Hi, I have a failed hard drive and I'd like some advice as to what to do next.

Drive details:
model: ST2000DM001
P/N: 9YN164-021
FW: HP16

It was working fine one day, no issues at all and I decided to restart my PC. When I restarted it my PC would not turn on - not even into the bios. I suspected it would be this hard drive since this is the oldest hard drive I have in my PC. I took it out and the PC booted normally, so it was the drive. I regularly check for any SMART errors / warnings and it was all good before hand (as far as the green GOOD text goes on the program I used). The dumb thing is is that I was looking for a new drive to replace this one and thought it could wait a couple more weeks .

So the diagnosis started. I plugged the hard drive back in and tried turning on the PC, it spins up but starts making a clicking noise then spins down. The exact noise is as happens in this video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEBfSUBbqag

The only thing I've tried to 'fix' the problem is cleaning the PCB contacts as it has been quite humid and the contacts were a darkened brown. No luck, still the same issue.

Now here is my dilemma - the data on there is important to me, but not thousands of dollars important to have taken to a data recovery company. Most I'd like to spend is a few hundred dollars.

Could it be something as simple as a PCB swap?
Would it be bad, but replaceable heads?
Or has the head likely crashed, scratched a platter all up and there would be no hope of getting the data back?

I know those are sort of hard questions to ask with just a noise to go off of, but you never know until you ask!
I'm willing to even attempt to swap the heads on my own with a DIY clean room, if of course you think that would likely allow me to recover the data. Let me know if you think that's a silly idea.

Thanks!

It’s 99%+ that it’s a physical failure, so a PCB swap would be a waste of time and money.

These older 3Tb Seagate Grenada drives have a habit of a head failing and chomping through the media. If you’re lucky a pro may be able to get a half decent recovery from the the other heads, but this isn’t a DIY fix

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That's not what I wanted to hear .

What I might do is hold on to it, save up a bit of money and take it to a data recovery place one day.

Thanks.

[quote="Beng_"

What I might do is hold on to it, save up a bit of money and take it to a data recovery place one day.

Thanks.[/quote]

That is a wise choice.
Your drive doesn't sound good, I can tell you that, so make sure you choose wisely the DR place as well.
Best of luck.

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I live near Melbourne Australia so if anyone knows a good recovery place, let me know. Otherwise I'll just google a good looking one.

I have also found a very similar drive for free that still works but has the same part number (9YN164), similar serial number, same PCB revision and close manufacture date. But different firmware. Hopefully who ever I eventually take it to can use it and make it a bit cheaper for me.

I'm hoping it's just poor heads and it hasn't chewed up the platters. When it spins up it doesn't appear to make any grinding or bad noises. But I've only seen bad things about my drive model. Fingers crossed!!

Thanks for the help!