Hard Drive Failure Symptoms
Once data is no longer accessible, the symptoms are varied and the cause of those symptoms is even more so. While there is no way to determine exactly what is wrong with a drive or any other device until we actually get the device in our lab, telling us the symptoms can be very, very valuable in a diagnostic to make sure we do not do anything to further damage the drive. First, let's deal with the symptoms to be aware of BEFORE your drive fails completely.
What Are The Warning Signs of Hard Drive Failure?
Common warning signs of imminent hard drive failure:
- Frequent but irregular crashes, especially while booting up
- Frequent error messages while performing typical activities like moving files
- Folder and file names that have been scrambled or changed
- Files and folders disappearing
- Really long wait times when opening folders and files
- Garbled output when opening files or printing
- ANY out of the ordinary sounds from hard drive
If any of these things are happening, save important data IMMEDIATELY onto another device. If you no longer have access to data, your best bet is a professional.
Symptoms of a Failed Drive and Possible Causes
Once a hard drive actually fails, there are many ways that this manifests itself; clicking, not recognizing, failing to boot, buzzing, beeping, or plain not spinning up at all. Many things can cause these failures; dropping the computer or external drive, liquid spills, floods, fires, temper tantrums, or the drive just gives out. Many computer savvy people and even data recovery services will tell you that they can tell you what is wrong based solely on the failure symptoms. This simply is not true.
A drive that is spinning up, not making any unusual sounds, and yet does not recognize or causes a blue or black screen or boot looping could be due to weak or failing read/write heads, corrupted firmware, bad sectors, or a logical error. The solutions to these problems are very different. A thorough evaluation is necessary to make sure the solutions that are attempted won’t cause more harm.
Sometimes a drive isn’t spinning at all. This is generally due to some kind of electrical failure. While this seems pretty simple, an electrical failure can happen anywhere within the vast micro electronics of the PCB (printed circuit board) to the internal workings of the drive to an electrical failure of the spindle motor. Again, the solutions are very different and must be carefully implemented.
The most feared failure for most people is the “click of death.” However, a clicking drive is rarely a death toll for important data. Contrary to popular belief, a clicking drive does not always mean there is internal damage to the drive. While that is the most common problem, it could also be a firmware issue or even bad sectors in a key area. A buzzing or beeping drive could mean stuck heads or a seized motor.
The bottom line is that if data is important, a professional is your best bet. How does one tell how important data is? If the data on your device were to, POOF, disappear forever, how does it feel? Is it more like “I cut my finger and need stitches” or is an arm laying on the grand and needs to be sewn back on? The closer you are to the second, the more likely you should be talking to Fusion Data Recovery.
