ok, so this hard drive came with my HP desktop and had alot of my personal stuff and unfortunately i don't have a backup. What happened originally was that i restarted my PC and then computer stuck and the HP boot screen. After alot of troubleshooting, i started unplugging the hardware components till i got to the HDD and remove it, made the PC boot normally (This wasn't the OS hdd).
I connected the hard drive to another PC, the PC booted up but didn't show the hard drive. Even in Computer manager, i couldn't see it. Next i tried a USB SATA adapter. with the adapter, i still cant get this to detect. When connected i hear the hard drive turn on with the usual buzz sound and the running motor, in the background i hear small clicking very fast and somewhat continues. Then i hear a usb detected sound in the PC and then more hard drive noise. This goes for a minute and then everything stops. After about 10 seconds, it repeats all the above. Goes on for ever and no luck in getting the hard drive detected. in the process i touched the PCB, its gets very hot but still touchable by bare hands. Any hope i can somehow fix this by myself? If not what are the chances with a pro DR? Does anybody have a cost estimate? Thanks for the help.

I think it would make more sense to get a free quote by a lab in Canada, such as mine, to determine if the data is recoverable...assuming that the data is worth our $350 minimum price tag. The more you try on your own, the higher the chances that you will cause further damage to your drive.

Feel free to give me a call at 866-750-3169, if you'd like to discuss your options with Recovery Force.

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Luke
Recovery Force Data Recovery

Can i personally bring the drive to be checked? I dont want to mail it out. If yes, can it be checked while im there? Im in Toronto by the way. Thanks.

BTW the full model number is WD5000AAKS-55YGA0 2060-701444-004

It could be a head issue or something wrong internally, but since you mentioned something about the PCB board getting quite hot, it might be related to overheating. If you look under the drive, can you see the components, such as the microchips and other items on the board. Some pictures might help too.

Shane

Thanks i will post the picture now. one thing though. The PC came with two HDD. Exact same one in fact. When i put the good one in the USB i hear exactly the same noise. However the good one gets recognized after few short seconds and the spinning sound stops.

[img]IMG_20131003_170819.jpg[/img]
[img]IMG_20131003_170845.jpg[/img]

Yeah, I am not too sure if a WD PCB board is supposed to get hot when in operation. The only thing I can suggest is wait one hour, then connect the drive to the enclosure and see if it reconised for a short time. If not, it might be a problem internally. If that is the case it will have to be outsourced to professionals who have the tools and experience to get your data back.

ok, jsut compared the good drive and the bad drive and both seem to be the same in terms of temperature.

Dont know how important his is but when comparing the good and bad hard drives, the good one i see the color of the metal circle that has two small holes and is beside 3 small holes, is different.
The good one is Silver and the bad one is Gold.

In that case, I have a feeling its a Hard disk recovery job. Sorry I can't be any help. lcoughey is your man now...

Shane

Thanks Shane.

@arvand007, your board has a Marvell 88i6745 MCU which is afflicted with "head mimic" faults:
http://pcb-hdd.com/images/WD5000AAVS-00 ... %20PCB.jpg

The first thing I would try is cleaning the HDA contacts (J1) with a soft white pencil eraser. If that fails, then try to find someone who will perform a "PCB adaptation service" for you. That will eliminate the PCB as a potential culprit.

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A backup a day keeps DR away.

If the problem is the WD-as-usual it is internal so no DIY. Pricing may be starting from several hundred $ but it depends. Only a complete diagnose can tell.

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A backup a day keeps DR away.

Thanks everybody for the reply. So my question is that when a hard drive sounds completely normal, doesnt have loud clicking but its only not being detected, what is usually the cause of these symptoms? I will most likely show this to a pro but before that i would like to have some information. unfortunately this is the first time i have a total HDD failure. I have been around computers for many many years and never had that. I have old HDDs that have been dropped, carried around in the bag, used and abused and still are working but then this one came along.

thanks, where is HDA contacts (J1) exactly? I have no idea!

sorry, what is exactly the HDA contacts (J1)?

You are welcome to bring the drive directly to the lab for assessment. Depending on how busy we are when it arrives and what the problem is, it could take anywhere from an hour to a day to complete the assessment.

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Luke
Recovery Force Data Recovery

There are 20 pads at the lower right corner of the photo, between the two screw holes. These mate with the connector on the body of the HDD.

The following article should help you:
http://hddscan.com/doc/HDD_from_inside.html

See the item labelled "Heads Contacts".

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A backup a day keeps DR away.