As well as head stack replacements, another relatively common type of hard drive repair that we deal with at EADR is seized spindle motor bearings. This type of mechanical failure is generally caused by a trauma or impact such as the hard disk drive being knocked over or dropped whilst the motor is running at full speed.

What are the symptoms of a Seized Spindle?

Typically, the sign of a seized motor bearing is a repetitive buzzing every 1 -2 seconds and this buzzing noise from your hard drive is caused by the motor trying to spin up and failing. As with any other type of failure, when your hard disk drive is making an abnormal or unfamiliar noise the best thing to do is turn it off and not try to use it again until you have sought professional advice about the problem.

Can You Recover Data from a Hard Drive with Seized Spindle?

Certain members of the Seagate Barracuda Family of hard disk drives have very weak spindle motor bearings and are notoriously difficult to recover data from with this failure once it has occurred. At EADR we have carried out extensive research and development and have had a bespoke and totally unique tool specifically designed for dealing with this problem. This tool will allow us in the first instance to attempt to free off the seized bearing,

This approach alone is rarely successful, but if that fails, then we can add an attachment which will totally lock the platters in their original place and allow us to completely remove the spindle bearing (with the assistance of a press). We can then insert a new one in place to exacting tolerances without the need to remove / disturb the heads or platters, whilst also shielding the internal workings of the drive from any debris and preventing potential further damage.

If your hard drive is buzzing, particularly after an impact, we will happily inspect your device free of charge to establish whether it has a seized motor bearing (or other fault). This inspection is without cost or obligation, and if we feel data recovery is possible we will provide you with a quotation to re-unite you with your lost data.

EADR will definitely go the extra mile to recover your data. Developing our own in-house data recovery tools and methods to solve problems with particular hard disk drives is just one of the ways we do it!

We’re also happy to provide a second opinion on your device if it’s been to another data recovery company – contact us for an informal (and confidential) chat.