Hi guys

I have a WD Red 2.0 TB (model WD20EFAX) that I was using in a 3.5" Orico USB enclosure as a portable off-site backup drive - perhaps not the best use of a Red. It fell about 1 metre onto carpet and I think this has killed it. It now emits a distinctive sound and does not appear as a drive in Windows 10. I do not need to recover data from it, fortunately.

1. Could someone in the know just confirm death, based on the distinctive sound emitted - m4a recording here:
https://greenbuildconsultants-my.sharepoint.com/:u:/g/personal/info_greenbuildconsultants_onmicrosoft_com/EX250g71u6xMmAhx57zi7GsBxTEw1YF-Iseik0Xd7ZvZlQ?e=NZzaI6
(I could not attach an .m4a file.)

The sound is emitted regardless of which enclosure I use, so it is the HDD itself making the noise. (I realise it sounds quite mechanical so it would not likely be from the enclosure, but I checked anyway).

2. Am I correct that in this condition, repair is likely uneconomical/impossible?

Thanks in advance!

Yes.
It suffers either from stiction (heads stuck on the surface) or seized motor, with the first being the most likely candidate.

In any way, it's not repairable, it needs clean room work. Just bin the drive and move on.

_________________
http://www.northwind.gr
SandForce SSD Recovery
Ransomware Reverse Engineering - NoMoreRansom! partners

Thank you Northwind; will do! Appreciate your fast and helpful response.

If you're going to throw it away, at least salvage the PCB and sell it on eBay. As for the drive, give it a slap. If it breaks stiction without damaging the heads (unlikely), then you may be able to continue using the drive.

_________________
A backup a day keeps DR away.

Even if that works (which is very, very, very unlikely), DO NOT trust the drive with valuable data.

_________________
http://www.northwind.gr
SandForce SSD Recovery
Ransomware Reverse Engineering - NoMoreRansom! partners