Hard Drive Clicking or Grinding? What to Do (and Not Do)
Hard drive clicking or grinding? Turn it off now. What the noise means, what not to try, and how data recovery works for Hilton Head and Bluffton customers.
Hard drive repair and data recovery
Deleted the wrong folder? Drive clicking? Computer won't start and the only copy of your files is on it? Stop using it. For our managed IT clients we handle recovery, and the less that happens to the drive from here, the better the odds.
If the drive is clicking, grinding or buzzing, turn the computer off now. Those sounds usually mean the read heads are damaged, and every minute it runs can scrape away data for good. Don't run recovery software and don't keep restarting it to check. Our guide hard drive clicking: what to do explains why.
Two kinds of data loss
Logical: the drive works, the data is lost
Deleted files, a formatted drive, a reinstalled system, corrupted partitions, a computer that won't boot but whose drive is healthy. We can usually handle these on our own bench with specialist recovery tools.
Physical: the drive itself has failed
Clicking, grinding, not detected at all, dropped or water-damaged. These need a clean-room lab. We assess the drive, arrange a lab evaluation and quote, and handle it from there.
How we approach it
Assess
Figure out which kind of failure it is without making it worse.
Image first
Where possible, we copy the drive before working on it, so recovery happens on the copy.
Least invasive first
We try the quickest, least expensive method before escalating.
Return and prevent
Your files back on a new drive or computer, with a backup set up so this is the last time.
Find out what we'd fix first
A free assessment looks at your computers, network, email and backups, and tells you plainly what needs attention.
What we recover from
- Desktop and laptop hard drives and SSDs, Windows and Mac.
- External USB drives, USB sticks and memory cards.
- Computers that won't start, where the drive is still readable.
- Accidentally deleted files and emptied recycle bins (stop using the computer as soon as you notice).
"Hard drive repair" in plain terms
A failing hard drive isn't repaired so you can keep using it; it's replaced, and the job is getting your data off it safely. What we can fix is the computer around it: a new SSD, your system restored or reinstalled, and your files back where they were.
Repair is part of our managed IT service. We repair computers for businesses on a managed IT plan, and we no longer take one-off repairs for home users. Clients: call (843) 422-2201 and we'll fix it over a remote session or on site.
For businesses, the real fix is backup and disaster recovery that makes a dead drive a non-event.
Questions we get
Do you still repair computers for home users?
No. Computer repair is now a service for businesses on our managed IT plans, so it's handled as part of looking after your office.
Can you get data off a clicking hard drive?
Often, but a clicking drive needs clean-room recovery, not software. Turn it off and don't keep trying it. We'll assess it and arrange a lab evaluation and quote.
How much does data recovery cost?
Logical recoveries done on our bench cost far less than physical, clean-room recoveries. We'll tell you which kind yours is and quote before any work starts.
I deleted files by accident. What should I do?
Stop using the computer or drive right away so the space isn't overwritten, then call us. The sooner recovery starts, the better the chances.
Can you recover data from an SSD?
Sometimes. Deleted data on SSDs is often wiped quickly by the drive itself, so the odds are lower than on older hard drives. Failed SSDs that disappear entirely may need a lab.
Related services
Backup & disaster recovery
A backup nobody has tested is a hope, not a plan.
Computer repair · Hilton Head Island
Desktops, laptops and Macs diagnosed and fixed for the businesses we look after, by the same local team that has been doing it on the island for more than fifteen years.
Laptop repair
Laptops take a beating: dropped bags, spilled coffee, sand, humidity and years of being carried around.
Mac repair
We've worked on iMacs and MacBooks alongside PCs for years, and we look after the Macs in our managed IT clients' offices: slow Macs, startup loops, full disks, data that needs saving and moving to a new machine.
Related reading
Tell us what's going on.
Call, or send a few lines about your business or your computer. You'll hear back from a person who can actually fix it.
