Silent and undetected, spinning but invisible, clicking, or detected with nothing on it: there isn't much of anything they share besides what people call them. Two are among the more recoverable problems we fix.
“Dead” drives are most commonly electrically dead and never touched mechanically. All of the data on such a drive is still perfectly good. It's just impossible to access. This is much better than it sounds.
The chances and cost associated with a “dead” drive vary greatly depending on what type of problem it has, which is usually one of four. What matters here is what type of fault a drive has.
If a drive makes no noise at all, then the drive's circuit board was probably damaged. This is typically at the less expensive end, and most times the disk is left untouched. If a drive makes a faint whining noise, but does not spin at all, then its mechanical components were likely damaged. If a drive spins normally, but is not detected, then its firmware was likely damaged. If a drive is recognised by the operating system as being present, but none of its files can be read, then the file system was likely damaged, which is the least expensive of all.
Identifying which of these types your drive falls into is exactly what our free diagnostic is for, and this is going to significantly alter the response.
Silent, no vibration. Electronic. Typically a bad regulator, a shorted component, or a result of a surge. Usually the disks themselves are fine, and the adaptive ROM is relocated to another identical board.
Faint whine, will not spin. Mechanical. Seized motor (i.e. stuck) or stiction; heads have adhered to the platter after a long spin-down. This needs bench time.
Spins normally, not detected. Firmware. The drive is unable to read the required module(s) at boot-up. Not damaged physically, and no software will touch it.
Detected, will not open. Logical. Hardware functions properly; the file system does not function. Most affordable type, and the most likely to be made worse by agreeing to a format prompt.
No, but more often than you would believe. Total silence specifically is often the board instead of the mechanics, which is among the better scenarios.
Not on anything modern. Each board contains calibration information unique to each individual drive, and transferring the chip as opposed to swapping the boards is necessary.
Sudden total failure is generally electronic / firmware related rather than mechanical. Both can frequently be recovered completely.
Single drive recovery is from £300 +VAT. The price is fixed within 48 hours of receiving your drive, after the free diagnostic. Mechanical work is subject to a 50% deposit.