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What to Do When Your Hard Drive Is Making Noise

August 10, 2024
Hard drives that click or beep are common hard drive failure noises, and do not mean your data is necessarily lost; IF you act fast to power it down!

What does the noise mean?

When your hard drive starts making unusual noises, it’s usually a sign something is seriously wrong. Loud HDD sounds mean your drive is headed towards total data loss if not addressed properly. If the drive is in a damaged state, the drive can be damaged worse with each use, especially if you hear a failing hard drive sound like those listed below. If the heads are scratching or crashing into the platters, for instance, you are well on your way to complete data loss. We'll go into each noise to give you an understanding of them.

Understanding the Sounds

First thing's first: let's identify the specific noise your hard drive is making. Common sounds are as follows:

  • Clicking: Often referred to as the "click of death," this is a problem with the read/write heads and is a common hard drive failing noise. Think of these like the "needle" or "cartridge" on a record player that read the data off the platter of your drive, which would represent the "record" in this case. (If you don't know what any of these are, please don't tell us; we don't need more reminders that we're old!)
  • Grinding or Scraping: This sound means the platters where the data is stored might be damaged with each power-on of the drive. This hard drive grinding noise can be very destructive to your data. In these cases, it is WAY more critical that the drive stop being turned on to prevent catastrophic loss of data. Once your data is scratched off the platter, it is dust. We cannot recover data from dust. The longer a drive like this is powered up & accessed, the more likely the recovery is to be partial rather than full.
  • Whirring or Buzzing: These noises might be related to issues with the spindle motor or bearings.
  • Beeping: Beeping often indicates the heads are "stuck," which is better than hearing ahard drive making a grinding noise! On occasion, unsticking the heads is all that is necessary for a recovery. In other cases, the heads are bad and need replacement. The beeping is actually a good thing - it is MUCH better than a hard drive making a grinding noise! The beeping means the heads are "stuck" rather than actively moving about. Damaged heads trying to read data from the platter results in the grinding and scraping noise you hear above, which is highly destructive to your data. Think of it like the drive protecting itself from further damage once it notices there's a problem.

Each type of noise points to different underlying issues, and recognizing each sound of a hard drive failing, can help in figuring out the appropriate action.

Immediate Steps to Take When You Hear Hard Drive Failure Sounds:

  1. Power Down Immediately: If your hard drive is making any of the noises above, particularly scraping or grinding, the chances of data loss are high if the drive is turned on. This is especially true if your hard disk is making grinding noise or your external hard drive  is making these noises as a result of being mishandled or dropped.Damaged heads trying to access the drive can easily lead to the platters that store your data becoming damaged. This complicates the repair process, increases data recovery cost, and lengthens the time of the recovery.
  2. Do Not Attempt DIY Fixes: It might be tempting to open up the drive and try to fix it yourself, especially if you’re handy with tools! However, if you hear a noise coming from your hard drive, professional help is critical to avoiding data loss. We have a do-it-yourself guide on this site on how to use ddrescue to recover data from drives that are not too far gone, but if you hear your hard drive making rattling noises, professional help is required. Once your drive is making one of the noises above, it is time for professional help. Use of tools like ddrescue are not going to result in recovery at this point, and can considerably damage the drive beyond the ability of most labs to recover your data.
  3. Avoid Freezer Tricks: You've probably come across advice suggesting that you put your hard drive in the freezer, especially if you hear a loud hdd or your hard drive is making noise when not in use. Some people suggest this is a good idea; this is is a myth! Modern hard drives are highly sensitive to temperature changes, and freezing can cause condensation, leading to further damage.
Professional Data Recovery is the best approach once these noises begin!

When dealing with a noisy hard drive that makes any of the noises described to the left, professional data recovery services offer the best (and often only) chance of retrieving your data, especially if you hear a hard drive making grinding noise.

Here’s why:

  1. Expert Diagnosis: Professional technicians have the tools and expertise to accurately diagnose the problem. Whether it’s a mechanical failure, firmware issue, or logical error, they can pinpoint the cause and develop a tailored recovery plan. Certain approaches can permanently damage the platters & the drive under certain circumstances; understanding what the circumstances are of your particular drive are critical prior to taking any action! 
  2. Clean Room Facilities: Data recovery labs are equipped with clean rooms or laminar flow benches that are free from dust and other contaminants. This environment is important for safely opening and repairing modern hard drives without causing additional damage. Drives have stayed the same physical size, even as we've gone from 128 megabytes to 4 terabytes. A sliver of dust you can't even see might not have done much harm in 1992. That same sliver of dust could corrupt 100s of gigabytes of data today! Further, when the heads contact the platters with material on the platters, this can lead to the platters becoming scratched, scraped, and permanently damaged. Think of it like cleaning your car with a dirty towel rather than a clean microfiber cloth. As you "clean" the car, you are leaving scratches  & scrapes that are easily visible if you look at it underneath a light. These scratches & scrapes represent where your DATA USED TO BE!
  3. Advanced Tools and Techniques: Recovery experts use specialized tools like the ACELAB PC3000, Deepspar Disk Imager, and other proprietary technologies to recover data from damaged drives. These tools are not available to the general public and require extensive training to use effectively. While ddrescue often works to recover drives with mild issues and costs $0, the tools necessary to work on drives that beep, scrape, grind, and click can quickly add up to a $30,000 lab.

Choosing the Right Data Recovery Service

When selecting a data recovery service, consider the following factors:

  1. Reputation and Reviews: Look for a company with a strong track record and positive customer reviews THAT WERE NOT PAID FOR! If you see several reviews mentioning that they were left in exchange for a discount, you are dealing with the business equivalent of a 90 year old man dating a 21 year old woman. For instance, drivesavers has come under fire for what appear to be obviously faked reviews.
  2. No outsourcing: Reputable data recovery services aren't sending your drive off to another facility and collecting a middleman fee to your recovery cost while adding no value to the transaction. For instance, going to Best Buy's Geeksquad often results in a more expensive recovery and less detailed communication as a result of outsourcing. Ask the facility you are using if they are doing the recovery themselves, and feel free to ask probing questions to ensure they have an understanding of what they're doing.
  3. Transparency and Communication: Choose a service that communicates clearly and transparently about the process, costs, and chances of success. Avoid companies that make unrealistic guarantees.

Preventative Measures

To lower the risk of future hard drive failures, consider the following

  1. Regular Backups: The best defense against data loss is regular backups. Use an external hard drive, cloud storage, or a network-attached storage (NAS) device to keep copies of your important files.
  2. Monitor Drive Health: Use software tools that monitor the health of your hard drives, such as SMART (Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology) tools. These can alert you to potential issues before they become critical.
  3. Handle with Care: Physical shocks and drops can damage hard drives. Always handle your drives carefully! Don't let people like this borrow your drive!

When your hard drive starts making noise, it wants help. Turning it off quickly is what makes the difference between us being able to recover your data at an affordable price, or losing it forever. At Rossmann Repair Group, we specialize in professional data recovery services, offering the expertise and tools necessary to handle even the most challenging cases. If your hard drive is making noise, don’t delay—contact us today for a free, no-obligation consultation!

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