, not in a state that would allow it to be used, and not at a desktop workstation. When recovery is possible, it involves opening up the HDD, installing a donor head assembly identical to one originally installed by the manufacturer, and then an imaging process. The expectation is that the HDD itself will never operate again; however, as much of your original data as possible may still be recoverable.
Under no circumstances should you attempt to use the damaged HDD. Every time the HDD runs, the physical damage to the heads increases. There has been a direct correlation found between the number of hours/minutes the HDD was run after the noise began, and the total number of files/data bits that could eventually be successfully recovered from those areas of the HDD. Of course, your best option is to immediately discontinue using the HDD in order to maximise the potential for successful recovery of your data.
Grinding/scraping refers to the contact of either end of the read/write heads against the top/bottom surface(s) of the platters inside your HDD. Contact such as this is far worse than clicking. It results in permanent damage to those surfaces which limits the maximum amount of data that can potentially be recovered from those areas of the HDD, regardless of how carefully we subsequently work on recovering those areas.
No. The condensate that forms as the drive warms up can be very damaging to both the heads and the media. We have never found freezing reliable in this regard, and it is also an obstacle to a good recovery in a lab environment.
The cost of recovering one hard disk is from £300 +VAT per unit and will require a written quotation from us after a free 48hr diagnostic. Due to the fact that we have to commit to using donor parts and to the use of our time on your drive, each job requires a 50% deposit before we start work on it. The final 50% is payable on successful completion of the recovery.
Each data recovery repair comes with a 10,000 item donor part store, starts with a free written diagnostic, and in most cases you only pay if we recover your data.