Clicking Hard Drive Data Recovery

Clicking Hard Drive Data Recovery

Since they are the primary storage devices used for our data, hard disk drives are fundamental. Hard drives basically operate on the principle of data being written and read from magnetic disks that rotate at very high speeds. Given that a hard drive is also a mechanical object, it does sometimes break down. When dealing with computers for a while, you come to identify the various noises coming from your computer. One of the most common noise is the clicking sound that usually comes from the hard drive or the computer’s fan.

Many users think that when their computer starts producing a clicking sound, it’s the end of the line. While this might be the case at times, it’s not necessarily true. Some computers do produce the dreaded “click of death” and actually end up crashing. However, it’s not an automatic thing. Another myth is that you must disassemble the hard drive before you can recover any data from the drive. Before we dive deep into recovery, let’s first take a look at some of the possible reasons for a hard drive making the clicking sounds.

Causes of a clicking hard drive

The hard drive is made up of many interconnected components that work together to store and retrieve data. As such, a clicking sound can be caused by a few things. These are;

• Damage to the platters

The hard drive is a delicate piece of technology. It’s common to find that the disk platters are made of glass and then lined with a magnetic material used to store data. When the drive is dropped a couple of times, components inside can break or get loose. In such a situation, you are recommended to visit a clicking hard drive data recovery expert such as Outsource Data Recovery. They will ensure they fix the drive before any recovery attempts are made.

• Damage on the PCB

The printed circuit board (PCB) is one of the most delicate and vital parts of a hard drive. The board is often green and at the bottom of the drive. The PCB can be regarded as the drive’s main controller. This is because it connects all the electronic components together and also converts the data stored on the drive platters in 0s and 1s into usable data. When this component is damaged, some parts of the drive won’t work as they are supposed to which can bring about a clicking sound.

• Head assembly

Arguably one of the most critical parts of a hard drive, the head assembly is responsible for the reading and writing of data on a hard drive. When there is a problem with this head assembly, you will often hear some clicking sound emanating from the drive. With the potential to deal a fatal blow to your drive, this sort of error must be quickly resolved. In this case, the clicking sound is often the head assembly being forcefully returned to its parked position since it doesn’t know where to go or it can’t be started.

If this happens severally, the read/write heads get damaged, making the drive completely useless. For such extensive damage, the first stop should be to a data recovery expert. Using special hard drive mapping technology, the expert will advise on the current state of the hard disk and determine whether data recovery options are available to the unit.

While you can easily handle some hard drive data recovery issues, the clicking hard drive problem typically requires an established data recovery professional. Outsource Data Recovery has been one of the leading data recovery companies in the US for a while now. It guarantees top of the line service and professionalism at the most affordable prices.