The Most Common Causes for a Clicking Hard Drive

If your hard drive makes unusual sounds, it could be the click of death. But what is that odd noise, and why does your hard drive make that sound? Let's explore it!

Undeniably, the hard drive is the heart and soul of computers.

It is the hard drive of your PC that holds all of your valuable documents, photographs, music files, videos, and a lot of other important stuff.

The Most Common Causes for a Clicking Hard Drive: eAskme
 The Most Common Causes for a Clicking Hard Drive: eAskme

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It is imperative to keep your drive in top working condition, given the critical feature of a hard drive.

And that is why it is a significant matter of concern to have a weird clicking noise coming from your hard drive.

Modern hard drives are engineered and produced in a way that enables them to remain quiet.

So, it makes sense to start thinking if you hear any odd clicking noises.

It is a sign of hard drive damage and an impending crash if your hard drive is fresh and you hear strange sounds.

For a variety of reasons, a hard drive can start making clicking noises.

So, knowing the cause of this sound will help you to recognize the problem.

You may take the correct step to make your hard drive work again or at least recover the precious data from it by determining the exact cause.

A hard drive clicking noise is correlated much of the time with the faulty motion of the read-write actuator of the disc.

If a hard drive has been lost, moistened, exposed to fire, or subjected to high magnetic fields, it can may start clicking.

Firmware failure and PCB damage are also responsible for making your hard drive start clicking.

There are several reasons also that may cause a clicking sound.

Hard drive recovery specialist who has been providing hard drive recovery services for years can determine the cause by listening to the type of clicking.

Here are some common causes of hard drive clicking.

Power Failure or Surge

A power surge is a common cause of hard drive failure.

When the drive is in motion, a power surge can damage both the PCB (Printed Circuit Board) and the HSA (Head Stack Assembly).

Due to this reason, it’s vital to connect your PC with a reliable surge protector.

It is best to invest in a good UPS to prevent this from happening.

Hard drives may also get damaged due to an insufficient supply of power from a defective power supply unit.

To prevent this issue, you may use an alternate power supply.

Misaligned read/write heads

If not handled properly, the read and write heads may get damaged or misaligned.

If the heads or spindle arms of the drive can get misaligned, the drive may start producing a clicking sound.

The read/write heads also get worn out over time due to dirt and dust accumulation.

When this happens then also the read and write heads can fall out of alignment.

Damaged Platters

When a platter is damaged or scratched, the drive will make odd noises.

When platter gets damaged, it hinders the operations of the actuator arm which constantly swings back and forth to find an intact platter.

If your drive is making noise due to this reason, you’ll need the assistance of a qualified data recovery expert.

This is because repairing and retrieving data from a scratched platter is quite complicated.

If you still have any question, feel free to ask me via comments.

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