#HELP! HD ain't working!
2 messages in this thread
Hello all,
Last night, I believe I close my computer while it was update a file on my
HD. This morning, when I opened my computer, the HD gave off about 5
equally spaced clicking sounds and then stopped. The HD light was on, and
stayed on. (Usually it goes off after a few moments before starting to boot
off the HD) The screen however, stayed blank. I tried a soft-reset, but
the same thing happened, except there was no click sound from the HD. I
also tried closing it for a few moments and opening it again, but I got the
same results as the first time I opened it. So, I decided to change the
HD's jumper, thinking it might allow boot off some disks.. it worked. But
now, I cannot access the HD at all. It doesn't even recognize the presence
of the HD.
Is this some sort of mechanical problem with my HD? I never experienced
this before.. it already crashed a few times, but I was able to re-format
itwith no difficulty. Now, I can not access it at all.
HELP! Raja Vallee-Rai
Raja,
Yes…you have a hardware problem with your HD. It is not spinning
up. The reasons for this can be many, and the fix for it is practically
non-existant if it's due to the motor burning out or something similar.
One possibility is what is known as "stiction". The reasons for it
aren't too important, but you can overcome it temporairly if you can get to
the HD's drive spindle at power on time. Simply turn the spindle slightly
by hand at power on time. Do NOT move the head stepper mechanism.
That will allow the drive to spin up this time. Make a backup of
the drive because the next time you turn it off, you'll have exactly the
same problem. Once you've made the backup, then your only option is to get
a new drive and install it.
If turning the spindle at power on time doesn't help, then it's
time to take the drive to a hard drive repair shop…they may be able to
fix it.
Don