I recently had a mishap with my 4 TB WD external hard drive that I used for my PlayStation. During a gathering, a friend accidentally knocked it over while it was plugged in, and although it didn't show any physical damage, I suspect something may be wrong inside. Since then, I've just unplugged it. Now, I need to update my MacBook from High Sierra to Mojave and was advised to back up my data with Time Machine, but my current data size is around 210 GB, and I can't afford a new HDD of that size. I attempted to format the WD drive using Disk Utility, but it keeps failing after making a few clicking noises, which I'm worried is a sign of serious damage. Should I try to have it repaired somewhere, or is it better to just salvage it and buy a new one? Any help would be appreciated!
2 Answers
Unfortunately, the clicking noise often indicates that your drive has suffered physical damage from that fall. If you're not able to reformat it, I'd recommend recovering any important data if you can. There are services that specialize in recovering data from damaged drives, but they can get pricey. It might be worth checking out options for replacing the drive entirely, particularly if it's beyond saving. Good luck!
It sounds like the clicking sounds are definitely a sign of trouble. That "click of death" usually means the hard drive is failing. Dropping a spinning drive can cause serious issues, and it seems like you've got that situation. If the enclosure and controller are still intact, you might be able to swap the HDD inside with a new one, which can be cheaper than buying a whole new external drive if you can manage to open it. However, I get it if you're not comfortable doing that!
Thanks for clarifying! I’m a bit hesitant about opening it up. Are there signs on the casing where I could pry it open, or is it a matter of just finding the right tools?
I appreciate the advice! It seems like I’ll have to weigh my options and decide if I want to try the recovery route or just invest in a new HDD.