There are several signs that signify hard drive failure. One of such signs is the clicking noise of the hard drive. Primarily it can cause when the disk’s read-write actuator movement is not correct. At that time the disk controller attempts to reset it’s position by bumping back to its original position and causes an audible “click”. So, if the process repeats then this click sound will continue.
So, if you are using older hard drives then this clicking sound can be caused because of the disk head as well. Not only older hard drives, but you can also face this issue in newer models as well. Due to the issue with the software and hardware, you can often encounter this clicking sound.
Reasons for Clicking Sound:
Due to various reasons, this clicking sound can occur in your hard drive. If you listen to the sound carefully, you can identify each sound is different from each other. So, it is important to understand the reason for each clicking sound only then you can solve these problems. Let’s look at the causes first.
- In any circumstances, if your hard disk is exposed to fire, water then it can severely damage your device. While performing normal operations, the moving parts of the hard drive face normal wear and tear that causes a natural failure and creates this clicking noise.
- If there is any defect in the power supply unit then it can create noise on the hard drive. Therefore, power surges happen when the electrical charge increases in the power lines and due to this reason both PCB and the HSA can be damaged and ultimately causes this issue.
- Firmware corruption can be another reason that makes your disk unreadable and that is why your hard drive can generate clicking sound.
- Sometimes the services area where all the manufactured data stored for HDD operation can be damaged for errors. So, if this happens then it is hard to translate the information on the drive and you may get this clicking sound on the hard drive.
Top Methods to Fix Hard Drive Clicking Issue:
If your hard drive makes clicking noise then there are few hacks that you can try out step by step to get a quick solution. But before you apply these methods, you need to recover the data from the hard drive by using the data recovery software. Now, check out the below-mentioned processes.
1. Verify the Hard Drive Connection
The clicking sound can be caused because of the insufficient power supply. In this case, you can connect the hard-drive directly to the USB port on the computer instead of using a USB hub or take out your hard drive from its place and connect it to the PC directly.
2. Restart Your System
You can even restart your system and check whether the issue gets fixed or not. Restart is the best option to get rid of the problem. So, click on the power icon from the bottom right part of the screen and then click on the Restart option.
3. Put the Hard Drive Upside Down
If the disk head is out of alignment, you can get this clicking sound at anytime. In this case, put your hard drive upside-down and try to reset the needle head on to the disk. This should fix this clicking issue.
4. Run Check Disk Utility on the Drive
You can run check disk utility on your system and check the file system and status of your hard drives. To do this, you can follow these steps.
- Click on the Windows start logo and click on Computer.
- Right-click the drive and choose properties.
- Hit on the Tools tab and click on the Check now.
- Now it will start the process or reboot your system
5. Schedule Defragmentation
Sometimes defragmentation of the hard drive can solve these clicking issues as well. So follow these instructions.
- Click on the Windows button
- Choose the Computer option
- Right-click on the drive and select Properties.
- Hit the Tools tab and choose Defragment now.
6. Freeze the Hard Drive
If the components of your hard drive become overheated and trapped then you get clicking sound from your hard drive. Hence, the best way to fix this issue to freeze the hard drive so that your device can cool down and crumple the components inside to free up the trapped ones. But before you freeze your drive, make sure you follow the below-mentioned steps.
- Seal out the moisture with a ziplock bag and try not to put the hard drive into the freezer barely.
- You must keep the hard drive in the freezer for a few hours
- As soon as your hard drive works again, recover your data from the hard drive.
- After following all the steps if the clicking issue is not resolved then refreeze it until you keep all your files safe.
7. Remove Your Driver
Remove the driver from your system and try to fix this clicking issue. To do so,
- Shut down your computer
- Separate any peripherals
- Loosen the screws that hold the computer case with a screwdriver
- Remove the computer case
- Unplug the data and power cables from the backside of the drive.
- Loosen the screws that hold the drive
- Finally, remove the driver from the machine
8. Insert The Driver into Another System
After removing your driver from the previous system, insert the drive to another system by following these steps.
- Place the driver into the driver brackets with screws.
- Reconnect the power cables and driver cable.
- Make sure that you attach the driver as a slave so that the computer will not try to boot up off the driver.
- Power up your machine and check clicking sound is still there or not.
A Clicking hard drive is one of the major reasons for a hard drive failure. When this issue occurs, we think about how to fix this issue or how to recover data from the clicking hard drive.
So it is important to back up your files on a daily basis to avoid data loss. In this article, we have explained these simple and easy methods that you can follow to fix the clicking issue on your hard drive.
Frequently Asked Questions to Fix Hard Drive Clicking Issues
- How to fix hard drive clicking not detected issue?
There are several reasons that your why your hard drive makes clicking noises. In such cases, you need to discover its original cause and as per its cause you have to apply its solutions to fix this issue from the root. You can even check whether your hard drive is getting sufficient power or not or you replace the data cable.
- Why is external hard drive making beeping noise?
Whenever you get beeping sound from your hard drive check if there is any fault in the hard drive or you can get this sound if the port of the hard drive becomes dusty. In such cases, you can clear the port or use another cable and check if the issue is resolved or not.
- My hard drive makes a clicking noise and won’t boot. Why?
If you get clicking noise and see your system is not starting then probably your drive is failed. Therefore, try to access the drive from another computer and recover the files from the drive. So, if you do not know how to retrieve files then take professional help.
