Noise identification - WD20NMVW WDBMWV0020BBK-05

[jamespeter26]

Dear HDD gurus and fellows,

I am the owner of a Western Digital My Passport 2.5" 2TB conventional hard drive since 2015.

For a few months now, I have not been able to use this HDD anymore as it isn't recognized by any computer, both Windows and Mac. When plugged, the HDD systematically produces a particular noise, which sounds like it tries to spin and doesn't manage to. The noise is quite similar to a buzz and it gets repeated endlessly.

I would like to submit this case to your expert ears before taking action regarding this HDD. I have two main question: what are my chances to recover the data (roughly)? And is there a chance this could be a PCB problem (i.e. I may repair it myself) or is this a mechanical failure (i.e. need to take it to a professional)?

The audio file, together with pictures of the HD/PCB, are available at https://we.tl/t-utk3A2mhPE

Thank you very much in advance for your time and kind understanding!

[HddDonorMarket]

Sound like head stuck on ramp or between ramp and platter.
Need heat swap in clean room.

[samick]

... or heads stuck on platters. Research "stiction".

[Amarbir[CDR-Labs]]

Dear HDD gurus and fellows,

I am the owner of a Western Digital My Passport 2.5" 2TB conventional hard drive since 2015.

For a few months now, I have not been able to use this HDD anymore as it isn't recognized by any computer, both Windows and Mac. When plugged, the HDD systematically produces a particular noise, which sounds like it tries to spin and doesn't manage to. The noise is quite similar to a buzz and it gets repeated endlessly.

I would like to submit this case to your expert ears before taking action regarding this HDD. I have two main question: what are my chances to recover the data (roughly)? And is there a chance this could be a PCB problem (i.e. I may repair it myself) or is this a mechanical failure (i.e. need to take it to a professional)?

The audio file, together with pictures of the HD/PCB, are available at https://we.tl/t-utk3A2mhPE

Thank you very much in advance for your time and kind understanding!

Well,
Due To a Fall Or Huge Shock The Drive Heads That Are On a Plastic Ramp Outside The Platters Have Fallen To The Surface of The Rotating Platters And Now a Stuck There ,The Procedure is To Take Open The DRive In a Clean Room ,Remove The Stuck Heads And Replace Them With Other Working Once And Extract The Data .In Our Country The Charge For This is Rs :30,750/- Rupees [ Approx 433 USD or 380 Euro] Along With Donor .I Am Providing You a Link To Such a Procedure -> https://youtu.be/17XRilKm9FI

PS : Let us Know If We Can Be Or Any Help To You

[northwind]

Yep, sounds like stiction. If data is important, you need to consult a decent pro for this.
Do not power on the drive anymore until you do so.

[Dananjaya]

i think there are 2 sounds. 1st is i think spindle motor stuck. 2nd is head is trying to move and head not stuck. sometime manual rotate will work.

1 - maybe spindle motor stuck or motor problem
2 - maybe pcb contact or pcb.
3 - maybe head stuck

if you are willing to open the platter side there is a very risk about the data.

[jamespeter26]

Dear all,
Thank you very much for these replies, that's really useful! And much appreciated.
Best regards