This was originally a 640 gig external hard drive. A few weeks ago the computer would no longer read it and said there was an error of some sorts. I removed the drive from the external enclosure and plugged it into my computer it uses a SATA 3.0 Gb/s connection.

Today my computer got shook while the drive was running and my computer started slow down ALOT, so I restarted upon restart I hear a click followed by a beep from the hard drive and it repeats this many times in a near systematic fashion. Now this hard drive was where I stored all my data (music movies pictures documents etc) Under no circumstances am I willing to pay $500+ for professional repair however I am willing to repair it by myself. Before I proceed though I would like to know if i can bee given some advice of what is probably wrong or how I would go about getting it to work again or at least long enough to recover the data.


Another question is for a new hard drive would would be a good recommendation for an extremely sturdy one that would run great 24/7 and be amazingly reliable.

Well I opened the drive up and i noticed that there is a circular ring around the inner part of the platter. The ring seems to be formed of multiple deep gashes, that is where the read head stops. The head moves from the edge of the disk to the gashes it then makes a beep noise, clicks and moves back to the edge of the disc. This process is repeated. Also the computer will no longer read the drive. I think its fair to say that the data on this drive is lost or at least with my current abilities.

I'm thinking of getting a Hitatchi either Deskstar or Ultrastar. What exactly is the difference between the two? pros cons?

Hard drives are very sensative devices and slight hit or shaking could cause failure.
It still might be a relatively inexpensive recovery if you take it to a pro right away, but if you will temper with it, you most likely to could cause more damage or make your data unrecoverable.

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www.datarecoveryne.com

With the drive opened? I'd be surprised.

To the OP and anyone else reading, opening the drive yourself is one of the WORST POSSIBLE THINGS to do to your data.

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You don't have to backup all of your files, just the ones you want to keep.

When I posted, there was only first post, so my statement was based on first part.
I guess those are the changes that are in effect.

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www.datarecoveryne.com

Well, there was no way I was going to send the drive in for repair and pay $500 plus for data recovery. I decided opening it after watching these videos http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kx-D1nJcv0k and reading a little bit. The guy in the video seems quite qualified and says opening the drive wont cause much damage and u technically don't need a clean room. I created one with come plastic containers and opened the drive inside of it and ran the drive inside of it.

Aha.

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You don't have to backup all of your files, just the ones you want to keep.

@harddrivespecialist
don't worry the OP made ur pc ran slow that was y the posting of the hdd being opened came before urs.
But I guess it is too late to send it to a pro with all the CONTAMINATION.
I guess this thread is over but to all the other amateurs take a cue to no DIY hdd jobs since the results can be