All,

I've been reading the forums and Googling for the last couple hours trying to make sense out of my drive failure.

Problem:
The hard drive does not spin up using the power supplied by the computer nor an external hard drive adapter I have. When I plug the power in, I hear two faint clicking sounds. By faint I mean I have to but my ear about 2 inches from the drive before I can hear them.
Clicking sound 1) The sound repeats itself in sets of threes. 1 2 3 - pause - 1 2 3 - pause. Each set of 1 2 3 - pause is about 1.5 seconds
Clicking sound 2) The sound is random and slightly louder than clicking sound number one. It sounds like it might be coming from a different part of the drive.

After looking around, I've discovered that PCB replacement really isn't something I can do. What I'm looking to know is what may be the problem with the drive so that when I take it to someone to get repaired, I can determine if they are taking me for an expensive ride.

Thanks in advance.

From the simple description it seems seized spindle or heads are in the wrong place to rest... but only a complete diagnose can tell.
If so, the safest solution is cleanroom rework - that will not be "cheap". Worst case outcome : head damage and possible media damage depending on how it happened.

Before you ask , for your reference only, YES, there's a FREE "jackass-style solution" (did you see the movies?) that more or less means slapping and banging the drive - the result is usually a severe media/head damage but for someone it worked (SO, DON'T DO IT) . The choice, drive (and data) are yours.

Thank you for the information. I decided to make a recording of the sound so it would be better diagnosed.

The audio file is highly amplified and there is a bunch of white noise. The sound in question is the clicking.

Link to file [WAV ~1.5MB]
http://www.pcexhaust.com/rc/hard_drive.wav

The free solution involves "percussive maintenance". It's a last resort when your only alternative is to bin the drive. It has always worked for me.

Otherwise a typical repair charge is US$650. It involves rotating the platters in their normal direction of motion with a screwdriver while firmly and smoothly retracting the head stack to the unload ramp with the other hand. That's only a few minutes' work, but you need to be careful, and you need to do it in a cleanroom.

See http://community.wdc.com/t5/My-Book-for ... 0296#M2719

I expect that Scott Moulton would have a video on the subject on Youtube. AIUI, he offers a flat fee of $800 plus parts on all data recovery jobs. I expect that this would include the unlucky situation where you may have a seized spindle, in which case the platters may need to be transferred to a donor drive. I would use this as your benchmark price when looking for quotes.

http://myharddrivedied.com/

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A backup a day keeps DR away.

fzabkar,

thank you for the information. So what you are talking about wacking the drive and hoping for the best? Any suggestion on where to hit it?

Doesn't sound like stiction to me, more like bad heads.

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I agree. I dont know why you thought this is stiction.

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To me it is not spinning and so it seems to pcexhaust but don't have the drive at hand. So, diagnose first.
Audio clip doesn't help much.

Anyway it takes 30 seconds to determine if it is spinning or not, just keep the drive in hand while powering up, but can't do it from here .

IF it is spinning THEN it's 99,999% heads problem, IF NOT it's 80% mechanical 20% something else.

all,

thank you for the information.

the drive makes the same noise in the audio file forever. It is not spinning and it doesn't feel like it is trying to spin up.

Then I'm right and I confirm.

Yes if it won't spin (sorry missed that part from OP's post) then it means stiction is likely.

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This sort of confusion is EXACTLY why proper diagnosis is required.

All I can say is that is doesn't sound like any sort of stiction I've heard, but this problem can be diagnosed in 5 minutes by any decent pro.

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PC Image Data Recovery
http://www.pcimage.co.uk

New!! HDD-PCB.COM for all your PCB and donor HDD requirements!

ok. There is a company that will do a free estimate and I'll send it to them. Do they open the drive? The drive is under warranty and to rma it, it cannot be opened. Since drives have doubled in price since last month, I really want that free replacement.

You can confirm whether the motor is spinning by measuring the voltage across the motor's current sense resistors. If you see regular voltages pulses spaced a few seconds apart, then this would be "spin buzz", ie the motor controller would be trying to kickstart the motor. In this case you would suspect stiction or spindle seizure.

That said, I'm surprised that your audio sample wasn't sufficient for a trained ear.

_________________
A backup a day keeps DR away.

WHO, please ?

This one depends on the company and what they do. Like BlackST said the noise from your audio and what you have said about the motor not spinning confirms that you have some mechinical issues with your HDD. I can understand that you would like to RMA your HDD for a new one. Before sending it into the company ask them first if they will open the HDD or not.

Just keep in mind if you want back your data on this then you have to repair it and then you can not RMA the HDD. Also keep in mind if the price of HDD's has doubled in the last few weeks the price for donor drives has done the same. This can mean that repair costs will go up for sure on this one in order to cover parts cost. Also keep in mind with a problem such as yours it might take more than one donor drive to fix this drive.

You might be better off to go ahead and RMA the HDD and get a new one for you. You might of lost some data from the HDD but at least you will have a new HDD and can start to rebuild your data you have lost.

_________________
Iorana Haraharaini

Wise decision if you are interested in getting a replacement drive, just consider that :

1) the company MUST NOT open the drive or disassemble anything so ask them in advance to do a non-invasive diagnose and NOT to open the drive in any way
2) If you have sensible/private/strictly personal data on the drive , consider it. The drives are reworked at ASCs / factory so data will hopefully be destroyed during the process, but you may be concerned about it.

Sure, we will stand in the corner with one feet for our psychic skills to improve.

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Doesn't sound like stiction to me either. Also, as it has been stated repeatedly, stiction in a 3.5" WD drive is extremely rare to the point of almost nonexistent. Some new drives are very quiet and vibration-free, and can be mistaken for not spinning when they actually are. The sound clip would be more helpful if the recording started before the drive was powered.

If there are warranty concerns with the drive the OP should send it to a WD-partnered data recovery company, who can open it and then reseal it without voiding the WD warranty.

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

I have seen a lot of WD 3,5" with heads everywhere except where they should be, instead.
And in the vast majority of case, the customers need ghostbusters intervention beside DR as the drive "out of the blue" didn't work anymore. (Or simply they are liars in the (vain) hope to cut down some pricing ??? )

In this case the audio clip doesn't help much, though.