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3Z3VH · 06-30-2006, 05:32 PM

The clicking noise is usually due to the magnet that drives the heads (Think of a needle on a record, and this magnet moves the needle back and forth) getting too weak, so when the head gets too close to the parking magnet (Another magnet that is there so when the drive is not in use, the 'needle' is parked in an un-used part of the disk, so it does not damage data if you drop it), the parking magnet will grab the head, pulling it away from where it should be on the platter to read it's data.

The best way to get data off of it is to slave that hard drive into a machine already running an OS, and copy the data off to another drive (as mentioned before). If that is not an option, and you simply NEED to boot that machine to Windows, about 7 times out of 10 you can get it into Windows for long enough to burn CDs of your data, or copy it off some other way such as through a network. The way you do this is you boot the machine off the Windows 2000 or Windows XP install CD, telling it to go to the Recovery Console (Not the Repair Wizard), and type chkdsk -r at the command prompt. It will go through the Partition Table, and repair any errors it finds, by copying damaged data to a non-damaged part of the hard drive, and by finding lost data where the partition table forgot it was. This will usually (like I said, 7 out of 10) get a failing hard drive up long enough for a backup.

The important part to note about this is; if it does get back into Windows and runs just fine after a Chkdsk, DON'T trust that the machine is fixed. Your drive WILL fail. This is only a temporary measure to get it booted, and the best option is to get your data off that drive.

06-30-2006, 05:32 PM	#7 (permalink)
3Z3VH Tilted	The clicking noise is usually due to the magnet that drives the heads (Think of a needle on a record, and this magnet moves the needle back and forth) getting too weak, so when the head gets too close to the parking magnet (Another magnet that is there so when the drive is not in use, the 'needle' is parked in an un-used part of the disk, so it does not damage data if you drop it), the parking magnet will grab the head, pulling it away from where it should be on the platter to read it's data. The best way to get data off of it is to slave that hard drive into a machine already running an OS, and copy the data off to another drive (as mentioned before). If that is not an option, and you simply NEED to boot that machine to Windows, about 7 times out of 10 you can get it into Windows for long enough to burn CDs of your data, or copy it off some other way such as through a network. The way you do this is you boot the machine off the Windows 2000 or Windows XP install CD, telling it to go to the Recovery Console (Not the Repair Wizard), and type chkdsk -r at the command prompt. It will go through the Partition Table, and repair any errors it finds, by copying damaged data to a non-damaged part of the hard drive, and by finding lost data where the partition table forgot it was. This will usually (like I said, 7 out of 10) get a failing hard drive up long enough for a backup. The important part to note about this is; if it does get back into Windows and runs just fine after a Chkdsk, DON'T trust that the machine is fixed. Your drive WILL fail. This is only a temporary measure to get it booted, and the best option is to get your data off that drive. Last edited by 3Z3VH; 06-30-2006 at 05:34 PM..