[SOLVED] Is this hard drive definitely dead?

littlebigman · 10-14-2013, 05:19 AM

Hello

A WD SATA drive that had been running fine 24/7 for over a year refused to start after turning off the computer for a week-end.

Here's the sound it makes when the BIOS or Linux try to access it:

https://soundcloud.com/codecomplete/...igital-wd-blue

I hooked it up to a host and booted with Linux on a USB keydrive, but no go.

I figure there must be some experts here: Can you confirm this drive is dead, or not recoverable without spending big money (which isn't worth it)?

Thank you.

pan64 · 10-14-2013, 06:15 AM

you may try to look at the log files, probably you can find some info...
You also may try to look for similar errors on the net, probably you can find a solution.
Probably you can read the smart info...

kaz2100 · 10-14-2013, 06:18 AM

Hya

1. I checked your link, which gave me something like radio news. (not English, German, French, Spanish, Italian...) ?????

2. Sound only is not good enough. Can you post some other info?

cheers

Drakeo · 10-14-2013, 06:22 AM

you never know till you open the case make sure the cables are good and plugged in. after that if it fails to spin up then good chance it has seized up.

littlebigman · 10-14-2013, 07:17 AM

Sorry about the wrong link. I don't use SoundCloud often.

Here's a valid link of the noise it makes.

Unplugging the drive from the original PC and hooking it up to another PC makes no difference: Even the BIOS can't see the drive.

pan64 · 10-14-2013, 07:20 AM

looks like the drive itself gave you an answer

TB0ne · 10-14-2013, 07:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by littlebigman

Sorry about the wrong link. I don't use SoundCloud often.

Here's a valid link of the noise it makes.

Unplugging the drive from the original PC and hooking it up to another PC makes no difference: Even the BIOS can't see the drive.

You can TRY to warm the drive up, then plug it in. I've seen many drives over the years suffer from thermal shock after running for extended periods then being shut off. Get a heating pad, set it on medium, and put the drive beneath it. Leave it there for 30 minutes or so, then try to plug it in. Worst that happens is that it won't work, which it already doesn't.

jefro · 10-14-2013, 03:37 PM

Test in different system. Might be any number of hardware issues from psu to cable to channel to memory.

Run factory or oem diags on disk.

Warming or cooling it can't hurt I guess.

I've seen some people gamble and buy an exact model disk to use the board replace method. Sometimes it works if only the board is bad and not mechanical.

cascade9 · 10-15-2013, 12:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TB0ne

You can TRY to warm the drive up, then plug it in. I've seen many drives over the years suffer from thermal shock after running for extended periods then being shut off. Get a heating pad, set it on medium, and put the drive beneath it. Leave it there for 30 minutes or so, then try to plug it in. Worst that happens is that it won't work, which it already doesn't.

I'd always try the freezer trick before heating.

http://lifehacker.com/5515337/save-a...-freezer-redux

Heating or cooling is a pretty dirty trick, and I'd never try it if the data was impotrant enough to pay to recover....if its a 'either I get the data off, or its gone and I throw the HDD' situation then its worth a try.

littlebigman · 10-15-2013, 05:18 AM

Thanks for the tips. I can't run any utility since the disk can't be accessed even by the BIOS.

I'll warm the drive, plug it in, and see what happens.

And make it a habit to clone the system partition once a week :-/

zeebra · 10-15-2013, 08:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by littlebigman

Hello

A WD SATA drive that had been running fine 24/7 for over a year refused to start after turning off the computer for a week-end.

Here's the sound it makes when the BIOS or Linux try to access it:

https://soundcloud.com/codecomplete/...igital-wd-blue

I hooked it up to a host and booted with Linux on a USB keydrive, but no go.

I figure there must be some experts here: Can you confirm this drive is dead, or not recoverable without spending big money (which isn't worth it)?

Thank you.

Seems the drivehead cannot find the correct location of the disk. Probably the drivehead is defect.
You can try to "hit" the drive once it gets started to see if you can give the "drivehead" a knock in the right direction. It will probably not help.

Quote:

Originally Posted by littlebigman

Thanks for the tips. I can't run any utility since the disk can't be accessed even by the BIOS.

I'll warm the drive, plug it in, and see what happens.

And make it a habit to clone the system partition once a week :-/

No need to do that. Just backup your /home partition

littlebigman · 10-16-2013, 06:43 AM

Yes, it's needed, since reinstalling a user system from scratch can take days to get everything reinstalled and reconfigured, while restoring an image only takes a few minutes.

Besides, it's a Windows host, to make things more interesting.