My External HDD is Broken need help =(

Hey everybody. My Western Digital HDD (500gb) just kicked the bucket yesterday. When I plug it into my computer, it keeps making this "click click click" noise. I don't really have any experience in recovering data or know which program to use...so I would really appreciate some ideas. Thanks.

It looks like this..


edit: if this is the wrong area to post this up please move it to the correct thread thanks.

 

*Bump*

I'm hoping someone else can give you a good software solution that will let you pull off all your data for free, but if that doesn't happen the only two suggestions I have:

1. Call a data recovery company and find out how many bills they want to recover your data.
2. You can theoretically buy an identical harddrive and then swap the platters to the new drive. This has to be done without introduce ANYTHING to the drive such as the tiniest bit of dust, many people have done this (I made a windowed drive which had the same issue) This is very risky and probably won't last long, but it might give you enough time to get your data once. My drive lasted for about 4 months, and still runs but with some odd hardware hick-ups.

Best of luck.

 

Do you know whether the hard drive actually failed? I had an external that just didn't power up anymore, but the hdd was perfect so I just bought an enclosure and swapped it out. Most data recovery companies are super expensive, so unless the data is irreplaceable that option isn't that viable.

 

I would have to check to see if its the hard drive itself or not. But I think I would have a hard time opening that casing.

 

Try a different computer or USB cable first. I dont think it has failed yet.

 

Hey...mine did the same thing when I had too weak of a power supply connected to it; I was kinda worried.

Ultimately, my WD MyBook (same generation as yours, also 500GB), is dying. It's pretty lame; basically it just goes to sleep whenever it wants, making it almost impossible to watch movies off of but I can use it for storage.

Edit: Also, it won't pass SMART testing.

I'm probably going to either get a monstrous RAID w/eSATA external enclosure or just suck it up and wait until I get a new notebook with a bigger harddrive.

 

I currently have this exact 500gb drive at work for server archiving and diffirential backups (daily/weekly) and monthly incrementals. Suprisingly its still alive after months of continuous use.

Mine doesnt have the 'ring' HDD light though, it just has a line with blue lights. Must be different versions.

It does drop out every few weeks for no reason...

The click click noise usually happens when theres something wrong with your power supply or connection. It happens to my other external drives when theres not enough power...

 

Uh guys, I just re-tested my external HDD and it has passed SMART testing, so it's...fixed

Flipfire, I think you have the "home" edition, we have the "premium" versions; I think the indicator thing is the only difference.

Sorta off-topic, but does anyone know how to turn off the idling function?

 

Your APM (advanced power management) controls that, not the HD.

I had to use HDParm on linux to stop my hd from parking all the time. (it keeps making clicking noises)

 

Where did you get the smart testing software?

 

Have you tried the WD Diagnostics tool?

 

Yeah, I used WD Diagnostics (like flipfire said ), it was on my Hard Drive when it shipped along with the drivers.

 

Right now when I plug it into the computer it makes this clicking noise and after 6 noises it shuts off.