Please HELP! – Hardware problem.
Discussion
Last week I defragged the hard drive on my home computer. When it had finished the following morning I closed down as normal.
When to turn it back on this morning but all that happened was a clicking sound coming from the hard drive. Windows isn’t loading and I can’t think what on earth to do. Any suggestions please?
This happened to my dad's machine a few weeks back -tried everything but still could not get the thing to work. So replaced machine - as I was taking the other one to bits to see if there was anything worth salvaging I noticed the lead into the back of the drive was a little loose. Damn.
Check the obvious first it might be something simple - oh well at least my dad's on XP at last (trying remote support on a WIN98 pentium II is very difficult by phone).
Check the obvious first it might be something simple - oh well at least my dad's on XP at last (trying remote support on a WIN98 pentium II is very difficult by phone).
Rude-boy said:
I have a nasty feeling that that might be the case. Question is is there anyway i can get the information off it?
First thing to try is to attach the old hard drive as a slave to the new drive (assuming you buy a new drive)
This has often got me out of trouble in this type of situation as the machine will boot from the new drive, but still allow you to access the data from the old drive.
If the drive has completely failed then this will not work, and your only hope is to employ a data recovery company (prepare for a 4 figure bill)
Is the BIOS picking the drive up at all? If so, you *may* be in luck. If you attach it as a slave drive, and you cannot pick up the information this way, I believe you might be able to take an image of the drive instead and recover your data that way.
If your BIOS is not picking up your hard drive, it really doesn't sound too good, and unfortunately, I think you will have to pay a lot of money to a company to regain the data...
- Sarah
If your BIOS is not picking up your hard drive, it really doesn't sound too good, and unfortunately, I think you will have to pay a lot of money to a company to regain the data...
- Sarah
Oh dear this is not sounding good at all. When i turn it on all that happens if the usual Dell screen comes up, the one that usually goes away after 1 or 2 seconds, and then the clicking noises start. Screen doesn't change at all and that as they say is that.
Will have a go at checking the connectors but don't hold out much hope.
Assuming that the above doesn't work I have a very old PC in cupboard which i assume i should be able to take the HD out of and then attach to the connectors in the Dell. Then i assume there is a second connector that i can attach to this drive to see if i can get it to work?
Silly question maybe but is it safe to power up with the cover off or am i likely to fry myself?
Will have a go at checking the connectors but don't hold out much hope.
Assuming that the above doesn't work I have a very old PC in cupboard which i assume i should be able to take the HD out of and then attach to the connectors in the Dell. Then i assume there is a second connector that i can attach to this drive to see if i can get it to work?
Silly question maybe but is it safe to power up with the cover off or am i likely to fry myself?
It doesn't sound to good - I would guess it isn't connectors, but it's worth a try.
If you are going to try and set the HDD as a slave, you will need to set the jumpers on it - most HDDs are either set to single HDD, or to cable select as default. If you remove your HDD, it *should* (unless it's Western Digital
) tell you on the front how to set your jumpers. I tend to set my HDDs to cable select, but I think others here might be better placed to advise on this?
Then, hopefully, when you boot the old PC, it will come up and say that it has detected a hardware change...
HTH,
- Sarah
If you are going to try and set the HDD as a slave, you will need to set the jumpers on it - most HDDs are either set to single HDD, or to cable select as default. If you remove your HDD, it *should* (unless it's Western Digital
) tell you on the front how to set your jumpers. I tend to set my HDDs to cable select, but I think others here might be better placed to advise on this? Then, hopefully, when you boot the old PC, it will come up and say that it has detected a hardware change...
HTH,
- Sarah
First, try it lots and lots of times - power off, try it, power off, try it. a LOT of times. You only need it to work once.
Have a plan ready to get your most important data off it quickly if it does decide to work for a few minutes. CD writer, pen drive, whatever.
Setting it up as a slave on another system as suggested is a great idea. I had one a few weeks ago where I left it plugged into a test machine as a slave for 3 days before it just randomly spun up and worked for 20 minutes.
Also, Try leaving the drive in the fridge overnight, if that doesnt work you can try a pre-heated oven at no more than 80 degrees centigrade for 1 hour. Seriousley! You're getting into last resort territory here though
HTH
Neil
Have a plan ready to get your most important data off it quickly if it does decide to work for a few minutes. CD writer, pen drive, whatever.
Setting it up as a slave on another system as suggested is a great idea. I had one a few weeks ago where I left it plugged into a test machine as a slave for 3 days before it just randomly spun up and worked for 20 minutes.
Also, Try leaving the drive in the fridge overnight, if that doesnt work you can try a pre-heated oven at no more than 80 degrees centigrade for 1 hour. Seriousley! You're getting into last resort territory here though
HTH
Neil
The above fridge idea is a good one, I have used it many times to get data off old hard drives. But......... I dont think it will work in your case, the clicking sound will be the heads stuck.
********** ONLY TRY THIS AS A LAST CHANCE ************
Whip the drive out of the case, and give it realy good wack on the floor. I have had about a 50% success rate with this, best of luck.
Doug.
********** ONLY TRY THIS AS A LAST CHANCE ************
Whip the drive out of the case, and give it realy good wack on the floor. I have had about a 50% success rate with this, best of luck.
Doug.
Flipping heck, whack it on the floor? 
I can see where your going with "unsticking" the heads, but the untold damage that may ensue (heads ripping across the platters etc) just doesn't bear thinking about.
DON'T DO IT!
A safer option, though still very much "last resort" would be to open it up and try to gently "persuade" the heads to move.
Data recovery will cost an arm and a leg. I've been there once. If you can't get the drive to work at all you might consider buying an identical drive, strip it down, and swap platters. Not really DIY, and life expectancy of the "new" drive will be measured in minutes (unless you happen to have a clean room environment handy - thought not!
). It may spin long enough for you to copy your data onto ANOTHER new drive though.
The fridge idea - make sure you wrap it in a well sealed bag or container, you don't want moisture getting into the drive to add to your woes.
I can see where your going with "unsticking" the heads, but the untold damage that may ensue (heads ripping across the platters etc) just doesn't bear thinking about. DON'T DO IT!
A safer option, though still very much "last resort" would be to open it up and try to gently "persuade" the heads to move.
Data recovery will cost an arm and a leg. I've been there once. If you can't get the drive to work at all you might consider buying an identical drive, strip it down, and swap platters. Not really DIY, and life expectancy of the "new" drive will be measured in minutes (unless you happen to have a clean room environment handy - thought not!
). It may spin long enough for you to copy your data onto ANOTHER new drive though. The fridge idea - make sure you wrap it in a well sealed bag or container, you don't want moisture getting into the drive to add to your woes.
, and it has worked. Thanks for all the ideas peeps.
Tried the 'spend and hour turning on and off' thing last night but without success as with the leave turned on for a while.
So it looks like it's out with the screwdrivers this evening to see if i can do anything, followed by a trip to the local comp shop for a new hard drive.
What would be a good idea to buy size wise, (& £'s) this computer is only likely yo be in use for another year till a new one is bought and will mainly be used for word and internet?
Tried the 'spend and hour turning on and off' thing last night but without success as with the leave turned on for a while.
So it looks like it's out with the screwdrivers this evening to see if i can do anything, followed by a trip to the local comp shop for a new hard drive.
What would be a good idea to buy size wise, (& £'s) this computer is only likely yo be in use for another year till a new one is bought and will mainly be used for word and internet?
Not to get your hopes up too much, but I have a hard disk that displays the same symptoms once a month or so. All the connections seem fine, but it always spins up if I remove the ribbon and power cable and plug them back in.
No idea why i keep it in the machine really, but it's a good wodge of space to dump unimportant stuff on...
No idea why i keep it in the machine really, but it's a good wodge of space to dump unimportant stuff on...
As has been said, it's not the healthiest noise an HDD can ever make! As for the whack, I've known 'impact maintenance' to work well on occasions, but it really is the second-to-last option! They can take a fair thump, as I believe 2-3G is the operational shock resistance, with the heads parked they should be able to take some degree more (IIRC).
Go with the fridge and multiple reboots, also try putting it in another PC if you can. (Sounds daft, but I've had it work before....)
Failing that, try a search on 'tinternet for 'data recovery', if you REALLY need to get the stuff off. Here are a few pointers....
www.fields-data-recovery.co.uk/
www.xytron.co.uk/
www.recovery-uk.com/
Not tried any of them personally, so can't comment unfortunately.
Go with the fridge and multiple reboots, also try putting it in another PC if you can. (Sounds daft, but I've had it work before....)
Failing that, try a search on 'tinternet for 'data recovery', if you REALLY need to get the stuff off. Here are a few pointers....
www.fields-data-recovery.co.uk/
www.xytron.co.uk/
www.recovery-uk.com/
Not tried any of them personally, so can't comment unfortunately.
Is there anything particularly valuable on it? If not, I suggest your time would be better spend sticking another drive in it and starting again. If the data matters to you then while you're at it sort yourself out some form of backup. (An external 250GB firewire drive works for me.)
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