WD HDD, what makes the head/actuator arm move?

[grilltechy]

I have a WD external that I am trying to fix/ want to know what the exact problem is before I trash it.

I cant remember exactly why, but I know the computer stopped recognizing it one day,lights were on, and it made a constant running noise(no clicking/nobeeping) I am assuming this noise is the platter spinning, so It was constantly running without any weird noises.

But It was not being recognized by the computer so I decided to open it to see if the head was stuck. It was not. This was the first time I've seen inside of an external so, curious me decided to fiddle with the arm to see how it moves. After that I tried connecting it, the platter starts spinning but stops after a few seconds now.

Next I moved the arm to be on top of the platter to see what would happen, The platter spins longer,(arm still not moving) but it would stop spinning a few secs then spin up again but eventually stop.

I just want to know if there are any techs/curious peeps like me, out there that know what could be the problem. Also I noticed the tip/head is slightly bent upwards. Is this normal? I tried to find pictures/youtube but could not find anything zoomed enough to see the actual tip of the head.

 

[jsmithepa]

Right on top, now that you opened it, it's done for. These things are assembled in clean rooms, any little dust will interfere with its normal functioning. HD are precision no end-user serviceable mechanisms.

Next time, when the HD makes no noise other than the spinning platter, it's possible the interface electronics has failed, and you can potentially buy an identical board from eBay and swap it. Now I would not bother with it unless you have some important stuff to recover.

 

[grilltechy]

Right on top, now that you opened it, it's done for. These things are assembled in clean rooms, any little dust will interfere with its normal functioning. HD are precision no end-user serviceable mechanisms.

Next time, when the HD makes no noise other than the spinning platter, it's possible the interface electronics has failed, and you can potentially buy an identical board from eBay and swap it. Now I would not bother with it unless you have some important stuff to recover.

But there are so many youtube videos and forums that say opening an external because of the dust will destroy the hdd does not hold truth?

 

[jsmithepa]

But there are so many youtube videos and forums that say opening an external because of the dust will destroy the hdd does not hold truth?

Don't believe everything you read or see on the Internet including this one.

From this end though no inclination to "play" with a faulty HD when they are commodity priced.

 

[grilltechy]

But there are so many youtube videos and forums that say opening an external because of the dust will destroy the hdd does not hold truth?

Don't believe everything you read or see on the Internet including this one.

From this end though no inclination to "play" with a faulty HD when they are commodity priced.

but..but...what if it can be fixed?

 

[D_Know_WD]

Hi there grilltechy,

That is really unpleasant. 🙁
Unfortunately, I would agree with jsmithepa. In case you have some really important data stored on the drive, you may need to look for some professional help.
You can check WD's Data Recovery Partners out: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=XUD78n

D_Know_WD