Desktop disks · case log · ADR-2025-3471
Attached, and the Machine Would Not Start.
He watched as it progressed in stages, and he saw every one of them. First the drive started clicking and beeping
. Next it slowed down to a point where it no longer works at all
, and by that time the machine itself was also impacted: he had to remove the drive to boot the PC up
. At least it appeared on the USB-to-SATA connector, but other than appearing it didn’t get any further: it will not open, and just makes lots of noise like it is struggling
. Important files, he said. He was still attempting to access it when he called. At that point it was suggested that he stop.
Same story on yours? Tell us what it does — the look is free.
0203 0868633
What failed, and why.
Why does an old hard drive hold up the entire computer? A disk drive answers all storage requests in the order received. If a disk drive is unable to respond to a request it leaves that request pending. The computer will wait for one timeout period, try again, wait another timeout period, and all subsequent requests waiting behind will be delayed along with it, including those that need to be serviced before the computer will even start. Remove the disk drive and the queue will clear, which is what happened. The noise told the rest of the story. The clicking indicates that the head is searching for its reference location and returning to its stop to try again. Beeping means the motor is being requested to rotate at a rate it cannot produce. When it slows down to the point that nothing can be accessed any further, these two processes are failing more times than they succeed. None of this represents a connectivity issue. Therefore adapters do not solve it, and with each failed attempt the damaged heads make another pass over the data.
What the bench did with it.
The order of the job →| Equipment used | Its work on this job | The reason for it |
|---|---|---|
| DeepSpar Disk Imager 4 | Only one pass was made, at a fixed number of attempts, so that a bad region on the disk could not hold the run up | Mapped the heads first, then imaged one face of a platter per pass, with every reset, timeout and the power itself kept under our own control |
| ACE Lab PC-3000 Express | Used vendor-level access to review the drive's internal logs prior to opening | This allows access to the manufacturer's service area (where normal ATA commands cannot go) |
| UFS Explorer Professional Recovery | Rebuilt the directory tree from the copy and lifted the files from within it | When other applications will not open it, this application will open APFS, ReFS, XFS, ZFS and Btrfs. |
What the bench did with it.
Stop, before anything else
The single most valuable action accomplished during this project was performed by him: stopping his efforts. As soon as a drive begins producing clicking and beeping sounds, it has a limited number of passes remaining before it fails completely. Every time an adapter is used to open a folder, several passes are spent over the same tracks. Power was then disconnected from the drive. The drive was connected to a current-limited supply, and while under measurement we were able to monitor how much current was drawn by the mechanism, thus allowing us to identify which functions were operating correctly and which were not without having to ask it to read anything.
Open it and grade what is there
The heads and spindle were inspected using a microscope, which is the only method available to definitively answer this question. A matched donor head assembly was installed, and before any type of copying occurred, each surface was individually graded, head by head, because heads that have been flying over a fault for weeks leave a record of it behind them. This grading determined the order in which everything else proceeded.
One copy, then check by opening
Once the drive was successfully reading again, a single copy of all data contained on the original was created at a specified number of attempts per address. Sound areas were copied first, followed by marked areas last. The completion of the recovery was not signed off on the basis of a file count. Once completed, a new directory tree was built from the recovered copy, and each file was subsequently opened at this workstation, because even a file of the correct size may contain data stretches that the original surface could not provide.
What went home.
His important files were transferred home on new media, each one after passing inspection here. Not all of his important files survived their ordeal with weeks of clicks. Those that did not survive have been identified in detail in the final report issued regarding this matter. No overall percentage loss of data has been stated in this report. The original disk drive did not return to service. What it had previously used up could not be placed back into it.
Begin here if yours is doing the same thing.
Other desktop disks on the log.
Yours doing something similar? Power it down first.
Published prices are fixed. Memory cards and USB sticks are £250 + VAT. Any stand-alone drive is £300 + VAT. Drive configurations containing multiple disks (RAID, NAS or server) start at £500 + VAT. First assessments are always complimentary. Thereafter, data recovery charges are also fixed in advance and in writing, so you'll always know how much you owe before paying any money. Shut it down, get a quote first (by phone or with the form), then send it in or drop it off at our Guildford intake laboratory, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm (no appointment needed). On most jobs you only pay if we recover your data.