Chosen Solution
I have managed to identify that it is the “reader arm” that is causing the harddrive to make a “clicking” sound, and as a result, will not read the internal disk. Since I do not have the money it takes to send it to a professional, I’m hoping to purchase a replacement for this part. Any advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated. I have 15 years’ worth of design files on the drive and I am desperate. (I apologize for any incorrect terminology I may have used) Thank you so much for your amazing website and for your help. (Apple Time Capsule Model A125)
Hard Drives are sealed and very delicate internally! You need proper special fixtures for the drive and a clean room! Give these a view: HDDSurgery - Head replacement process on 2.5" Seagate hard drivesHDDSurgery - How to replace heads on new 3.5" Seagate hard drives These are just the Seagate drives and you still need to salvage the full head assembly from another drive (same maker & series) Hopefully you haven’t opened the can yet and just find a new drive to replace your bad one.
You CANNOT repair an HDD with mechanical issues. Send it to a professional data recovery shop. Doing it yourself actually costs probably ten times more than just sending it in, and that’s when you don’t break it.
Dan is right about the make and series. From experience I would suggest obtaining a working hard drive, remove the heads and reinstall them and see if you can still read from it. Relacing the arm and head assembly might look easy but it is extremely difficult to get it right. There is also a good chance you will need some expansive software like PC 3000 which will take a bit of knowledge to use. Be aware, a lot of reputable data recovery companies will not except your device if it has been opened. 15 years of device files might be worth saving up for a professional.
