My Seagate External Hard Drive is making clicking noises and won't connect to th

[Asian780]

My Seagate External Hard Drive isnt connecting to my computer. Even though it turns on I hear this clicking noise for a few seconds. Then it turns off for a bit but then turns back on but I could tell it isn't running properly, what should I do?

 

[phil22]

The drive is damaged. The clicking noise is the sound of the read/write head trying to free itself from the platter where it's trapped. This will almost certainly have damaged the head and the platter because they should never touch each other.

If it's still covered by warranty, contact Seagate about returning it for a replacement. Personally I have no respect for Seagate external drives. Three of them have failed on me in the past 2 years.

My WD drives have been much more reliable.

 

[Zoltron]

The drive is damaged. The clicking noise is the sound of the read/write head trying to free itself from the platter where it's trapped. This will almost certainly have damaged the head and the platter because they should never touch each other.

If it's still covered by warranty, contact Seagate about returning it for a replacement. Personally I have no respect for Seagate external drives. Three of them have failed on me in the past 2 years.

My WD drives have been much more reliable.

I have a brand new WD 2 tb harddrive. I mean brand new have had it for two weeks maybe, but I literally just took it out of the box for the first time today and was transferring files onto it for an hour or so. I got to a file that was 30+ gb and it just stopped copying the file over. So I rebooted and tried again, and then it was taking 10 minutes+ to copy files that were only 100 mb or so. So I rebooted and tried a third time and the computer wouldn't recognize it at all and began making the clicking noise every 2 or 3 seconds. I didn't do a thing other than take it out of the box and placed it on the desk and connected it to the computer. So I don't know if WD drives are anything to swear by.

 

[romlanco]

Its your power supply on pc or the external HDD power supply is low... been having same prob wen i connect mine to pc, untill i unplug a usb keyboard or my usb wifi stick, the HDD starts up.... time to upgrade PSU... hope this helps
let me know if all goes well : romlanco213 @ h o t m a i l . c o m

 

[bre_0]

Its your power supply on pc or the external HDD power supply is low... been having same prob wen i connect mine to pc, untill i unplug a usb keyboard or my usb wifi stick, the HDD starts up.... time to upgrade PSU... hope this helps
let me know if all goes well : romlanco213 @ h o t m a i l . c o m

Thank you so much! I had connected my external to a USB extension and heard the clicking. Thought for sure the drive had died! After reading this, I connected it directly to the computer and the drive started right up!

Thanks again!

 

[Akram Ali]

Same thing happened to my Twinmos 1TB hard external hard drive. I've called the shop owner, probably will get warranty as I bought it previous year.

 

[karishmabothra]

I am facing the same issue
my hard drive on connection with laptop is making beeping sound. and its not being recognised. just want to know if this problem can be solved and my data con be recovered or not

 

[fzabkar]

beeping is not the same as clicking it usually means that the drive is unable to spin up this could be due to insufficient usb power or head stiction or a seized spindle motor

 

[datarecoveryguy]

Beeping can also be caused by read heads that have crashed into the ramp and are usually mangled and damaged. If that is the case (and you need the files) that job will require professional head replacement.

 

[sspetta]

The drive is damaged. The clicking noise is the sound of the read/write head trying to free itself from the platter where it's trapped. This will almost certainly have damaged the head and the platter because they should never touch each other.

If it's still covered by warranty, contact Seagate about returning it for a replacement. Personally I have no respect for Seagate external drives. Three of them have failed on me in the past 2 years.

My WD drives have been much more reliable.

Is there a way to recover the data when this happens? Of course this happened to me during the most critical week and I'm preparing my final assignments for graduation next week. I'm desperate and need the data on the drive. I bought this hard drive about 2 months ago. I'm absolutely nauseated that it died when I need it the most. All my work from the last several months is inaccessible and I have to go off memory.

 

[Ronniej]

I used another USB cable, and it is working

 

[macgirl_k]

I have the same problem. There is a clicking sound but it does not show up on my computer. There is a clicking sound but then it stops. Is there anything I can do? I will pay to get the information off as I really need it! Can a professional recover my data or is it lost forever. It was just working fine a couple days ago. I have a macbook and tried connecting it to two other macbook computers.

 

[BadAsAl]

macgirl_k try another USB cable or if that doesn't work you can try taking the actual hard drive out of the external enclosure and then trying it in another enclosure to see if it reads it. I have seen a lot of external drives where it is the enclosure itself that has gone bad (there is a small circuit board in there).

 

[ZebTheCyClops]

The drive is damaged. The clicking noise is the sound of the read/write head trying to free itself from the platter where it's trapped. This will almost certainly have damaged the head and the platter because they should never touch each other.

If it's still covered by warranty, contact Seagate about returning it for a replacement. Personally I have no respect for Seagate external drives. Three of them have failed on me in the past 2 years.

My WD drives have been much more reliable.

i have the SRD00F2 3 TB external hard drive and i was in the middle of chkdsk and i cancled it and tried to schedule one on reboot but after i canceled, when i clicked on it i get "access is denied" from where it had been made to chkdsk while my laptop is still on. after restart now i get the rythmatic clicking for 5-10 seconds and it doesn't power on. ive tried a different laptop with original usb cord and new usb cord on current laptop. still nothing

 

[toomanysteves]

My Seagate External Hard Drive isnt connecting to my computer. Even though it turns on I hear this clicking noise for a few seconds. Then it turns off for a bit but then turns back on but I could tell it isn't running properly, what should I do?

Saw on another board that this was due to the drive not getting enough power. Mine was connected through the cable it came with, to an extension cable, to a USB hub, to the PC. Moved it to being directly connected to the PC with the cable it came with, and it stopped ticking and started working.

Can't guarantee that is the only cause, but it was a simple change that worked for me.

 

[la1picara]

I have the same issue. My 2TB 3.0 USB external hard drive has stopped functioning (Made from Buffalo Inc). Once I connect it to my desktop it makes a sound (I think it is a clicking) for a few seconds and then the noise stops. The light is still on but my computer does not recognize it. I can see it in my "Printer and Device," but that is about it. I can not get access to it. I have connected to my Mac with no success. I also changed the USB and no success. I am just wondering what is exactly my problem. Is there a chance I can still get access to my files and how?

By the way, if I had this external hard drive on when I turn my Windows10 desktop, it won't let my desktop completely turn on, it gets stuck. However, once I turn the external hard drive off, my desktop will proceed smoothly.

 

[citylights]

I have the same issue. My 2TB 3.0 USB external hard drive has stopped functioning (Made from Buffalo Inc). Once I connect it to my desktop it makes a sound (I think it is a clicking) for a few seconds and then the noise stops. The light is still on but my computer does not recognize it. I can see it in my "Printer and Device," but that is about it. I can not get access to it. I have connected to my Mac with no success. I also changed the USB and no success. I am just wondering what is exactly my problem. Is there a chance I can still get access to my files and how?

By the way, if I had this external hard drive on when I turn my Windows10 desktop, it won't let my desktop completely turn on, it gets stuck. However, once I turn the external hard drive off, my desktop will proceed smoothly.

we almost had the same situation except that mine is apollo m300.everything else that you've just said was exactly the same as in my case.i have read lots of articles with regard to the clicking noise and some other issues that might cause the problem and tried different remedies but to no avail.i am helpless right now.i am patiently waiting for someone, a savior maybe, to tell us what else to do.if you ever find your luck with your external hard drive, could you update me please? i will update you as well if i find mine.thanks a lot!

 

[Nathan_90]

I have the same issue. My 2TB 3.0 USB external hard drive has stopped functioning (Made from Buffalo Inc). Once I connect it to my desktop it makes a sound (I think it is a clicking) for a few seconds and then the noise stops. The light is still on but my computer does not recognize it. I can see it in my "Printer and Device," but that is about it. I can not get access to it. I have connected to my Mac with no success. I also changed the USB and no success. I am just wondering what is exactly my problem. Is there a chance I can still get access to my files and how?

By the way, if I had this external hard drive on when I turn my Windows10 desktop, it won't let my desktop completely turn on, it gets stuck. However, once I turn the external hard drive off, my desktop will proceed smoothly.

we almost had the same situation except that mine is apollo m300.everything else that you've just said was exactly the same as in my case.i have read lots of articles with regard to the clicking noise and some other issues that might cause the problem and tried different remedies but to no avail.i am helpless right now.i am patiently waiting for someone, a savior maybe, to tell us what else to do.if you ever find your luck with your external hard drive, could you update me please? i will update you as well if i find mine.thanks a lot!

I have the same issue! Literally a few hours old (got delivered today at 2pm) Transferred all my media to the device it was fine turned my laptop off and a couple hours later it won't connect. Rebooted and got an error message from Windows, I have the same clicking noise. Plugged directly into the laptop from the original usb cable with a 3.0 port.

FYI this is my device https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00FP50LH2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[AppleGwava]

To all posters,please *DO NOT* hijack op's thread,if you need help,create your own one,it is not nice to go around using other's thread.Feel free to read but if you need more help just either PM or make a thread.

AppleGwava,

 

[Martin_124]

My seagate free agent 1TB could not be seen by my computer and was making the clicking noise. Since the drive was hardly used and was never dropped or abused, I tried another 12 VDC power supply from my WD drive. The drive works perfectly, see if that works for you...