danielle2013 Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Hi, I have had an external hard drive for a couple of years and last night it started to make a clicking sound. This morning I went to find a file on the drive and my computer will not give me a shortcut to the drive. When I removed the USB it make the noise to indicate it had been disconnected so it has an idea of the fact it was connected but just won't let me access it. I would like for either some advice on how I can recover the data myself or if anyone can recommend someone in Sheffield who would be able to do this for me. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclone Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 It depends on why it's dead, the clicking noise isn't a good sign though. You could take the drive out of the external caddy and connect it up as an internal drive, but from the sounds of it this won't actually help (worth a try though). If your PC can't access the drive at all then professional recovery is the only option, and it's not cheap, I've not looked for years, but I can't imagine it costing less than several hundred and possibly up to thousands. I know it's a little late now, but always back everything up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffy23 Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Hi, I have had an external hard drive for a couple of years and last night it started to make a clicking sound. This morning I went to find a file on the drive and my computer will not give me a shortcut to the drive. When I removed the USB it make the noise to indicate it had been disconnected so it has an idea of the fact it was connected but just won't let me access it. I would like for either some advice on how I can recover the data myself or if anyone can recommend someone in Sheffield who would be able to do this for me. Thanks! http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/how-to/tips/4294038 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resident Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 If it were me, I'd open up the enclosure, remove the drive and connect it internally to my PC. I did this last time my external drive failed and the drive was fine, it was the USB<->SATA board inside the enclosure at fault. Where abouts in Sheff are you ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asif Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 If its clicking it sounds like the head has gone... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resident Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 If its clicking it sounds like the head has gone... Mine was clicking when it failed. It's installed internally in my rig now and working fine. Usually it would indicate this but not always. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenthack Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 If its clicking it sounds like the head has gone... i also had 1 given to me with same problem, was going to just use the case with another drive. found out that it was the power supply. used a power suppy i had spare and been using it for ages now no problems usually standard 12 v power supply like the type used on monitors and earlier tft televisions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choogling Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 Hi, I have had an external hard drive for a couple of years and last night it started to make a clicking sound. This morning I went to find a file on the drive and my computer will not give me a shortcut to the drive. When I removed the USB it make the noise to indicate it had been disconnected so it has an idea of the fact it was connected but just won't let me access it. I would like for either some advice on how I can recover the data myself or if anyone can recommend someone in Sheffield who would be able to do this for me. Thanks! The clicking sound is the pickup heads hitting the hdd data discs-just bin it and buy one with an extended guarantee unless you have plenty of spare cash dont even think about data recovery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resident Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 i also had 1 given to me with same problem, was going to just use the case with another drive. found out that it was the power supply. used a power suppy i had spare and been using it for ages now no problems usually standard 12 v power supply like the type used on monitors and earlier tft televisions Same fault as mine. It was the power adaptor portion of the board in the enclosure that failed, the drive wasn't getting the power it required. Gotta love all these 'armchair google' techs saying bin it when it's probably repairable without/minimal data loss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghozer Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 Just cause it's clicking doesn't mean it's dead.... Also doesn't mean the drive inside is dead either.... yes, it MIGHT mean that, but not always.. even if the USB controller inside is faulty, it may be sending incorrect signals to the drive, causing it to make the clicking sound, or if its a power issue, the drive will be attempting to spin, then power down, then power up, then power down..... etc, this can also often cause a clicking sound... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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