WD hardrive makes wierd noises and pc does not detect

[pokepokepokeo0]

about 1 year ago I had purchased a Western digital hard drive and had placed alot of important information on it.. and now it is refusing to work =.=... well.. It would make strange noises that form some sort of tune and.. the computer does not detect the hard drive.

-Information regarding harddrive-

Spoiler

WD3200BEVT 320 GB HARD DRIVE
S/N: WXEX08L21837
Date created: 19 OCT 2008

uhh a video of it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1mhDRA7pB8

Is there anything I can do to fix it? it has alot of valuable information (I find valuable) and I really need it.

Also.. I would like to use it record live tv on a digital set top box instead of buying a new hard drive.

The PC does make the detection sound BUT does not allow you to access the harddrive nor is it given a letter.

 

[pokepokepokeo0]

yes I have and it does not appear there either x.x..
I really don't care if it doesn't work anymore I just don't want to throw away a working hard drive.. x.x.. do you know a possible reason for this?

 

[pokepokepokeo0]

Best answer selected by pokepokepokeo0.

 

[pokepokepokeo0]

meh =.= I destroyed the hard drive by smashing it with a hammer xD.. and.. I find out I could've fixed it X.X... xD

 

[redriver71]

I have a WD 25001032 extrernal hard drive, 320 Mb. Purchased 11/28/2006 & quit functioning after about 3 years of use. It too started making strange noises, kinda rattling type sound. That was when I attempted to access the drive. It got to the point that the PC didn't recognize the external drive at all & when I atttempted to access the drive, it locked up my PC.

I tried the tools on WD's website & it didn't change anything. Sent WD a message about the problem & they responded that it most likely was the USB cord. After trying out several different ones, I still had no solution to the problem. I informed WD of this & they pretty much said tough luck~it's dead. Took it the repair shop. They attempted to retreive all my important data from the hard drive~couldn't do it, said they did not have the right equipment. In discussing the problem with an employee of Staples, they said a repair facility they use could retreive the info & at the time, about a month ago, they were running a half price deal & it would only cost me $700 to have them retreive my info.

I then took the WD & a new 1 Tb Seagate external hard drive to a repair person that my mom had used & she used him because he made house calls. She mentioned my situation to him & he said he could fix it. I got the drives to him & this is the results of his labors~The drives were intact, no damage, it quit working due to mechanical failure & he has found that this is a major problem with WD drives, so never purchase another one. He could not transfer the data to the new drive due to some electronic jargon I didn't understand & don't remember what it was, but was kinda like a BIOS type problem. Bottom line was that he needed a new, identical circuit board for the WD & he would take the chip off the non-working drive, put it on the new circuit board, reinstall it & all would be well~he would be able to transfer the data to the new drive. Problem was is that the only circuit board he could find was in Indonesia & he didn't trust it~said it would end up being the wrong product, they will send you just anything & you can never return it or get your money back from them. So, I am left to try locating a working drive of the same brand & model number, purchase it & hand it over to him so he can complete the deal.

So, in reading your post you say you fixed it with a hammer. I seriously considered it but would really like to have the data from it. If you or anyone reading this knows of a working WD external hard drive that I may obtain, please post info here so I may know of it. Thanks.