We have talked about this before, but failing hard drives never go away. Though “prevention is the best medicine” has been an adage that goes back centuries, it can still be ignored even in the digital age. DTI Data Recovery has been in the forefront of educating users on how to save their on everything from laptop hard drives to SNAP Server Failures.
Rather than blow our own horn, we are going to let the newer readers of this blog in on the tell-tale signs that their hard drives are failing. There are generally two easy ways to recognize symptoms of hard drive failures: sudden death and very scary noises .
Hard Drive Just Plain Died
We all have been working on our computers and have been victimized by a
blue screen of death. There are plenty of instances when that bad old blue screen doesn’t mean death, and that is when the operating system has failed. There are many reasons why the Windows operating system might have a problem. Most computers have built-in diagnostics to help users figure out if their problem is software or hardware. This isn’t a dig on Windows, these days everybody that uses online devices are subject to malware, viruses, adware, and just plain maliciousness! The best thing to do is make sure your computer is safe!
In some situations when there have been no noises, it is possible to recover data remotely! Learn more about RECOVER IT NOW, which is instant data recovery in quite a few situations.
The Computer Diagnostics Can’t Read The Hard Drive
The hard drive being not seen be the operating system is not a happy situation. At this stage, there can only be two reasons why the computer can’t see the hard drive:
- External Hard Drive Enclosure Failed – Read the next items if the hard drive is a laptop or internal hard drive. External hard drives often fail in a manner that doesn’t necessarily mean that the hard drive has failed. It is important to check that the hard drive is actually getting power, and that the case itself is functioning up to specs. On the other hand if the drive simply doesn’t work call us at 727-345-9665 and we can help users understand what happened to the hard drive.
- OK, the desktop has a blue screen (see above), the user has figured out the problem is not with the operating system but with the hard drive.
If a hard drive just plain dies it more then likely a power issue. Bad power supply, brown out failed UPS. The only way a user can find out for sure is to check the power supply or slave the drive. Here is a post on how to slave a SATA hard drive and a video on how to slave an IDE hard drive (click the link to see step by step graphics).
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Hard Drive Noises That Mean Trouble
“The click of death” is a common term found in the data recovery industry.
[wpaudio url=”https://www.dtidatarecovery.com/resourcecenter/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/clicking-hard-disk-drive.mp3″ text=”Clicking Hard Drive” dl=”0″]
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24 Hour Hard Drive Recovery & Server/RAID Recovery Hotline:Toll Free 1-866-438-6932 or direct 1-727-345-9665.
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I have a 1 TB Seagate External Hard drive. The day after I finished backing up all my computers and transferring my files my daughter knocked it off my desk (about 1 1/2 feet). It worked just fine for the first three times I booted up so I thought nothing of it. (Had not read this article, wish I had.) There was no clicking noises or anything but now the light on the front just blinks when I plug it in. I tried your “Disc Mgmt” and it does not show up. Would it still be feasible to run a file recovery and try to copy to another External Drive?
And if the enclosure is broken is their anyway to retrieve any of the data?
Hi,
The data is probably still recoverable. However, I strongly suggest that you do not power on the drive. The real problem here is the fall and impact. The heads inside the hard drive are very pliable almost spring like. If the heads are bent they can damage or scratch the platters inside the drive that hold the data. This should be sent into a data recovery company.