There are two types of failures in computer hard drive - Logical hard drive failure and Physical hard drive failure. If the hard drive is making clicking and tricking noise instead of low humming or quiet whistling sound then there are chances of physical problem else it is Logical problem.
Physical reasons for hard drive failure
A hard drive can fail due to :
1.Scratched platters
2.Broken read/write arm
3.Hard drive motor failed
4.Humidity or moisture or overheat in the drive
5.Bad sectors on disk
6.Power surge.
Logical reasons for hard drive failure
1. Failed boot sector
2. MBR failure
3. Operating system malfunctioning
4. Corrupted file system
5. Improper shutdown
6. Reformatted hard drive, repartitioned hard drive.
If your hard drive fails then always follow the following steps hard drive recovery
- Avoid Using the Drive further
- Do NOT Shake/Hit the Drive
- Keep it away from extreme temperatures
- Never try to fix the issue with "Off The Shelf" Software
- Do NOT Run SCANDISK, CHKDSK or FSCK On The Drive
- Contact a Data Recovery Company As Soon As Possible
One thing I would like to add here. A reliable and an advanced Data Recovery Software can also solve the issue. As far as my experience is concerned , I have used the Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery Software V4.1. Its easy to use and user friendly to understand all the steps for data recovery process.
Steps to use the Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery Software in case of hard disk crash.
Step 1. Select the Data Recovery Option and choose the formatted lost files/ folder recovery from menu below.
Step2. Select the Drive you want to recover data from and click Start Scan button.
Step3. The following window shows the status of scanning process.
Step4. Here you can see the preview of all your recoverable folders . Select the folder you want to recover and Click Recover button
The user should take care of the fact that the windows data recovery software can be used recover hard drive data after a logical failure and . If the user faces physical hard drive issues then he must go for hard drive recovery services.
