[CAUTION] Hard Drive Makes a Clicking Sound? - Comments Page 1

I use Windows "Storage Spaces" to mirror important data, to protect against single hard drive failures. If a disk is questionable, one can add the second drive to make the mirror and then replace the failing one. Obviously, one needs good backup to protect against everything else. I sync my data to external drives and use File History as a backup to the backups.

A while ago I heard clicking sounds that seemed to come from my C: disk. I ran the checks and was told there is an fault on the drive. I Googled and also asked one or two local suppliers, and the answer was the same: Replace it asap. So I bought a new drive and copied everything across. I moved the faulty disc to use as a temporary spare (till it failed). And then discovered: It was the fan that was making the clicking noise. A bit of a clean up and the disc is still working more than 2 years later.

The dreaded clicking. Be aware that if this happens you should check the warranty on the hard drive. It may still be covered and you can get a replacement drive at no cost.

Don't even wait until the HDD shows signs of failing to backup your data. Back it up NOW and keep it updated! HDDs often do not give any warning before failing (SSDs almost ever give warning).

DIY attempts at data recovery from a failed drive are far, far more likely to fail than succeed. Professional data recovery is expensive (as in several thousands of dollars expensive) and carries no guarantees of success. Making and maintaining backups is far less expensive and is far more reliable.

When I click on Applications after typing EVENTVWR and then Windows logs I cannot find the Winnit item. Pleas advise what to try next.

@Craig
You have to click Application to find Wininit near the bottom of the Source column.

I built a NAS recently and kept hearing this clicking sound. Thankfully that turned out to be the reflected sound of a small battery powered wall clock. But, on my laptop I recently replaced the HD with an SSD as I didn't feel comfortable with a mechanical drive in my laptop. Prices on SSDs have dropped considerably recently. On my desktop PC I run a Western Digital SMART utility on a regular basis to check the health of the drives. So far so good.

No luck . My source column lists 46,000 items going back to November 2018 and I can' find Winnit. Seems like needle in a haystack situation

@Craig Same problem here.

I actually took the cover off a drive before and manually started the disk spinning and got all my data back! another progream I really like is at grc.com called spinrite. can work wonders if the timing is right, also r-studio is an excellent recovery program.

In my experience, some drives make distinctly audible clicking sounds in normal use. However, if the sounds begin suddenly, are comparatively loud, and unhealthily regular, immediate backup and replacement are required (subject to the above)!
Detailed SMART information can be found by using a program like Crystal Disk Info, and SMART reporting should be enabled in the computer's BIOS. I was amazed to hear that a friend was told to ignore SMART warnings at work, and within days the drive failed.

@Craig, @Brian B

In the Event Viewer, click on the "Source" column. This will take a little time to sort that column in alphabetical order, which can then be used to find the "Wininit" entry.

When I ran CHKDSK, I got "Access Denied as you do not have sufficient privileges or
the disk may be locked by another process.
You have to invoke this utility running in elevated mode and make sure the disk is unlocked."

What does this mean, and what should I do?

@Ernest Lane,

It means that you need to run the Command prompt with admin privileges. In Windows 10, right-click on the start button and select "Command Prompt (Admin)". After which enter the CHKDSK command in this elevated mode cmd.

I once had a hard drive go bad. The local computer shop couldn't copy the data from it. I followed the directions that I found on the internet and mounted the hard drive in an enclosure and placed it in the freezer overnight. I was then able to copy the entire 750 gig drive. This trick doesn't work all the time. It is much better to make regular back-ups.

I decided to run CHKDSK again and now have blue screen indicating automatic repair couldn’t repair your PC so be careful . If it makes a difference I have a Dell desktop PC

I tried your suggestion in your last article on hard drives and ran chkdsk as you recommended. My computer ran chkdsk for over three hours and showed 10% complete, so I let it run all night and still 10% complete in the morning.
I was forced to shut off the computer and now I have more problems than I can deal with. Nothing works as it did. All I got from it was a big headache.

My desktop PC also froze at 10% and now I have a blue screen indicating automatic repair couldn’t repair your PC

Since at least 2 of us have same issue, perhaps someone can
suggest a solution.

My computer also froze at 10% and now I have a blue screen indicating
automatic repair cannot repair my PC

Since at leas me other reader has same issue, perhaps someone can suggest a solution.

My desktop PC also froze at 10% and now I have a blue screen with message that indicates automatic repair could not repair your PC.

Can anyone suggest a solution?