Data Recovery Case File · Desktop Externals & Aging Drives · Long Enough Is Not a Thing
Two Drives, Both Clicking
His enquiry described a coincidence that is usually not one, and asked for something that sounds modest and is not available. "I have a pair of 2TB hard drives which have stopped working — they seem to have succumbed to the 'click of doom'. One is a Seagate and the other a Western Digital. Is it possible to get them repaired at least for long enough for me to get essential files off them?" Two things to address. Drives are not repaired to working order and then handed back, even temporarily — and understanding why changes what he should expect. And two drives from different manufacturers failing the same way is worth a moment's thought, because it usually has an explanation.
| Media | Two 2TB hard drives from different manufacturers — both producing repeated clicking and both non-functional; essential files sought from each |
| Reported situation | Two drives failed in the same manner · different makes and models · both clicking on power · owner requesting temporary restoration sufficient for self-service copying |
| Fault class | Head assembly failure on both units — separate mechanical interventions required; simultaneous failure suggesting shared age, environment or a common event |
| Equipment used | Each drive assessed and quoted independently · laminar flow bench inspection before power · matched donor head service per drive · PC-3000 Express with Data Extractor prioritised imaging in supervised sessions |
The decode: why "long enough" is not on offer, and why both failed
What a mechanical recovery actually produces: not a working drive. When a head assembly is replaced, the result is a drive that can be read under supervision, on specialist equipment, for as long as it holds — which may be hours and may be less. It is a temporary instrument rather than a repaired device. That is why the standing practice is to image immediately and completely on first access, rather than browsing or copying selectively: the session is a resource of unknown size, and it is spent capturing everything rather than being handed over.
Why it cannot be given back to him: three reasons, and they are practical rather than commercial. A serviced drive with donor heads is typically not sealed as it was and cannot be transported or run outside controlled conditions. It requires equipment that manages timeouts and retries, because a drive in that state will stall a normal computer within minutes. And connecting it to an ordinary machine risks exactly the uncontrolled retrying that destroys what remains. So the honest answer is that he receives his files, verified, on separate media — which is what he actually wants — rather than a drive to work with.
What "essential files" does buy him: a great deal, and he should say which. On a drive with limited margin the order of imaging is the thing that matters most, and a named priority means his essential material is captured first, while the serviced mechanism is at its most reliable. That is the real version of what he is asking for.
Why two drives failed together: worth considering, because it is rarely coincidence. Usually one of three things. They were bought at the same time and have reached end of life together, which is extremely common when someone buys a drive and a backup drive at once. They shared an environment — the same desk, the same knock, the same overheating cupboard, the same power event. Or one is a backup of the other and both have simply aged in parallel. The practical lesson matters more than the diagnosis: a backup drive bought alongside the original, kept in the same place, is not two copies in the meaningful sense — it is one copy with a spare that will probably fail around the same time.
Two drives, two jobs: each is assessed and quoted separately, because their conditions will differ and he may reasonably choose to recover one and not the other.
On the bench
The two drives were treated as separate patients and quoted independently, since head damage differs between units and a blended figure would hide which was driving the cost. Neither was powered on arrival. Each was opened under the laminar flow bench and its head assembly and platter surfaces inspected before anything was switched on, with scoring located and measured, and matched donor heads fitted per drive. Imaging ran on the PC-3000 Express under Data Extractor in supervised sessions — head-mapped and sequenced by his stated priorities — with the contents delivered verified on separate media rather than the drives being returned to service.
The outcome
Both drives serviced and imaged in supervised sessions, with the essential material captured first and delivered verified. Free assessment, one fixed written figure including VAT per drive, 50% of parts and labour upfront with the balance only on successful recovery. The decode, for anyone hoping for a temporary repair: a mechanical recovery produces a drive readable under supervision on specialist equipment for an unknown period, not a working device — it cannot be sealed, transported or connected to an ordinary computer without stalling it and risking what remains, so what you receive is your files on separate media rather than the drive; naming your essential files is the real version of what you are asking, because it decides the order of imaging. And two drives failing together usually means they were bought together or lived in the same place, which is worth knowing about your next backup.
Hoping a drive can be fixed just long enough
It's a reasonable thing to ask for and it isn't how mechanical recovery works. Replacing a head assembly produces a drive that can be read under supervision on specialist equipment for an unknown period — sometimes hours, sometimes much less — rather than a working device. It isn't sealed as it was, it can't be transported or run normally, and connecting it to an ordinary computer would stall the machine and spend what's left in uncontrolled retries. So the session is used to image everything at once, and what you get back is your files, verified, on separate media. What you should do instead is name your essential files explicitly: on a drive with limited margin, the order of imaging is the thing that matters most. And if two drives failed together, look at where they lived and when you bought them — a backup bought alongside the original and kept beside it isn't really a second copy.
Name your essential files — call Glasgow Data Recovery on 0141 404 0294; each assessed and quoted separately, serviced under the laminar flow bench, imaged in priority order and delivered verified.
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Our case files are drawn from genuine enquiries received by our laboratory over the past ten years, anonymised to protect client confidentiality. Each one describes the diagnostic and recovery procedure our engineers apply to that fault, using the equipment listed.