I have found that an external USB to IDE/SATA adapter is a key tool.
I also have a good disc running & ready to write any recovered files.
When powering up the problem HDD externally you can here if it's even spinning up. I have seen spindle bearings simply get stuck. Often you can rotate the HDD case in such a way the the inertia of the platters will unstick it so it will spin up.
Right after the spin up, listen to the random pulses of armature movement during the power on self test. It's a short burst of soft random buzzing. If the drive has problems at this point the controller will make multiple tries to get going. Each reset will bang the armature against the limit stop. This will sound like a rhythmic clicking I call the dance of death. On a few occasions I have power cycled the drive and it finally came up. If this happens recover and copy everything you can before it fails completely.
I have found that an external USB to IDE/SATA adapter is a key tool.
I also have a good disc running & ready to write any recovered files.
When powering up the problem HDD externally you can here if it's even spinning up. I have seen spindle bearings simply get stuck. Often you can rotate the HDD case in such a way the the inertia of the platters will unstick it so it will spin up.
Right after the spin up, listen to the random pulses of armature movement during the power on self test. It's a short burst of soft random buzzing. If the drive has problems at this point the controller will make multiple tries to get going. Each reset will bang the armature against the limit stop. This will sound like a rhythmic clicking I call the dance of death. On a few occasions I have power cycled the drive and it finally came up. If this happens recover and copy everything you can before it fails completely.
-Bill
Bill, I actually use a simular product for my recovery needs as well (though more often then not, it's the other direction I plug the drive being restored-to into it)