An external drive that fell off the desk and will not read, and which makes a noise when plugged in, points to a head fault from the impact. The fall knocked the read/write heads out of true, so the drive can't read, and the noise is the disturbed mechanism attempting to work but unable to. This is put right by replacing the heads on the head-swap bench, over platters that the fall usually spares. He is close in thinking something has become dislodged, as the impact has disturbed the heads, and each further attempt to run the drive increases the risk to the platters, so it should be opened instead of powered up. He says his external drive "fell off the desk and now won't read", and it "makes a noise when plugged in", and he assumes something has become dislodged. A fall and a noise with no read point to a head fault, which is dealt with on the head-swap bench rather than by running it. The heads are replaced on the head-swap bench.
| Media | An external drive that fell off the desk and now won't read, and makes a noise when it's plugged in. |
| Reported situation | External hard drive · fell off the desk · now won't read · makes a noise when plugged in · owner thinks something has come dislodged · recovery sought. |
| Fault class | A head fault from the fall, with the heads knocked out of true so the drive can't read and the noise coming from the disturbed mechanism. The platters are usually still intact and are reached by replacing the heads on the head-swap bench, and powering it further is the hazard. |
| Equipment used | Not run on, given the fall and the noise · the drive was removed from its enclosure and profiled on a current-limited bench supply, and the noise was localised to the heads · opened on the head-swap bench, with the heads and platters examined under a stereo microscope, matched donor heads fitted and alignment set · imaged on DeepSpar behind PC-3000 UDMA, the filesystem parsed in R-Studio and the data validated. |
A fall that stops a drive reading is a head fault. The fact that the drive fell and now won't read points to a head fault, because a fall jolts the read/write heads, which float a hair above the spinning platters, and knocks them out of true, so afterwards they can't accurately read what is written to the disk and the drive cannot present its data. It doesn't mean the information has been lost. The fault is in the heads that the impact disturbed, and that is why the drive won't read, while the recording itself is usually fine. Most of the time his data is still on the platters behind that head fault, and it's reached by replacing the heads on the head-swap bench. So a fall that stops a drive reading is a head fault and not lost data.
He's close, the mechanism was disturbed. His thinking that something has become dislodged is close to right, because the noise when it's plugged in is caused by the disturbed heads and their assembly trying to work and failing, so his sense that something moved is sound. The thing he is thinking of can't just be reseated, though, as it's the fine head mechanism. He'll get his data back from the platters, with the heads replaced on the head-swap bench.
It's opened on the head-swap bench, not run on. This is due to the fact that the fault is in the heads, so the drive is opened up on the head-swap bench, where the heads and platters are inspected under magnification, matched donor heads are fitted and the alignment is set, and then the drive is imaged and the data can be read once the heads begin reading again. Also, a dropped drive that makes a noise has disturbed heads that may contact and score the platters if it is run, so it must not be powered up again, as each time could cause more damage to the surface. His data is reached from the platters by replacing the heads on the head-swap bench, which is how a dropped, noisy drive is recovered. The free diagnostic first confirms the condition of the platters, and one fixed quote is written before any work is agreed.
The honest prognosis relies on the condition of the platters. If the heads are at fault but the platters are still intact, which is likely if the drive hasn't been run repeatedly after the fall, then replacing the heads on the head-swap bench will let it image and the data can come back, often in full. However, if it was run on and the platters were scored, the amount that can be recovered narrows to the areas of the disk that are still intact, and this is confirmed before any work goes ahead.
Because of the fall and the noise the drive was not run on. It was removed from its enclosure and profiled on a current-limited bench supply, which localised the noise to the heads. It was opened on the head-swap bench and the heads and platters were inspected under a stereo microscope, then matched donor heads were fitted and the alignment was set. The drive was then imaged on DeepSpar behind PC-3000 UDMA, the filesystem was parsed in R-Studio and the data was validated.
By this point in the process your head fault has been worked on at the head-swap bench and your drive imaged, with the data recovered from it onto fresh media. The diagnostic stage is free of charge, and within two working days of receiving your media we give you one written quote for the work, fixed, plus VAT. Opening up a drive uses donor stock and time on the head-swap bench, so half of the quoted amount must be paid upfront before that work starts, and the balance only needs to be paid if we manage to recover your data. In simple terms, if your drive has been dropped and makes a noise but won't read, that suggests a head fault, and we deal with those on the head-swap bench rather than by running the drive. So long as the platters are sound, your data will come back.
A fall that leaves a hard drive no longer reading is a head fault. The read/write heads float a hair above the platters, and the shock of the fall knocks them out of alignment, so they can't read from the disks and the drive can't give you access to your data. The guess that something was dislodged in the fall is close, and it explains the noise you hear when it's plugged in, which is the disturbed heads trying and failing to work, but the head assembly is a very precise mechanism and it can't simply be put back into place. In this case the drive needs to be opened on the head-swap bench, where the heads are replaced and then the drive is imaged. Don't keep plugging the drive in, because heads that were disturbed in the fall could score the surface of the platters, so set it aside until it can be opened on the head-swap bench.
The case studies here were taken from actual customer enquiries handled by our lab for people throughout Swindon and Wiltshire, and names have been left out of each one to protect client confidentiality. Each study goes through how our engineers diagnose the particular fault described and recover the data from it, using the equipment listed.
A Beeping Drive Is a Seized Motor, Not a Simple Jam — Freed Under Magnification in Clean Air
Clicking With No Recognition Is a Head Fault — Addressed in Clean Air, So the Drive Must Not Be Run On
A Dropped Drive Has a Head Fault — Worked in Clean Air, and Your Own Drive Can Hold the Results
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