Tick Tick in HDD

  • Thread starter Thread starter R.Padmakumar
  • Start date Start date
R

R.Padmakumar

Hi,
My 8GB Samsung Hard Disk is 5 years old. I am having Windows 2000Pro.
Yesterday, when I tred to boot my PC, i heard the tick-tick.. sound
followed by the message of harddisk failure. I restarted and tried to
auto detect hard disk from setup after pressing the <DEL> key (F2 in
some PCs). It is not detecting the HDD. I tried in manually setting
the parameters for HD and it also failed. I realized that some thing
is very serious in my HDD and started to hear the hard disk sound with
my ear very very close to the hard disk surface. I got the following
observation:
1. mild sound of disk rotation startup and speedup
2. the strong tick-tick (some times trick-trick or trilck-trilck)
sound.
3. mild sound of disk rotation slowing down.
these three sounds repeat and repeat.. this very unusual.

What can be the possible problem in my hard drive.. Is it in a dead
condition.. can ti be recovered or can the data inside recovered?
Please help me

Yours
R.Padmakumar
 
Hi,
My 8GB Samsung Hard Disk is 5 years old. I am having Windows 2000Pro.
Yesterday, when I tred to boot my PC, i heard the tick-tick.. sound
followed by the message of harddisk failure. I restarted and tried to
auto detect hard disk from setup after pressing the <DEL> key (F2 in
some PCs). It is not detecting the HDD. I tried in manually setting
the parameters for HD and it also failed. I realized that some thing
is very serious in my HDD and started to hear the hard disk sound with
my ear very very close to the hard disk surface. I got the following
observation:
1. mild sound of disk rotation startup and speedup
2. the strong tick-tick (some times trick-trick or trilck-trilck)
sound.
3. mild sound of disk rotation slowing down.
these three sounds repeat and repeat.. this very unusual.

What can be the possible problem in my hard drive.. Is it in a dead
condition.. can ti be recovered or can the data inside recovered?
Please help me

Yours
R.Padmakumar
Click to expand...

Once a drive starts constantly clicking there is nothing you
can do to get it working again, no settings change will
matter and no way to recover the data (except very expensive
data recovery service).


It is dead.
 
Well, once I had an IBM 40GB drive, which was clicking sometimes when
starting, and the drive was not booting.
After many retries, a little moves with HDD, made HDD to start and be able
to boot up.
Then I formatted that drive, but after few weeks, it became click again.
So new starting, reformat... boring... but at least, I could save data from
it (anyway, there were none usefull, as all are backuped)

Finally, I returned the HDD and got new, without any problems now.

So, you can ry starting the HDD, maybe booting from diskette with IBM Diag
program can make it working for a while.
Also try punching it a bit, but I am not sure, if it can help anyhow.

Zdenek Sojka
 
Well, once I had an IBM 40GB drive, which was clicking sometimes when
starting, and the drive was not booting.
After many retries, a little moves with HDD, made HDD to start and be able
to boot up.
Then I formatted that drive, but after few weeks, it became click again.
So new starting, reformat... boring... but at least, I could save data from
it (anyway, there were none usefull, as all are backuped)

Finally, I returned the HDD and got new, without any problems now.

So, you can ry starting the HDD, maybe booting from diskette with IBM Diag
program can make it working for a while.
Also try punching it a bit, but I am not sure, if it can help anyhow.

Zdenek Sojka
Click to expand...

Fair enough, if one is fortunate enough to catch a drive
failing they might be able to get data, IF the drive holds
out long enough. It seems though that the OP has been
trying already and still it's not working, not even
sometimes. Certainly if the drive ever works the system
should be left on and all data copied off immediately,
definitely not powering off system until finished even if it
means running out to the local store to buy another drive
immediately.
 
This is an indication of a hard drive failure. There is nothing reliable
that you can do for it. If you did not keep a backup of it, data
recovery will be very expensive if you need the data on it.

The answer is to replace the drive, and do a restore from your backup,
if you have a backup system in place.

--

Jerry G.
======

Hi,
My 8GB Samsung Hard Disk is 5 years old. I am having Windows 2000Pro.
Yesterday, when I tred to boot my PC, i heard the tick-tick.. sound
followed by the message of harddisk failure. I restarted and tried to
auto detect hard disk from setup after pressing the <DEL> key (F2 in
some PCs). It is not detecting the HDD. I tried in manually setting
the parameters for HD and it also failed. I realized that some thing
is very serious in my HDD and started to hear the hard disk sound with
my ear very very close to the hard disk surface. I got the following
observation:
1. mild sound of disk rotation startup and speedup
2. the strong tick-tick (some times trick-trick or trilck-trilck)
sound.
3. mild sound of disk rotation slowing down.
these three sounds repeat and repeat.. this very unusual.

What can be the possible problem in my hard drive.. Is it in a dead
condition.. can ti be recovered or can the data inside recovered?
Please help me

Yours
R.Padmakumar
 
What can be the possible problem in my hard drive.. Is it in a dead
condition.. can ti be recovered or can the data inside recovered?
Please help me
Click to expand...
There is a 99% probability that the drive is stuffed.
Buy and install a new one (bigger & faster), restore your latest
system backup to it, and smile.

If you have no backup - don't smile. You may be able to get most of
the data recovered if you take the drive to specialists, but be
prepared to pay megabucks.

And next time, remember to take regular data backups and also take a
full system backup every time you make a significant change to your
system.
 
Your harddrive sounds like it definitely has failed. Hopefully you have the
data that was on it backed up, because you cannot recover the data off of
the failed drive without spending over $1000 US at a Professional Data
Recovery Service.
 
DaveW said:
Your harddrive sounds like it definitely has failed. Hopefully you have
the data that was on it backed up, because you cannot recover the data
off of the failed drive without spending over $1000 US at a Professional
Data Recovery Service.
Click to expand...

I have seen other posts in this newsgroup where drives have failed and the
data has been recovered after placing the drive in a freezer bag and leaving
it in the freezer overnight. They then very quickly install it as a slave
drive in a PC and can access and recover the data before the drive warms up
too much. I ain't done it but I think a lot of people have.
 
Hi All,

I realized that i might have lost my data..

I inquired with on HD recoverist regarding this and he said like the
head is trying to mount into the disk area and getting hit on the
disk-edge itself and therefore going back to its pevilion (which might
have lost its allignment).. this process is getting repeated which
inturn creates the tick-click sound.. also this might have damaged the
magnetic media itself..!

Thank you all for your comments and succestions..


Yours
R.Padmakumar
 
Hi,

I got all the data back. I tried the technique of keeping the HDD
in to the freezer (max freezing point) for 2 days packed (airtight) in
a plastic cover (with tight ropes on the package). After the HDD got a
dead cool temperature, I connected it and found that my PC detected
the HDD (now i heard un-interpretable noises from the HDD).. "GREAT"..
my Win2k booted up and i am lucky to copy all the necessary data into
my secondary HDD.

But the HDD stucked up 2 3 times and I used the same freezer
technique to recover the remaining data. Dont remove the plastic cover
over the HDD while you connect to your PC. make a opening at the
connector end of the HDD or better place the HDD in a tight thermocool
box in order to keep the coolness while the HD is in operation. After
doing this, i found that the HDD is running for more than 2 hours
without any problem.

Also I found that, the previous click-ckick has created lot of bad
sectors (i got many CRC errors in many files, while i am copying
files).

While you are taking bkup, remember the following.
- dont overload the HDD by doing more than one copy.
- but try to copy the needed files as quick as possible.
- do not try to write the data in a CD or some other slow writing
media, as this may take more time and ur HD might stop at any time.

If you succeed in this HD freezing technique, it is like you are
just lucky to retrieve the needed data and do it AS QUICK AS POSSIBLE.
it is something like you have got the GOD's grace.. LOL.. (if u r not
an atheist)

I found this HDD freezing technique worked with some other HD also
(i saw in some forums).. But I am not clear about why this dead HDD
(sometimes) works under very cool temperature.

I am very eager to know about the technical details.

Thanks
R.Padmakumar
 
Hi,

I got all the data back. I tried the technique of keeping the HDD
in to the freezer (max freezing point) for 2 days packed (airtight) in
a plastic cover (with tight ropes on the package). After the HDD got a
dead cool temperature, I connected it and found that my PC detected
the HDD (now i heard un-interpretable noises from the HDD).. "GREAT"..
my Win2k booted up and i am lucky to copy all the necessary data into
my secondary HDD.

But the HDD stucked up 2 3 times and I used the same freezer
technique to recover the remaining data. Dont remove the plastic cover
over the HDD while you connect to your PC. make a opening at the
connector end of the HDD or better place the HDD in a tight thermocool
box in order to keep the coolness while the HD is in operation. After
doing this, i found that the HDD is running for more than 2 hours
without any problem.

Also I found that, the previous click-ckick has created lot of bad
sectors (i got many CRC errors in many files, while i am copying
files).

While you are taking bkup, remember the following.
- dont overload the HDD by doing more than one copy.
- but try to copy the needed files as quick as possible.
- do not try to write the data in a CD or some other slow writing
media, as this may take more time and ur HD might stop at any time.

If you succeed in this HD freezing technique, it is like you are
just lucky to retrieve the needed data and do it AS QUICK AS POSSIBLE.
it is something like you have got the GOD's grace.. LOL.. (if u r not
an atheist)

I found this HDD freezing technique worked with some other HD also
(i saw in some forums).. But I am not clear about why this dead HDD
(sometimes) works under very cool temperature.

I am very eager to know about the technical details.

Thanks
R.Padmakumar
 
Hi,

I got all the data back. I tried the technique of keeping the HDD
in to the freezer (max freezing point) for 2 days packed (airtight) in
a plastic cover (with tight ropes on the package). After the HDD got a
dead cool temperature, I connected it and found that my PC detected
the HDD (now i heard un-interpretable noises from the HDD).. "GREAT"..
my Win2k booted up and i am lucky to copy all the necessary data into
my secondary HDD.

But the HDD stucked up 2 3 times and I used the same freezer
technique to recover the remaining data. Dont remove the plastic cover
over the HDD while you connect to your PC. make a opening at the
connector end of the HDD or better place the HDD in a tight thermocool
box in order to keep the coolness while the HD is in operation. After
doing this, i found that the HDD is running for more than 2 hours
without any problem.

Also I found that, the previous click-ckick has created lot of bad
sectors (i got many CRC errors in many files, while i am copying
files).

While you are taking bkup, remember the following.
- dont overload the HDD by doing more than one copy.
- but try to copy the needed files as quick as possible.
- do not try to write the data in a CD or some other slow writing
media, as this may take more time and ur HD might stop at any time.

If you succeed in this HD freezing technique, it is like you are
just lucky to retrieve the needed data and do it AS QUICK AS POSSIBLE.
it is something like you have got the GOD's grace.. LOL.. (if u r not
an atheist)

I found this HDD freezing technique worked with some other HD also
(i saw in some forums).. But I am not clear about why this dead HDD
(sometimes) works under very cool temperature.

I am very eager to know about the technical details.
Click to expand...

You are lucky, the last two drives I came across that
behaved similarly didn't respond any differently after a
night in the freezer.
 
I inquired with on HD recoverist regarding this and he said like the
head is trying to mount into the disk area and getting hit on the
disk-edge itself and therefore going back to its pevilion (which might
have lost its allignment).. this process is getting repeated which
inturn creates the tick-click sound.. also this might have damaged the
magnetic media itself..!
Click to expand...

I actually doubt that it was physically getting "hit". More likely that
was rapid head movement: a kind of calibration, where the head assembly
moves to some reference point (maybe touching a micro switch? that would
definitely click) and then trying to seek to the beginning of data (either
track 0, or one of the earlier tracks with system info on them, at least
that is true for SCSI, maybe new IDE too?). If it cannot find its required
system information and/or track0/sector0 then it cannot do anything else,
except try again (hoping for the best). It is a regular click-click
pattern because the head assembly is always moving between the same 2
reference points. Normal operation the disk head assembly is wiggling all
over the place when seeking. If the drive is marginal, then there might be
some (rapidly decreasing?) probability of actually reading the required
information from the disk, then reading data. Clearly on the way out...

I think freezing the disk works by tightening up the mechanical tolerances
(e.g. sloppy bearings?) and improving the seek accuracy.

Glad to read that you were able to recover your data. Too bad about the HD.
 
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