western digital external hdd making clicking sound

[shubh.sharma]

Hello. I have a 500 gb Western Digital external hard drive which is few months old. When i connect it to my laptop it makes a repeated clicking noise. I tried restarting my laptop but again when i connected it to laptop the same sound is coming. Although i can acess my hdd, but i m worried about this sound. Is my hdd dying or what?

[T.J.]

If it is making a lot of clicking sound then surely it is going to die within a short period of time. So try to backup every important data as soon as you can and then send the hard drive to the repair center for a replacement because it should be under warranty period, since it is just quite a few months old.

[Lincon_W.D]

Hi shubh.sharma,
I'd like to assist you. Based on your post I agree with T.J. However May I know what kind of noise is it making? I'd recommend you to visit the following link from the WD website which explains the type of sounds hard drive can make is normal or abnormal.
(wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/568)
Another possible reason could be its not getting enough power supply to fully spin up so it's making some clicking sounds. You may also visit the below link which explains more about the same issue.
(wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/197)
I hope it will help you.

[puttynene]

Hello. I have a 500 gb Western Digital external hard drive which is few months old. When i connect it to my laptop it makes a repeated clicking noise. I tried restarting my laptop but again when i connected it to laptop the same sound is coming. Although i can acess my hdd, but i m worried about this sound. Is my hdd dying or what?

Hey shubh,,,
If you can access your HD even after clicking, dont wory its not a dying stage. Drive sometimes make such sounds. The problem arises when you cant access them. In your case you need a second power cable. I hope by this the problem would get solved if not then it could be sever data issues.

[puttynene]

Hey Shubh,
If you can still access your HD then dont worry. Your HD is not dying. It sometimes power supply problem. Go for second power cable. I am sure it will solve the issue. If not then it can be server data error.

[shubh.sharma]

Thanks all for help and specially thanks to lincon_wd for detailed help. In case i want to return this hdd, can it be done in such cases. And if yes, then how to do RMA for this?

[Lincon_W.D]

Thanks all for help and specially thanks to lincon_wd for detailed help. In case i want to return this hdd, can it be done in such cases. And if yes, then how to do RMA for this?

Hi shubh.sharma,

Thanks for your reply, I'd suggest you to run the Data Lifeguard Diagnostics software.

{http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=hfvwMn}

If you find some errors or bad sectors on the drive you may replace it. Before sending it for replacement kindly check the warranty of your drive.
Here's the link for RMA:

{http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=OLSzcb}

Make sure you have a copy of your important data in any case.

Hope it helps.