Any and all help much appreciated! Have a Seagate 7200.10 320 gig HD which has crashed on me. Not sure what happened, was working fine, then computer started having random shutdowns (like once a day...thought kids were messing with it), then one morning it shut down every few minutes if you asked it to do anything but just sit there idle. Figured the power supply was going or it was overheating. Opened box, fan had issues plus cleaned everything out. Have it powered up now fine with a different HD but the Seagate drive now does not work.

Have it in as a slave right now but not detected in the BIOS.

Turn machine on, HD seems to spin up, then a beep and kind of a clunk as opposed to a click...feels/sounds like something inside is hitting the side of the case, you can physically feel it plonking in there. Anyway it does this click/clunk thing for a minute or two, does sound like it's spinning, and then it powers down and sits idle.

Yes I am a complete IDIOT for not backing this drive up and of course I have vital information, files and especially emails for my business that I need to access. Feeling pretty desperate here!

Is it worth getting a sata/usb cable and trying to hook it up that way to see if it's recognized? I'm assuming not as it sounds like a mechanical problem?

Is there anyone here preferably in Canada that I could phone and they could listen to the sound on the phone to give me a better idea of what is going on? I've listened to various clicking and other failure sounds on youtube but it really doesn't sound like any of those.

What are the chances I can recover my data and the worst case scenario costs?

Lastly I am REALLY concerned about getting scammed or ripped off and having my data destroyed by a bad data recovery company but have no idea how to find a good one. Most have fancy websites and fancy claims but really how do you tell? Are there any members here that can be recommended to me that people actually KNOW will do the job well and properly and won't rip me off?

Would even send it overseas if I have to in order to deal with someone reputable. Just don't know where to turn!!

Thanks!

There are reputable members in this forum who are from Canada. They will most likely PM you or respond to this thread.
By your description i guess this is bad heads/preamp.
If you don't DIY anything, it should probably be pretty much recoverable.

Good Luck.

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Thanks. Is preamp or heads an expensive job? What's the typical cost range and what's the likelihood that I've lost data?

Hoping to send this off somewhere tomorrow but don't know who to trust! Have been on some websites that look like total scams. Like one in Toronto that wanted $350 up front by credit card before you ever send the drive, just to evaluate and totally non refundable

Got a flat rate quote from ecodatarecovery in Florida, checked them out after reading about someone else on here using them - quote was $595 including replacement drive. But again wanted $150 up front to evaluate, which is supposed to go against the total cost. But then I'm thinking if they evaluate and decide your job isn't worth the $595 they just keep your $150 and tell you your drive is unrecoverable??

Would love to hear from reputable Canadian companies please

To me it is totally correct to ask an evaluation fee for parts, sourcing and time. Times of free lunch (for customers) are over. If you want a simple diagnose maybe in 5 minutes someone can give a simple look to your drive, but don't expect a complete diagnose and a report for free.
Assuming this thread is "genuine", it's a "your data your choice" situation : the less you want to spend, the more the risk you will end dealing with "cowboys". There are unrecoverable case , partially recoverable case and totally recoverable case, but without a serious diagnose (that HAS a cost) it is impossible to tell.
If the problem is at heads / pre , it is in the high end of the usual price fork as clean room rework and other variables are involved, plus sourcing parts just for you.
Good luck.