As well as head stack replacements, another relatively common type of hard drive mechanical failure that we deal with at EADR is seized spindle motor bearings. This type of failure is generally caused by a trauma such as the drive being knocked over or dropped whilst the motor is running at full speed. Typically, the sign of a seized motor bearing is a repetitive buzzing every 1 -2 seconds and this 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 unfamiliar noise then the best way forward is to turn it off and not try to use it again until you have sought professional advice about the problem.

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, but here at EADR, we have developed and had manufactured 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 is rarely successful, but if that fails, then we can add an attachment that will totally lock the platters in their original place and allow us to completely remove the spindle bearing (with the assistance of a press) and 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 you suspect that your drive may indeed have a seized spindle motor bearing, EADR will happily inspect your device free of charge, and if we feel it is recoverable we will provide you with a recovery plan and quotation to re-unite you with your lost data.

Here at EADR, thinking outside of the box is what we do……. Daily.