Clicking is a very common symptom of a malfunctioning hard drive. Hard drive clicking can be caused by a variety of problems. The purpose of this article is to outline some of the underlying problems that cause the drive to click and give some sense of the potential for recovery under the various scenarios.
Before proceeding, take a moment to make sure the hard drive is actually the source of the clicking. To verify that it is in fact the hard drive generating the clicks, remove or disconnect the drive from either the desktop or laptop, then power on your computer without the drive. Does the computer still click? If so, the problem is probably due to a faulty fan. If, however, the clicking stops, you can be fairly certain that the problem stems from a faulty drive.
To be clear, hard drives are always emitting a certain amount of clicks even under normal circumstances. The type of clicking to be concerned about is usually very loud and repetitive. Sometimes the drive can even make a loud, persistent screeching noise. For examples, click on the videos below.
If the clicking is actually due to a hard drive malfunction, your data may still be recoverable depending on the problem. Sadly, however, there are instances when the data can be lost for good. The following are the most common causes for hard drive clicks with their corresponding prognosis for recovery:
1. The hard drive’s read/write heads have gone bad.
When a hard drive head goes bad, it still may be possible to recover your data, but the likelihood of recovery can vary significantly from one drive to the next depending on the availability of exact matching parts and the complexity of the internal drive configuration.
2. Damaged platters
Since the platters are the actual place where your data resides, damaged platter(s) mean probable loss of your data even if the damage is only partial. Under normal circumstances, the hard drive read/write heads glide a hair’s width above the platter(s). However, sometimes due to physical shock, or just due to the natural wear and tear of constant internal movement the heads can fall out of alignment and make direct contact with the platters. When this occurs the heads will scratch off the thin layer that contains your data and literally reduce it to dust. This is the worst possibility, but unfortunately it does happen and there is no way to recover data under these circumstances.
3. The circuit board is damaged
Sometimes a bad circuit board will cause the drive to click. Usually this scenario can be resolved by a good technician, but again, that can depend on the drive and the availability of replacement parts if needed.
4. Damaged “System Area”
A piece of the drive usually contains information that the drive uses to tell itself how to read the drive properly. Sometimes this information can get corrupted resulting in the drive perpetually seeking the data starting point, but not finding it. This type of problem can usually be resolved by a trained technician.