Can I repair this external hard drive?

[ajt723]

So my 3 TB hard drive took a fall and now it is clicking, and I got this screen in disk utility: (attached)

I already have been to a data recovery place and cannot pay for the service, SO, is there anything I can do? Can I somehow temporarily see the files on the drive and transfer what I can to a new one?

Thanks so much!

 

[simonsi]

Clicking normally indicates the heads cannot locate tracks correctly so the click is the heads resetting and trying to align again. This would indicate the drive is physically damaged so no, it it unlikely any recovery is possible.

 

[treekram]

If you can't see the directories on the drive, then you're probably not going to be able to recover much. I don't know if there's software available that can try to retrieve portions of the disk and portions of the directory listings and try to piece it together.

If you can see the directories and files on the drive, you can try to recover the files. You'd need software that will 1) do multiple attempts if it finds a problem and 2) continue on with copying files after it fails to copy a file. I haven't used it, but I understand CCC has these features (at least #2). It's available for a 30-day trial. Lot of people here use it so maybe somebody has insight on how it's file recovery works. https://bombich.com/

There's software called "Phoenix" and it has these features. I have the software but have never had to make use of the recovery feature. The company is better known for their "Scannerz" disk diagnostic software. Phoenix is $14. http://scsc-online.com/index.html

There's probably other file recovery software on the AppStore.

 

[Fishrrman]

Since the drive has suffered physical shock, it sounds like the "clicking" is the result of internal hardware damage.

I doubt that any software-based solution will work in such circumstances.

If you really, REALLY want the data back, a professional data recovery outfit (which will disassemble the drive if necessary) is probably the only recourse.

You've already found out that such services are VERY expensive -- for a 3tb drive, probably will run into the thousands of dollars.

Take a deep breath and consider:
Is the data that was on that drive REALLY worth that much to you?

 

[old-wiz]

And next time make a backup of the drive.

 

[Matthew.H]

Considering the drive has been dropped it's most likely ruined. I used to working in a electronics store and we had a customer who had had dropped his laptop come in because the laptop wouldn't boot. It was sent off for repair and the hdd had been internally damaged in the fall.