As a data recovery specialist, we work with hard drives and other media which have failed for varying reasons. One of the common type of hard drive repairs that we deal with here at EADR is seized spindle motor bearings. This particular 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 hard drive is in operation and 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. This buzzing noise from your hard disk drive is caused by the motor attempting to spin up, but failing. As with any other type of failure, when your hard disk drive is making an abnormal or unfamiliar noise it is best to turn the hard drive off and not try to use it again until you have sought professional advice.
Can you recover data from a hard drive with a 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 once this type of failure has occurred. At EADR we have carried out extensive research and development and have designed a bespoke and totally unique tool specifically for dealing with this problem. This tool will allow us 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 the exact tolerances without the need to remove / disturb the heads or platters. This also shields the internal workings of the drive from any debris, preventing potential further damage.
If your hard drive is buzzing, particularly after an impact, we will happily inspect your device free of charge to identify the fault. Our clean chamber inspections form part of the overall investigation into the cause of failure and allow us to provide a data recovery plan specifically to you. 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 always goes 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 chat, in the strictest of confidence.