[SOLVED] I have an old WD 1600 external hard rive that has stopped working... The readers arm is flickering back and forward and my Imac can not recognise it.

[Tomstopper]

I have an old WD 1600 external hard rive that has stopped working... The readers arm is flickering back and forward and my Imac can not recognise it. Now I know the SATA board might be the issue so I was thinking to by a SATA bridge but the disk also has a 4 Pins Molex connector. Help, I am not a tech guy... I have a grasp of the basics..

 

[kanewolf]

I have an old WD 1600 external hard rive that has stopped working... The readers arm is flickering back and forward and my Imac can not recognise it. Now I know the SATA board might be the issue so I was thinking to by a SATA bridge but the disk also has a 4 Pins Molex connector. Help, I am not a tech guy... I have a grasp of the basics..

How do you know the readers arm is "flickering back and forward"? Did you open the drive? If so, it is ruined.

 

[Tomstopper]

very helpful , thanks.....

 

[popatim]

The arm is flickering because the heads cannot read the configuration data that is written on on the platters. So it keeps trying and trying. This could be a head(s) failure, platter failure, or age related magnetics on the platters have deteriorated beyond the capability of the heads to read them .