WesternDigital external drive pooched
 

I have an older WD 160gb external drive (wd1600B014) that died awhile ago. It makes a slight repetitive clicking noise when attempting to boot it - and the green power light flashes at 1sec intervals.

The laptop(s) won't recognize it - tried it on two. So far I've replaced the USB cable, updated the drivers and firmware. No luck.

I've searched the WD tech sites - can't tell for certain if it's a burnt circuit board or damaged heads.

Anyone have similiar experiences...and/or a cheap DIY fix?

Data recovery isn't critical (no original photography - just editted work)...but would be good to get the thing up and running again.

Same thing happened to me a couple times with WD external drives. What you are experiencing is the "click of death" (Google it). Only two ways to get your data back. Either send it to a lab or try this quick fix:

Put the drive in a plastic bag in the freezer for a few hours. This may cool down the unit and 'unstick' the drive.

That's the only DIY fix I know. But here's a Tip: stay AWAY from Western Digital. All my external drives are Toshiba now.

Good luck! Glad there's no serious data loss. :)

I'll keep the freezer tip in mind as a last-ditch - thanks PN.

Other than this old drive, I've had good experiences with WD externals over the years. Just bought another 3tb last week, in fact.

'preciate the help. :)

I have an 8 bay drive enclosure that recently had the cooling fan fail. I lost 2 drives...both Seagate. My wds were fine along with a couple other different drives. I guess the Seagates don't like heat. I've used some drive recovery software before that actually worked to get the data off. Most have a free trial you can use to see if the data is actually recoverable. If it is, you can buy the program for $20 or so and use it to pull the data off. Probably not possible in your case though if it has the click of death. I've heard of the freezer trick too. Worth a try.

Been readin' more about the freezer trick - seems somewhat common with a good success ratio. I may just have to take out a rack of ribs to make room for the drive. :1orglaugh

If you hear the repeated clicking sound it is pretty much game over. If you really really need the data on there you can take it to a data recovery lab but they are really expensive. Like $800/drive from what I remember.

At this point I'm gearing up to try the freezer trick - sometime mid-week when I get some time.

I'll update the thread if it works.

If not, I'm group-funding for Kleenex donations to dry my tears. :1orglaugh