Or… How to Fix a Clicking Hard Drive!

Do you have a hard drive that won’t boot and you are suspicious that you can hear a clicking noise? In the industry, we call this the hard drive click of death and the hard drive clicking noise usually means the drive has experienced a physical failure, sometimes even catastrophic. So that hard drive clicking is likely to be serious.

There still may be hope however. If you hear a hard drive clicking noise, take prompt action to recover as much data as you can. In some cases you can use this little trick to retrieve your files.

Just follow these simple steps below.

Could putting a Clicking Hard Drive in a Freezer Really Work?

Yes! This is one method that may allow you to recover files on your own, and it is free! Although I can’t make guarantees in your case.

This does not apply to solid state drives, but I expect it would work with all hard disk drive brands, for example Seagate and WD (Western Digital).

There may be proactive actions you can take with a clicking hard drive in particular. For example with a hard drive not working just some of the time (that is a serious warning sign though).

• If your drive is clicking abnormally, and it is still working I suggest you take it seriously and copy all the contents to another drive – a clicking hard drive may be near the end of it’s life, even if new.
• If your drive was clicking but now has stopped working, the method below might help you recover the data quickly and at no cost.

Is it worth the risk? Option 2

“Your choice to use this method (Option 1) or pay for a professional data recovery service should be based on how important the data is to you and whether you have the money to pay for data recovery.”

To get an idea of how much professional hard drive data recovery can cost, see this analysis.

Warning! There are risks to using the method described below. In the very many comments below you will find some people positively support the practice and have done it themselves, and you will also find other professionals who warn that it could further damage your drive and make it harder (and more expensive) to recover the data professionally later if you decide to go down that path.

Option 3

There is a third option, and that is to simply put it off.

Huh?!

You can wait until a later time before you embark on the recovery of hard drive issues. Provided you do not use the drive! Well, having written that, there can be some deterioration in the drive depending on the issue over time.

Later you may have found:

• The data doesn’t matter that much anymore and you can get by without it.
• In time you may think this method is worth a try.
• Later you may have better financial means to pay for professional recovery.

I (and several people I know) have had success doing this, so no it is not an old wives’ tale. Yes it is strange but it can sometimes work!

My brother-in-law and I were able to recover my mum’s hard drive data by putting it in the freezer and using it for a short while, to copy any data across that we could at that moment.

Then we put it in the freezer again, and yes you guessed it, recovered further data. We cycled her drive in the freezer that way until we had recovered everything we could. Do you really think we would risk her data – on the hard drive of our own mother?

Well, we sort of took an educated risk.

She felt the data was not recoverable, and yet we thought it was somewhat important to her. So it important to us to try this method.

There were some mitigating factors, like the body of the drive being sound and not damaged.

But we are professionals, and we have done it with success before.

I can hear the screams of the nay-sayers…

Let’s go into the background in some detail before you rush ahead.

Knowledge is power and that is what we at TheTechMentor.com aim to provide.Only you can decide if this is something you want to try. We provide other options so you can make an educated choice.

However if you are ready to start scroll on down to the steps further below.

What are the symptoms?

A hard drive clicking noise is typical; sometimes the hard drive clicks then stops. It might not boot or only boot occasionally.

What causes the hard drive clicking noise?

You may know that hard drives work in somewhat similar way to a needle and vinyl record, although it is writing and reading via a magnetic field with much more advanced technology. The reading head typically jumps into and out from different positions across the disk.

This behavior is unlike with a needle and record where the needle simply follows along in grooves or tracks. Also unlike with a needle and record, with a modern hard drive the reading head and disk should never touch.

The hard drive clicking noise is possibly due to impact of the reading head arm or reading head against a hard disk surface or side of the hard disks as it attempts to move into position.

The image above shows the arm with the reading head on the end, and the disk(s) which spin at very high speeds (if operational).

Needless to say it sounds like (pardon the pun) the HDD clicking is critical and you need to take care immediately from this point.

A clicking hard drive if working in all likelihood will not be clicking for long – the clicking noise suggests impact between the head, arm, and/or disk and potential damage at each moment.

That’s why it might not be working for long!

The idea is that an overheated and slightly warped disk and other components may shrink when cooled in the freezer, and sufficiently to for a period of time briefly function.

Use extreme caution, and if the data is at all important, your best bet may be to spend the money and go with a professional data recovery service.

Why might it fix a clicking hard drive if you put it in the freezer?

The word ‘fix’ suggests total recovery to allow ongoing permanent use, but we mean it here as a temporary recovery of operation.

What we’re really hoping for is temporary operation for long enough to recover your data.

Hard disk drive disks and reading heads have incredibly small tolerance (very fine gap between them – they do not normally touch).

To put the hard drive in the freezer will naturally cool the plates and reading head arms.

Cooling the hard drive unit will cause shrinkage in the metal disks and arms inside to a very small degree (pardon the pun!), and it might be sufficient to reduce any warping.

Thus it gives a chance that the physical interference (causing that knocking or abrasion and resulting in the clicking noise) to be avoided while it remains cool.

WARNING: Act to get the data while you still can.

Exactly what action should you take as a clicking hard drive fix?

If the drive is still working, immediately copy all your data or back it up. Otherwise you can try this method to put your hard drive in freezer or cold refrigerator (but only after reading all this article first!).

The explanation as to why is further below and warnings above.

This could be a cheap fix and that is what TheTechMentor.com likes to share: methods that save you money.

An alternative action may be to send your drive to a professional hard drive recovery service. Be warned these can cost hundreds of dollars as in the referenced article, but the chances of success are very high.

Note: As stated above, this does not work on solid state drives.

SSDs have no moving components, and so should not ever make a clicking noise.

Here’s How to Recover Data from a Clicking Hard Drive by Putting it in the Freezer:

Here is the hard drive click of death fix:

Step 1: Remove the drive from the computer

The first thing you want to do is remove the drive from the computer by opening the case. Of course you don’t need to do this if you have a sealed external drive.

Step 2: Cover to Protect the Drive Before you put it in the Freezer

We don’t want to make things worse. Put the hard drive in a sealed plastic bag to avoid bulk condensation. I normally put it in a second larger bag.

I suppose you could use silica gel and put it along with the drive in the bag if you have some (for example from a shoe box from a recent shoe purchase). An alternative may be uncooked rice.

Step 3: Cool by Putting Hard Drive in Freezer!

Then when it is all nicely sealed, put hard drive in freezer and leave it for several hours, maybe even overnight. Give plenty of time to completely and uniformly cool down to the freezer temperature.

Step 4: Remove Drive from Freezer and connect it to a computer

Next, pull the drive out of the freezer and hook it up to a computer. If this works, you should be able to copy the files off  immediately.

Act quickly though because you may only have a few minutes to retrieve your files before the drive starts failing again.

If it is for an external drive clicking noise fix, then it is designed to connect via its own USB. Otherwise, a great option to do this is to use a cable or stand that enables you to connect it to a computer very quickly, rather than try to install it back in the original case. That option could take more time allowing the drive to warm up more. Speed is of the essence.

The best way to do this is to buy and use a USB adapter/connector. For example, a USB to IDE/SATA adapter.

This is the cheapest multi-functional USB 3 option and I prefer USB 3 because it is faster.

The highest rated option is a docking station, which come in single or dual bay.

I like the dual bay docking station for the added functionality of copying direct from one drive to another.

You could order one today and have it delivered while you prepare the drive for the freezer.

Lucky you read this whole article before you started now, isn’t it?!

So what if you can’t get all of the data off in one go – does it end there? Well fortunately it has been found that it is possible to repeat the process.

Again, I can offer no guarantees.

Step 5: Repeat Cooling the Hard Drive in Freezer Again

If you didn’t get all the data off the drive the first time, the drive may have warmed back up. You can repeat the above steps again. Disconnect it again, then seal it in the bag(s), putting it in the freezer again to cool it, remove and reconnect it and try to operate it all over again.

Repeat as many times as necessary or stop if it no longer works.

Caution: If you are not a pro, consider to use this method if this is a last ditch effort to recover data from a drive. If you think you may send the drive off to a data recovery service, please don’t move forward with this method.

Although I write this just to be sure, because I have successfully recovered data by other methods after this freezer procedure did not work one time.

For some alternatives, please check out my more extensive hard drive recovery guide with step by step instructions in How to Recover Data from a Crashed Hard Drive.

Since there is a common thread in some of the comments below, I am placing a later edit here:

If your drive is working not clicking or buzzing or beeping, and your computer doesn’t recognize your drive, then please do try the options in the above link.

If software also doesn’t help, then I still have quite high confidence that a professional recovery company can help.

One highly professional company I recommend in the above link is now included here to make it easier for you: Visit Gillware.com (click to open in another tab).

I note that Gilware recommend not to put your hard drive in the freezer! It is fair to say, they do not believe in the core solution presented in this article!

There are likely to be other professional data recovery companies you can find near you. If you found a good one you can recommend, please put it in a comment below to help others.

If you have had any experience with a hard drive click of death fix feel free to post about it below.

Conclusion: How to Fix a Hard Drive Clicking Noise

Yes I know putting the clicking hard drive in a freezer sounds crazy and, believe me, I thought it was until I actually saw it work the first time. Now that I’ve explained that the cooling effect can help improve the tolerances of warped and interfering mechanical parts, you can understand why it might work. You can also understand why it might be further damaging to use a clicking hard drive (after the freezer or not). I have heard some reports of this fixing the problem all together, however, that seems to be rare.

You might not want to risk storing any important data on a drive that had been clicking, even if the hard drive clicking has ceased. The hard drive click of death sounds scary and you shouldn’t wait for things to get worse. Yes it is true, you might be able to perform your own hard drive clicking noise fix, even if only temporarily, by putting it in the freezer!