WD Hard Drive Quick Clicking (Not Initalized)

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Kidsnd274

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Hello,

Looking for some help. I have a WD Elements external hard drive (WD10JMVW) and it doesn't seem to work well. Upon connecting the drive to the computer, the drive will start a clicking noise, about 4 times before stopping for 0.5 seconds and click 4 times again before continuing the cycle. Inside Windows Disk Management, it says the disk is "Not Initialized" and I can initialize it, but that would probably destroy my data.

I have read many articles online and suspected the PCB might have some problems. Here is a photo of it.

IMG_20150124_173327.jpg

Notice the contacts at the bottom right, is that a problem?

Any way to recover the data with software? It is still recognized by the computer.

I do have warranty on it, but if I send it in, will WD just replace the drive or actually repair it?
I have lots of data there that I don't want to lose, any help is appreciated.

 
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Rit_86

Rit_86

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Clicking sound on the HDD means it is going to suffer imminent failure, if it has not suffered it already.
Download HD tune and post a screenshot of its health tab. There is nothing you can do to it with software. It is a hardware problem and generally data recovery to repairing the disk can cost obscene amount of money. You are lucky it is still under warranty. WD is most probably going to replace it, but even if they repair it all data will be lost and data recovery does not fall under the warranty. As a last ditch effort, if you initialize it, recover as much data as you can with any data recovery tool such as Recuva.
But, TBH it is most probably not going to be possible. If by chance it is, recover as much as you can before the disk dies.
 
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SuperSoph_WD

SuperSoph_WD

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Jul 30, 2014
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Hello there, Kidsnd274!

Unfortunately, the clicking sounds is an indication of a physical damage on the drive. :(
You can still try to test the drive using Data LifeGuard Diagnostics tool and check the health and SMART status on the drive.
Contact our tech support for further assistance on this. Since your drive is still under warranty you can send an RMA request.
You should be able to get a replacement product but Western Digital does not recover the data.
You can read more about that here: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=BLbDwH
How to RMA your product under warranty: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=U9LD71
Tech support contacts: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=5QGzt8
P.S. If you have opened the enclosure of the WD Elements, you have most probably voided the warranty though. I still recommend contacting our tech support for help.

Hope I helped! Good luck!
SuperSoph_WD
 
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fzabkar

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@Kidsnd274, the contacts you are referring to are the JTAG pins. These are not the source of your problems. That said, you could try gently cleaning the oxidisation from the J1 contacts on the other side of the PCB (at the bottom of the following photo).

http://ep.yimg.com/ay/yhst-14437584971410/91404146-9.gif

Are you certain that the drive is spinning up? Are you perhaps hearing very soft clicking or beeping consistent with stiction (heads stuck to platters)?

Otherwise could it be that the USB port is unable to supply sufficient power to spin up the drive? If so, then a USB Y-cable will pick up power from two USB ports.

Can you see the USB-SATA bridge board in USBDeview or UVCView?

http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/usb_devices_view.html
http://www.users.on.net/~fzabkar/USB_IDs/UVCView.x86.exe
 
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Kidsnd274

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I have actually tried using software to recover data. S.M.A.R.T. says the drive is healthy... I don't really move this drive around a lot, I just leave it on top of my computer connected. Have lots of data I need there, trying to avoid data recovery as that costs a ton.

 
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Kidsnd274

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Software just says that there is no information avaliable and when testing, it says too many bad sectors. Chances are I don't have the warranty already. I need the data off that drive so I don't plan to RMA it anyways. Can WD help me with this?

I don't move the drive around a lot, in fact, I don't move the drive at all. It's on my computer all the time. I don't know how it failed... Still hoping its the board that is broken.
 
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Rit_86

Rit_86

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SMART data is not always reliable. I have a disk that had shown critical error 3 years ago (reallocated sector) which is a sign of impending failure, yet it functions perfectly, while many disks just dies without any sort of warning even if you had handled them very gently. Your warning is of a serious nature. That clicking sound is a sure indication of a disk failure. If you cannot recover the data with software, I am afraid that very little you can do.
 
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Kidsnd274

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I tried cleaning J1 pins using an eraser, but still doesn't work (yes the ones at the back of the board). How do I clean the oxidisation properly?

If Windows does recognise it as a drive connected, but not initialised, does it mean it's receiving enough power? Under Safely Remove Hardware, I do see the drive connected, and I can eject it, but it is not mounted.
ng5zwg.jpg

I am hearing clicking, clicks about 5 times before it stops. After the first few rounds, the clicking becomes faster, then it stops when there is no drive activity. Opening a HDD diagnostic tool causes it to click again.

I leave the drive on top of my computer, and rarely move it around. I have checked that the heads are in the parked position when the drive is powered off. Tried this tutorial (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7m5cil6KezI). Like I said, I'm not planning to RMA the drive, because I want the data, so I'm okay that my warranty is voided.
 
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Kidsnd274

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The computer doesn't even mount the drive anymore, probably failed already. At this point, I doubt software can help. Can you recommend me any software that can try to recover data off the drive? There is a clicking sound BTW, so I doubt it will even read...
 
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SuperSoph_WD

SuperSoph_WD

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Jul 30, 2014
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Hi again, Kidsnd274!

I'm sorry but there's not much that we can do because we don't perform data recoveries. However, I can suggest you the link to our Data Recover partners worldwide. Even though you already mentioned that it's not fitting your budget, here they are: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=ocMNJt
I'd still advice on contacting our tech support, I believe they will be able to shed some light on how to proceed despite the lack of warranty: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=2Zr4ia

Best of luck! Sorry I couldn't be more helpful! :(
SuperSoph_WD
 
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fzabkar

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@Kidsnd274, the drive does appear to have an internal fault. Opening it outside a cleanroom was not a wise move. Doing so introduces contaminants (dust) that may make matters worse.

The reason that you see something in Device Manager is because Windows is detecting the USB-SATA bridge hardware on the drive's PCB, not the drive behind the bridge. Sorry, but I can't see any DIY solution for you. :-( It's too bad that WD is not in a position to recover data from their own products. Ironically, Seagate's data recovery service will probably be able to recover your data from your WD drive.

http://www.seagate.com/services-software/data-recovery-services/consumers/in-lab-data-recovery
 
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