Hard disk drives (HDDs) are the most common media we see in our lab. The mechanics are as precise as a watch: heads fly above the platter at a distance of a few nanometres while spinning at 7,200 rpm. When something fails, the drive turns against itself — and lets us know with clicking, scratching, or silence.
Listen to a faulty HDD
If your drive makes a similar clicking sound, there is a 95 % chance it is a mechanical head failure. Recording from the lab — WD WD20SDRW-34VUUS0 2TB:
Manufacturers and series we work with
- Seagate — Barracuda, IronWolf (incl. Pro), Exos, SkyHawk, FireCuda
- Western Digital — Blue, Red, Red Plus / Pro, Purple, Black, Gold, Ultrastar DC HC
- Toshiba — P300, N300, MG07/08/09, X300
- HGST — Deskstar, Ultrastar (historically)
- Samsung — Spinpoint F3/F4 (historically)
Typical failures we deal with daily
Mechanical damage (60 % of cases)
The most common symptom: clicking or scratching sounds. The heads fly above the platter at nanometre distances — as soon as the magnetic layer, another head, or a bearing gets damaged, the drive lets you know immediately.
- Read/write head damage — clicking, system freezes during reads, inability to read sectors
- Platter damage (glass/aluminium with magnetic coating) — scratching or grinding noises, unreadable blocks, sudden capacity loss
- Head stack assembly stuck — repeated clicking on startup, irregular rotation
- Bearing wear — beeping, buzzing, humming, unstable rotation
If the drive makes any unusual sounds, disconnect it immediately. Every additional power-on further damages the platter. See also our detailed guide What to do when a drive clicks.
Electronics problems
- Drive controller failure — clicking, squealing, control electronics cannot manage the heads
- Power issues — insufficient voltage (typically 5 V or 12 V), drop below 4.5 V on the 5 V rail = motor won’t spin up
- Voltage fluctuation — controller repeatedly restarts, intermittent access
- Inrush current — HDD startup can draw up to 2 A to spin up the platters
- PCB components (fuses, capacitors) — disrupted power distribution
Firmware problems (internal software)
- Firmware corruption in the system area — the drive cannot initialise properly
- Translator Table errors — physical-to-logical sector mapping is damaged
- S.M.A.R.T. module failure — drive reports false errors or fails without warning
- Adaptive read/write parameters reset to inappropriate values
- Power management module — drive constantly powers on/off, overheating
Logical errors
- File deletion or overwriting, file-system corruption (NTFS, FAT, exFAT, ext4, btrfs, APFS)
- Drive formatting, incorrect access during OS reinstallation
- BitLocker without a key — without the recovery key we cannot access the content, but we can reconstruct the structure
- Ransomware — depending on the family, decryption may be possible via No More Ransom; otherwise, shadow copy recovery
How we work with HDDs
An HDD is a mechanical device. Every power-on of a damaged drive worsens its condition. That is why, for mechanical failures, we work exclusively in our own cleanroom (particle filtration). We use PC-3000 and DeepSpar Disk Imager cloning stations, and we keep donor drives in stock.
- Initial HDD diagnostics free (within 24 h of receipt) — we find out what can be recovered and quote before any work; you decide after that. In non-standard cases (the drive was opened by another service, overwriting/formatting, complex analysis) diagnostics cost 1 210 Kč including VAT (1 000 Kč excluding VAT) — we tell you in advance. Targeted search for a specifically identified deleted file is paid; see the price list.
- Fixed quote before any intervention, NDA
- Cloning to healthy media (read-only mode)
- Work on the clone, the original is preserved
- Firmware reconstruction / head replacement as needed
- Handover and verification of content on our stage storage, then you pay
- Wipe of all copies on our side (DoD 5220.22-M)
Indicative HDD price list
| Failure type | Price |
|---|---|
| Logical error (deletion, format) — Level 1 | from 5 000 Kč |
| Damaged firmware / service area — Level 2 | from 6 000 Kč |
| Combined HW+SW damage, encrypted systems — Level 3 | from 9 000 Kč |
| Mechanical failure — head replacement in cleanroom | 9 900 – 18 900 Kč |
| Platter damage (critical) | from 24 900 Kč |
Prices are indicative; an exact quote follows the initial HDD diagnostics, which are free. Standard classic-media recovery is no recovery, no fee. Targeted search for a specific deleted file costs 1 210 Kč including VAT (1 000 Kč excluding VAT) even if unsuccessful, deducted from the job price on success.
Case studies
- Seagate ST5000LM000 — SMR drive, mechanical failure
- Western Digital Elements Portable — part 1 · part 2
- Western Digital WDBUZG0010BKK
- 20-disk RAID 6 in a NAS
Common HDD questions
The drive clicks. What should I do? Disconnect power immediately. Every additional power-on damages the platter. See first aid after a crash.
Can data be recovered from a physically destroyed platter? If the surface is unreadable by magnetic means (fire, crushing), no. We will tell you straight away during diagnostics.
How long does it take? Logical errors: 1–3 days. Mechanical failures: 5–14 days, depending on donor drive availability.
Does your drive need recovery? No-obligation enquiry · +420 775 556 063 · Workshop Viniční 3587/216, Brno-Židenice