WD My Passport Not Spinning Up: Stuck Heads Released, 62,000 Files Recovered

Can a WD My Passport that will not spin up be recovered? In this WD My Passport stuck heads data recovery case study, yes. The read/write heads had stuck to the platters. Our data recovery engineer released them in a laminar flow cabinet, unlocked the drive’s SMR firmware on the PC-3000 Express and recovered 700GB, over 62,000 files.

Sound familiar?

• Your portable hard drive stopped working one day, with no warning.
• It makes a very quiet clicking or ticking, not a loud click.
• The drive sounds like it is trying to spin up and never quite gets there.
• Your computer no longer shows the drive at all.
• It holds years of photos and videos you have no other copy of.

Same problem? Call 1300 444 800 or request a free assessment.

Years of Family Memories on a Drive That Just Stopped

The customer lives in Sydney’s inner west. His drive was a Western Digital My Passport, the small 2.5-inch portable kind that runs straight from its USB cable.

One day it simply stopped working.

On it were years of personal photos and videos. Many of them were memories of loved ones. Those are the files people care about most, because there is nothing to download again and nobody to ask for another copy.

He brought the drive into our lab in Sydney.

What Did the Faint Clicking Mean?

Our data recovery engineer listened to the drive before doing anything else. He picked up a very faint, low-pitched clicking.

It was not the loud, regular click of death most people have read about. It sounded more like the drive was struggling to spin up. That difference in sound pointed him in the right direction.

The read/write heads were stuck to the platters.

A hard drive’s heads normally ride on a cushion of air a tiny distance above the spinning platters, and they rest in a parked position when the drive is off. When heads end up sitting on the platter surface instead, they can stick to it. This is known as stiction. The motor then cannot turn the platters, or can only strain against them, which is what that faint sound was.

Stuck heads are a very common fault in portable drives. They are also a fault that can only be fixed by opening the drive.

Why Can Stuck Heads Only Be Fixed From the Inside?

Nothing done from outside the case frees the heads. No software, no different cable, no other computer. The heads are sealed inside with the platters, and the drive has to be opened to reach them.

Opening a drive is only safe in a controlled, dust-free environment. The gap between head and platter is far smaller than a speck of dust, and one particle in the wrong place can scratch the surface where the photos are stored.

So that is where the job went next.

The WD My Passport Stuck Heads Data Recovery Process

Inside a dust-free laminar flow cabinet, the data recovery engineer opened the drive. He carefully released the stuck heads from the platters and sealed the drive back up.

The job was not finished there.

An SMR drive with locked firmware

This My Passport is an SMR model, short for shingled magnetic recording, and its firmware was locked. SMR drives write data in overlapping tracks and rely on their firmware to keep track of where everything actually sits. To image a drive like this safely, the recovery equipment needs to work with that firmware directly.

Many portable WD drives have the USB connector built onto the drive’s own circuit board, with no normal SATA port. With the drive closed up again, the data recovery engineer connected it to the PC-3000 Express through a specialised adapter that converts it from USB to SATA. From there he unlocked the firmware.

The PC-3000 Express is one of the most advanced professional data recovery tools in the world. It is made by Ace Lab and is the core of our hard drive work.

Imaging the data safely

Once the drive was unlocked, the data was imaged off safely. Imaging means copying every readable sector of the drive to healthy storage, so the files are extracted from the copy and the original drive is not worked any harder than it has to be.

WD My Passport Stuck Heads Case Study: The Results

700GB came back. That is over 62,000 files, all transferred to a new USB hard drive.

The customer received an email with a full file list and a video screen recording of his data, so he could see exactly what had been recovered. He could then collect the new drive from the office or have it shipped back free of charge.

Years of photos, videos and memories of loved ones, off a drive that would not spin up.

What Should You Do If Your Portable Drive Will Not Spin Up?

Leave it unplugged. If your portable hard drive will not spin up, is clicking, or is no longer showing up on your computer, every attempt to power it on makes the motor strain against the stuck heads.

Do not tap or knock the drive to free it, and do not open it. Do not run recovery software either. Software cannot reach a drive whose platters are not turning, and a drive that has partly freed itself can scratch its platters while the software reads.

Then get in touch. The assessment and quote are free, and we will tell you what we find before any chargeable work begins.

There is never any guarantee with data recovery. We will try our very best for you, and coming to us gives you the best possible chance.

Why People Choose Payam Data Recovery

A failed hard drive needs an experienced data recovery engineer, and often a matching donor part. We work on 10 to 15 drives with failed heads every day.

• We are a specialist data recovery lab, not a computer repair shop. We have been recovering data since 1998, from over 300,000 devices.
• The best equipped data recovery lab in Australia: an ISO 5 certified laminar flow cabinet for head replacements, an anti-static lab, microscopes and microsoldering stations for circuit board work, the Ace Lab PC-3000, Atola Insight Forensic and DeepSpar Disk Imager, and over 30,000 donor parts, including around 20,000 donor hard drives. When your drive needs a matching part, it is usually already on our shelf.
• Over 2,000 IT companies and computer shops across Australia send us their customers’ complex cases, and data recovery labs and IT companies in more than 50 countries have sent us their difficult cases over the past ten years.
• Rated 4.9 from more than 2,300 Google reviews.
• About 90% of our jobs are no fix, no fee. The hardest 10% carry an attempt fee.
• See your files before you pay. You tell us which files matter most. Before you pay for the recovery, we’ll send you a list of your recovered files so you can check them. If any of the files you listed are missing, tell us and we’ll search again.
• There is no card surcharge. Pay by Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Afterpay, Zip or bank deposit (EFT).
• Everything is done in our own labs in Australia and never outsourced overseas. Call or visit us, and you can speak with the data recovery engineers who do the work.

We are not the cheapest. We are the best in Australia at this work. We know what to do, how to do it, and we will do our very best for you. Your best chance of getting your data back is with us.

Hard Drive Data Recovery Pricing and Services

Every hard drive case starts with a free assessment and a written quote. We examine the drive, then email you the problem we found, how we can help, the cost and the time involved, for your approval before any chargeable work. Nothing is charged until you say yes.

The price depends on what we find, and current prices are on our hard drive data recovery page. Work that needs the drive opened in the laminar flow cabinet, such as stuck or damaged heads, sits at the higher end and carries an attempt fee that forms part of the total price: you pay it to begin, and if we are successful, you pay the remaining balance. Priority and Emergency service are faster and cost more. Your quote confirms the exact price.

If you need an answer quickly, an urgent assessment with a written quote within 1 to 2 hours is available for a fee. We can supply a destination drive, or you can send your own. Return delivery is free on every completed and paid job.

Our hard drive data recovery service covers every brand and size, portable and desktop, including all Western Digital drives.

How Our Process Works for International Customers

International customers are always welcome. The easiest way to reach us from overseas is by email at help@payam.com.au, which works in every time zone. Start with the free quote form. If the indicative pricing suits you, we send job instructions and you post the drive to our main data recovery lab in Rhodes, NSW by tracked courier. Recovered data comes back on a new drive.

Frequently Asked Questions

My WD My Passport stopped working and makes a faint clicking. What does that mean?
A very faint, low-pitched clicking often means the drive is struggling to spin up. On this My Passport, the read/write heads were stuck to the platters, a very common fault in portable drives. It can only be fixed by opening the drive in a dust-free environment, so leave it unplugged and have it assessed.

Can data be recovered from a hard drive with stuck heads?
Often, yes. Here the data recovery engineer opened the drive in a laminar flow cabinet, carefully released the stuck heads and sealed it again. After the firmware was unlocked on the PC-3000 Express, 700GB and over 62,000 files were imaged and transferred to a new USB hard drive for the customer.

Should I keep plugging the drive in to see if it starts?
No. When the heads are stuck, the motor strains against them every time the drive powers on. If the heads come free on their own, they can scratch the platters where your photos are stored. Leave it unplugged, do not knock or open it, and send it in for a free assessment.

What is an SMR drive, and why did the firmware matter?
SMR, shingled magnetic recording, writes data in overlapping tracks and relies on the drive’s firmware to track where everything sits. This My Passport’s firmware was locked, so after the heads were freed the data recovery engineer connected it to the PC-3000 Express through a USB to SATA adapter and unlocked the firmware before imaging.

Can recovery software fix a portable drive that will not spin up?
No. Software needs a drive whose platters are turning and whose heads can read. With stuck heads, neither is true. Running software on a drive that has only partly freed itself adds risk to the platter surface. This is a physical fault, and it needs the drive opened in a dust-free cabinet.

If you cannot recover my data, is there nothing to pay?
Yes. The assessment and quote are free, and for most faults there is nothing to pay unless we recover your data. See your files before you pay. You tell us which files matter most. Before you pay for the recovery, we’ll send you a list of your recovered files so you can check them. If any of the files you listed are missing, tell us and we’ll search again. The one exception is cleanroom and other high risk work, where part of the quoted price is a non-refundable attempt fee paid upfront so we can begin. That covers the data recovery engineer time and donor parts we commit whatever the outcome. If an attempt fee applies to your job, it will be stated clearly in your quote before you approve anything.

How do I know what you recovered before I get the drive back?
You receive an email with a full file list and a video screen recording of your recovered data, so you can check what came back. This customer then chose between collecting the new USB hard drive from the office or having it shipped back free of charge.

Can I send my drive from interstate or overseas?
Yes. We work with people all around Australia, and international customers are always welcome. Request a free quote first, then post the drive by tracked courier in a box with plenty of bubble wrap. From overseas, email help@payam.com.au, which works in every time zone. Recovered data comes back on a new drive.

About Payam Data Recovery

Payam Data Recovery has been recovering data since 1998, with more than 300,000 devices recovered. Apple lists us as one of three recommended data recovery providers. For hard drives the lab runs the Ace Lab PC-3000, Atola Insight Forensic and DeepSpar Disk Imager, and work inside a drive is done in an ISO 5 laminar flow cabinet. Everything is done in Australia and never outsourced overseas. Head office and full service lab in Sydney CBD, with our main data recovery lab for complex cases in Rhodes, NSW, full service labs in Melbourne and Brisbane, and secure drop-off offices in Adelaide and Perth with free overnight express delivery to Rhodes, NSW. You can read more about Payam Data Recovery.

Request a Free Hard Drive Data Recovery Assessment

Related Case Studies

• Clicking WD My Book with a torn off head and a failed PCB
• WD My Passport asking to be formatted, one weak head
• WD My Passport showing 0MB, bad sectors cloned
• WD external drive slow, then not detected
• Reformatted WD SMR drive, files recovered

Video Transcript

Hi, it’s Mike, and I’m at Payam Data Recovery specialist lab in Sydney, Australia for another real data recovery case study. This one is a Western Digital My Passport, a 2.5-inch portable hard drive brought in by a customer from Sydney’s inner west. One day, it simply stopped working, and on it were years of personal photos, videos, and memories of loved ones.

One of their data recovery engineers picked up a very faint, low-pitched clicking. Not the usual click of death, more like the drive struggling to spin up. That is the sound of the read/write heads stuck to the platters, a very common fault in portable drives, and one that can only be fixed by opening the drive.

Inside a dust-free laminar flow cabinet, he opened the drive, carefully released the stuck heads, and sealed it back up. But the job was not done. This is an SMR model with locked firmware. So with the drive closed up again, he connected it to the PC-3000 Express through a specialised adapter, converting it from a USB to SATA, and unlocked the firmware from there. The PC-3000 Express is one of the most advanced professional data recovery tools in the world.

And once the drive was unlocked, the data was imaged off safely. 700 gigabytes, over 62,000 files, all transferred to a new USB hard drive. The customer received an email with a full file list and a video screen recording of his data and could collect the drive from the office or have it shipped back free of charge.

If your portable hard drive won’t spin up, is clicking, or is no longer showing up on your computer, leave it unplugged and get in touch. Payam Data Recovery works with people all around Australia and international customers are always welcome. The assessment and quote are free. Call 1300 444 800 or search Payam Data Recovery. Thanks for watching.