The hard drive squeaks and snaps. Program for diagnosing and repairing hard disk

Problems with computer components are very common. And not always they are associated with user errors. It happens that you wanted to save money and bought a budgetary motherboard, did not take into account any technical characteristics, forgot about the system requirements. But when there is a problem, few people already think about its causes. The user wants to eliminate it. So, some people decide to deal with the problems themselves, while others go to the service center.

HDD

Before we learn about all the problems with the hard drive, let's briefly take a look at this device. This is a drive that runs on magnetic hard drives. The device is designed for recording information, storing it, random access to it. It is based on magnetic recording. Railway is a device that can be found in almost every modern PC.

Differences

Naturally, the hard drive is not the only drive that records the data we need. Previously, a floppy disk was popular. There are some differences in their work. The main element in the railway is a hard plate made of aluminum or glass. They are coated with a ferromagnetic material, for example, chromium dioxide. In this case, one or more plates are placed on one axis. The heads of the reading mechanism do not touch the discs, so the life of the devices is much longer, and the problems with the hard disk have been reduced many times.

Also, hard drives in their time became connected with other components in the system, such as a drive or an electronics unit. Therefore, they are non-removable devices. Hard drives are now completely replaced by faster, but more expensive SSDs.

Sound

If you heard how your hard drive squeaks, it's worth the alarm. If he makes any sounds, then he is "outraged", so he needs something. It turns out that by his "voice" you can determine what exactly the problems are. Let it be inaccurate, but at least tentatively predict the breakdown will succeed.

Before you deal with the problem, try to keep all the files you need in the cloud, on other drives, if, of course, the PC still allows you to log into the system. Most likely, if you just heard the sounds from your railway, he will soon stop giving access to his internal information.

In addition, as mentioned earlier, if you heard that the hard drive is clicked, then it means that the performance of some particular component has been broken. It happens that the same problem can "sound" differently. All interpretation of sounds is only the most popular options. In addition, the disk can behave quite unpredictably or react to a problem with another component of the PC.

Recovery

If you were sitting quietly at the computer, and then you saw a "blue screen" in front of you or the system ceased to respond to you, do not panic. It is desirable to immediately disconnect the HDD from the power supply, since it can lead to destructive processes, which leads, accordingly, to the loss of files. While the damaged drive is connected, the computer will continue to write data to it, determine the space that has been freed up, fill it with something, etc. It is better to turn off the entire system and disassemble the disk separately. If you do not have a second PC to which you can connect the drive, then it's clear that you will have to carry the device to the service center. If there is an opportunity to fix everything yourself, then you need to install the program for cloning the disk.

To do this, there is a large number of programs such as EASEUS Disk Copy. This is a free software, which clones the sector by sector. Disadvantages are the availability of additional "garbage" software during installation, as well as the lack of a Russian-language version. Paragon Drive Backup Personal - a good backup program, on the basis of which cloning is performed. Software can be launched from the bootable media and from the OS. The pleasure from such a multifunctional application will cost $ 40. In addition to these, you can also call Macrium Reflect, Acronis True Image, Farstone RestoreIT Pro, and others.

The cloned drive will have to be run through several recovery programs, since it is unlikely that the first time to recover all the data. To do this, you need the following programs: TestDisk, Restoration, Recuva, Undelete Plus, etc. Generally, there are a lot of similar software, so finding some will not be a problem, just not to be late.

Design

To understand what may be errors and problems, it is necessary to understand the design of the drive. After all, to understand whether it is possible to restore the hard drive, you can only after its diagnosis. To see the main components of the device, you need to unscrew the cogs and get rid of the top cover. Below it we will find the main elements.

The circuit board is usually green, it is a kind of analogue of the motherboard in the PC. It also has a processor represented by a controller, not just one. The interface turns this binary code into commands that the system understands .

Magnetic disks, or plates, or "pancakes", as we said earlier, are made of strong materials. Made of glass or aluminum, covered with a magnetic layer. There may be several or one. It is on them that all the data that we so important not to lose is stored.

The read heads remove information from the surface of the plates. As mentioned earlier, they do not directly contact the surface of the disk, but are literally in nanometers from it. Read the information they are allowed by the laws of physics, which create air flows and a dense layer. Most often there are two such heads. If they break off, then after falling on the plate, destroy all the data from the surface.

No answer

Of course, you will not always hear how the hard drive squeaks. Sometimes he can "die" and not make a single sound. This is the most unfortunate outcome that can be. The most common way out of the situation is one - buying a new device. But not everything is so bad, there is a chance and return the device to life. If the disk stopped responding to the computer, most likely the reason is in the motherboard.

Previously, craftsmen found a working fee and replaced the damaged one. Now it is not easy to do this, because architecture and technology have changed, and each HDD gets its own microcode. And even if it is possible to replace the board in a constructive way, then, most likely, we will have to say goodbye to all materials.

The reasons for such a breakdown may be several. These are voltage drops, in which one of the diodes or some other component of the board suffers. The developers are trying to eliminate such problems, so install a pair of diodes with different voltages. To replace the diode as a whole is simple. If you have to change the entire board, you need to find a ROM block and transfer it to a new one. But this is not always easy to do, since some developers embed the firmware from the ROM in the firmware, and therefore the replacement is impossible.

Sounds

If the hard disk clicks, but it starts, the problems are related to the reading head. And, perhaps, not even with one. Sometimes such a sound is caused by damage to the coating of the plates. Independently this problem is unlikely to be solved, so immediately it is better to send the device to the service center. There it will be necessary to open the device. This is done in rooms without dust, so that she does not immediately become magnetized to the plates. Replace the head and restore the data. If you just heard that the HDD is making a sound, then it must be turned off immediately, and re-enabling will result in the loss of all information on it.

Freeze

If there are problems with sectors of the hard drive, then it is activated, the PC notices it, but it hangs during the access request. Specialists claim that this is caused by damage to the surface of the magnetic plate. The device works fine until it reads the bad sectors. To diagnose this problem, you need to conduct SMART-monitoring. If it turns out that you have a broken hard drive, you will have to remove the image of it, and this will be done only by specialists.

Of course, you can try to correct this problem yourself. But you need to understand that the risk of losing data is great. In addition, software that can be freely installed, usually have limited functionality, so they may not complete the process of cloning or interrupt it, and most commands are fed from the BIOS.

Squeak

It does not matter whether the external hard drive is pouring out or internal. The problem is almost always the same: "sticking" of magnetic heads. The motor tries to start a system and mechanisms, but it can not. It happens that the head after another work is incorrectly parked, remains right above the surface of the plate, and later sticks to it.

If you are faced with such a problem and have heard how the hard drive squeaks, then most likely, you will not be able to intervene independently in this matter. More precisely, of course, you can try, but the thing is not safe. Because you have to open the device, and this should be done in the absence of dust around. Inside, you have to remove and replace the heads, which is also not everyone can do. In general, and this breakdown - only in the hands of specialists.

But if the hard disk is squeaking, it can be an indicator of another problem. There is a possibility that the spindle - the axis on which the plates rotate - is blocked. Usually this happens at the time of the fall or impact of the device. Correct this problem can only professional, because you need to replace the axis or rearrange the magnetic plates in another HDD, which is called the donor.

Invisible

Usually, if the PC does not see the hard drive, the user does not hear any sounds, but sees on the screen all sorts of inscriptions that indicate problems with the HDD. The first thing that can occur in this case is the uncertainty with BIOS. Culprits in this problem can be a huge number, there is ambiguity with both the power train, and the motherboard, and with the railway itself.

There is also such that BIOS sees the disk, but the system itself does not find it. If another HDD is installed in the PC, then you will be able to start the PC, if it was the only drive, then most likely the computer will not start at all.

It is also possible that the user thinks that the PC does not see the hard drive, although the system gives out something like "Disk is not formatted". These problems are associated with a logical disk. With the physical, everything is in order. But the user, before understanding this, begins to carry out all sorts of manipulations that lead to the irreparable.

In general, a hard drive is a thin thing. With him often there are various kinds of problems. There are defective models, broken sectors and stuff. It is best not to experiment on your own, but to give the device to specialists who will quickly find faults without doing a lot of unnecessary operations before it.