Hard Disk Clicking sound

[cube_]

Recently I overclocked my PC, as some of you may know (thread) and about 2 days ago i started hearing random, sporadic clicking/reading sounds coming from my drives, similar to weewood's recent problem (thread).

The sound would come after a few hours but yesterday night it went haywire. Thinking it was my overclocking i switched to my default BIOS settings and as i'm doing so i realize the clicking sound is still going on. Anyways i save and boot up to Windows. Not fixed.
I had to figure out which of the 3 hard drives were clicking so one by one i unplugged the molex cables and found out it was one of my 80gb IDE drives. I plugged it back in, boot up to Windows, loaded a file from that hard drive and it wouldn't load and my system got stuck :dry:.

So i left it unplugged.
I don't have a virus or any monitoring software. Could it be that my drive is dieng? Could it be that when i overlocked i needed to send some voltage to that drive, somehow?

 

[RHochstenbach]

I plugged it back in, boot up to Windows, loaded a file from that hard drive and it wouldn't load and my system got stuck

In that case, the disk is indeed dead. You could try to run the command chkdsk /f from the command prompt, and see if it it's just some error in the file system. But I'm almost certain that the disk is indeed dead.

Could it be that when i overlocked i needed to send some voltage to that drive, somehow?

The clicking that you hear is from the mechanical part of the hard drive. If you'd send a voltage that is too high, the logic board would burn and the drive wouldn't even turn on at all. So this is a coincidence. Maybe the drive was already on the dying tour....

I've had a similar issue with a Samsung SATA hard disk that was just a few months old...

 

[cube_]

In that case, the disk is indeed dead. You could try to run the command chkdsk /f from the command prompt, and see if it it's just some error in the file system. But I'm almost certain that the disk is indeed dead.

I'd try it if Windows could detect it but it doesn't.

Maybe it is on the dieing side... I have more than 90 freakin movies on that drive :doh:

 

[RHochstenbach]

I'd try it if Windows could detect it but it doesn't.

Are you still able to start up Windows when that drive is plugged in? If so, see if the drive is visible in Disk Management (Control Panel > Administrative tools > Computer Management > Disk Management).

The drive couldn't be damaged by the overlocking, because the voltage settings only apply to the components of the motherboard. The hard drives are all connected on a seperate line of the power supply, so not affected by the settings that you make in the BIOS.

 

[Ferg]

Last shot is always the freezer method (worked for me about 2 days ago for a client as a matter of circumstance) - Obviously this can only help when there is a mechanical failure.

i.e. wrap it in a velostat bag and seal it, pop it in the freezer for about an hour, plug it into an IDE/SATA - USB interface board and plug that into a different PC and try to recover your files.

 

[Pimp]

Last shot is always the freezer method (worked for me about 2 days ago for a client as a matter of circumstance) - Obviously this can only help when there is a mechanical failure.

i.e. wrap it in a velostat bag and seal it, pop it in the freezer for about an hour, plug it into an IDE/SATA - USB interface board and plug that into a different PC and try to recover your files.

nice idea

Or you could encase the hard drive with an array of sponges that way you won't hear the clicking anymore :chk:

 

[pelvis_3]

I agree with everyone. Once you hear the clicking, it is certain death of your drive very soon. It's worth noting that, when you are tinkering with a failing HDD, please unplug any other drives that you don't need during the recovery process. I have experienced and read about many occasions when a clicking hard drive corrupted data on other drives.
It does happen so be aware.

i.e. wrap it in a velostat bag and seal it, pop it in the freezer for about an hour, plug it into an IDE/SATA - USB interface board and plug that into a different PC and try to recover your files.

This can work but most often than not, it doesn't. This also means CERTAIN death for your hard drive. After it warms back up, usually 5-15 minutes after being on, condensation appears inside and out and the drive is ruined. Make sure you have tried every method imaginable before doing this.

 

[cube_]

Thanks all for the responses.
I haven't turned my PC on for 2 days up until now. Hoping that time would remedy this problem, it didn't. The clicking continues and it isnt detected by my BIOS or by Disk Management.

I'm going to give it a few more shots. I think i'll try the freezing last because the condensation is a concern at the moment.
If nothing else works... i'm going to have to bury it 6 feet underground :toast:

There wouldn't happen to be a way to recovery files from a dead hard drive would there?