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Thread ID: 118241 2011-05-25 22:53:00 Clicking HDD - what to do with it BBCmicro (15761) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
1204862 2011-05-25 22:53:00 Last night I couldn't get a WD10EACS to be recognised in Win7 and it was clicking. I tried re-seating it in the (powered) dock, re-powering, re-attaching USB cable, etc.

I put it in the fridge overnight and this morning it works perfectly:) (in the same dock but eSATA connection)

I am wondering whether I can trust it in the future? Can this sort of problem be caused by software?

We had someone staying last week and I did some trial-and-error things to get Win7 folder sharing set up. (Until I remembered Wainuitech's Youtube video on the topic. Thanks Wainui:thanks)

Some of this messing around included removal of HDDs by powering off when Win7 wouldn't let me safely eject them (but they were not being obviously used at the time). I have never got into trouble doing this in the past
BBCmicro (15761)
1204863 2011-05-25 23:07:00 If it was mine, I'd be backing that sucker up! Renegade (16270)
1204864 2011-05-25 23:08:00 If you dont care about reliablity or loosing all your data, then keep it .
Just remember to freeze it every night :badpc:

Seriously though, replace replace replace.
Dont even try & use it again, untill you have a new HD to clone to.
1101 (13337)
1204865 2011-05-25 23:46:00 How to stop a clicking hard Disk:
www.youtube.com
MAC_H8ER (5897)
1204866 2011-05-25 23:51:00 I already have it backed up.

Since posting, I have already thought of how I might put it to use - in a multimedia device eg NAS (particularly since it is not an AF drive)
BBCmicro (15761)
1204867 2011-05-25 23:55:00 How to stop a clicking hard Disk:
www.youtube.com

Well that certainly stopped the noise and the drive for good.:lol:
Bobh (5192)
1204868 2011-05-26 01:08:00 Ha Ha! Hadn't seen that

My drive was clicking at the same frequency as the one in the video but a lot quieter. Interesting that the video says it is (or was!) a "corrupted" drive. In other words, a software problem
BBCmicro (15761)
1204869 2011-05-26 03:05:00 Download the manufacturers diagnostic tools and give it a good going over, a zero fill might be a good Idea. Also check the S.M.A.R.T. status.

In the end though if the drive is at fault it will likely get worse and possibly fail.
Sometimes you get lucky and it's just a random error that doesn't repeat.

I had a drive apparently stall writing a single sector when I left a dl running over night, the sector was toast and the drive failed diagnostic tests, but after a zero fill it was fine and is still going 3 years later (well it would fail a short test and pass the long one lol but no errors in use). Zero filling uses some hidden sectors to remap any faulty ones effectively "fixing" a drive and can work in some cases.
dugimodo (138)
1204870 2011-05-26 04:04:00 Well that certainly stopped the noise and the drive for good.:lol:

haha yeah its a good one indeed

i really like how he goes about it as if hea actually going to fix it - gently removes the screw and removed the cover lightly - then nope Crescent to the face! :D
MAC_H8ER (5897)
1204871 2011-05-26 07:47:00 That'll fix it :lol:

Seriously though, if a HDD is clicking like that, the "freezer" trick is only a last ditch attempt to recover the data - think about it, how can freezing a drive fix data corruption ???.

If its clicking and works after a freeze, it wont work for much longer. Not worth risking data.
wainuitech (129)
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