[SOLVED] WD External HDD clicking problem

[seriousgigi]

my external hdd stopped working and makes weird noises. opened inside of it then uploaded a video. please help me, i am about to lose 10 years old <<snip>> archive 🤔

 

[kerberos_20]

well, those drives shouldnt be running without cover, inside air pressure helps them levitate

anyway as far as i can tell, your drive is dead

 

[seriousgigi]

well, those drives shouldnt be running without cover,

yeah i know that but i just wanted to make it work for once for backuping then i dont care if it was gonna be dead but you say it is already dead.

the question is i dont understand this hdds but that disc looks normal to me. cant we make it work with another hdd case? if we remove it from this case then install it on another case?

i mean cant we save content from this hdd?

 

[USAFRet]

yeah i know that but i just wanted to make it work for once for backuping then i dont care if it was gonna be dead but you say it is already dead.

the question is i dont understand this hdds but that disc looks normal to me. cant we make it work with another hdd case? if we remove it from this case then install it on another case?

i mean cant we save content from this hdd?

No.
It is dead.
Opening it up simply put the nails in the coffin.

Backups are what you do before the drive dies.

 

[kerberos_20]

if u move platters from one drive to another, then you will make it even worst, platters are calibrated in firmware (on boaard are calibration chips)
its not cheap to recover it, its something around 500-1000USD

 

[seriousgigi]

i see. do you know why it is dead? what caused this? simply time?

also i have 4 other external hdds and try to keep backups but i just want to know how can i learn the disc gonna be dead soon? i mean wish we had an alarm or sth like that to notice us before drives going dead.

 

[USAFRet]

i see. do you know why it is dead? what caused this? simply time?

also i have 4 other external hdds and try to keep backups but i just want to know how can i learn the disc gonna be dead soon? i mean wish we had an alarm or sth like that to notice us before drives going dead.

"stopped working and makes weird noises "
That pretty much indicates - dead or dying.

 

[seriousgigi]

but i didnt do anything never dropped it. just dont understand why is it dying. just because of capitalism? i mean this was called as planned obsolescence right?

also those discs have data right? and those discs still looks good to me no scratchs, mark or sth like that. they are just right there standing still so why cant we save data from it i dont understand...

like i previously said how can understand if a disc going to die?

 

[Zdos123]

but i didnt do anything never dropped it. just dont understand why is it dying. just because of capitalism? i mean this was called as planned obsolescence right?

also those discs have data right? and those discs still looks good to me no scratchs, mark or sth like that. they are just right there standing still so why cant we save data from it i dont understand...

like i previously said how can understand if a disc going to die?

Sometimes Hard Drives just die, no trauma, no nothing they just die, external drives tend to fail sooner as they are moved around more, the only way your might have some chance of getting your data back is sending it to a data recovery service, after you've put the top back on, your data is more than likely corrupted as you took the top cover off, that should only ever be done in a clean room where there is no dust in the air. Your looking at a lot of money to get that data back, and some drive companies probably won't touch it as you've opened it. For future reference never open up a drive you intend to save data from and there is no way you as an individual can fix it, only hope now is data recovery. HDDs don't just fail from scratched platters, if you value that data that much get a quote from a data recovery service.

 

[USAFRet]

It's not "capitalism" or "planned obsolescence".
It is simply an electromechanical device. Such devices can and do fail. We as humans do not yet know how to build something like this that will not break.

Before you opened the case, there was a slim possibility of recovering your data. This may have involved money to a company that specializes in this, but that possibility existed.
After you opened it, I'm pretty sure no company will touch it.

Hard drives run with incredibly tight tolerances. The gap between the spinning platter and the heads is on the order of 3 nanometers.
Opening that drive case needed to be done in a clean room. Which you do not have. The dust/pollen/skin cell filled air in your house has deposited all sorts of stuff on that drive.
Stuff too small to see with the naked eye. But to a flying read head, that like running into a boulder with your car.


10 years of data on a single drive? Why have you never thought of, i dunno....having a second copy for safekeeping?

 

[seriousgigi]

actually that external drive was 4 or 5 years old when it died. data stayed in internal hdd for like 8 years and moved at there after that. and like i said around ~2 years i lost all of them. i thought to use online services but they are too expensive as i need min 5 TB space...

anyway thanks for your answers but i have 4 more external devices too and dont use them too much and i'd like to know if can i foresee them when they will be dead? i mean are there programs to make me know my hdd will be dead soon?

 

[Zdos123]

actually that external drive was 4 or 5 years old when it died. data stayed in internal hdd for like 8 years and moved at there after that. and like i said around ~2 years i lost all of them. i thought to use online services but they are too expensive as i need min 5 TB space...

anyway thanks for your answers but i have 4 more external devices too and dont use them too much and i'd like to know if can i foresee them when they will be dead? i mean are there programs to make me know my hdd will be dead soon?

You can plug them into a PC and perform a smart test on a regular basis, and listen for any strange/different sounds, although the best solution is to have your data backed up in multiple places in separate geographic locations, as drives can just fail out of nowhere.