[SOLVED] 5TB Seagate External Hard drive ticking

May 17, 2020
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I have a Seagate 5TB external hard drive that I plug in every few months as a backup. I plugged it yesterday and it doesn't power up at all. All i hear is a very faint tick every second or so. I have changed usb and power cord and tried plugging into another computer. The usb is plugged in directly to the computer. I have taken measurements of the Amps that it is pulling and it is only pulling ~0.2A when I think it should be closer to 1.5A. I have tried other power cords and they all pull about the same amount. Is this the "click of death"? Any suggestions of anything I can try to get it working?
 
Solution
If there is critical data you need from recovered from this drive, decide if it is worth at least $300, and consult with:
https://www.300dollardatarecovery.com/

If the drive is just where you store backups, and, it is more of a 'how easily can I fix this' scenario, I'd already be writing it off and ordering a $65 Toshiba external in 2 or 3 TB capacity...

alfarom

Distinguished
Aug 23, 2011
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Sounds like the read/write heads (or at least one of them) are faulty. Could be the circuit board but this is less likely. The DR company mentioned above isn't one I know personally as I'm in the UK but I've heard that they are pretty good.