Q: How do I know when my hard drive motor has a mechanical failure?

A: Hard disks can experience mechanical failure in many different ways, and as a consequence, there are many potential symptoms for you to look out for.

The most common failure is motor failure after a drive is dropped or knocked whilst in operation. This can result in a full or partial seizure of the motor bearing assembly. Symptoms of this vary but can include a very loud buzzing noise if the motor is partially seized or a quiet buzz if the motor has seized to the point that it can no longer spin at all.

You may read more about the other common symptoms of mechanical failure by accessing the information in our hard disk failure section.

Regardless of the symptom, the solution will almost certainly require the faulty component to be replaced. This should always be done within a certified ‘clean room‘, to ensure there is no further damage to the hard drive.

Please call us on the number at the top right of the website if you’d like to take advantage of our free phone diagnosis service and discuss the specifics of your situation in more detail. Alternatively, you may complete the free online quote for to the right.

Asked by William in Edinburgh