It is "no longer recognised", has the "same issue with different laptops", and a new cable has already been used. While it "does light up and blink, and starts buzzing a little", no machine "can't seem to find it". On it is material he needs from a previous job. The buzz is telling you something about what is happening inside the unit, while the light tells you power is getting to the electronics inside the unit, and they are active. The buzz indicates that the internal components of the unit are experiencing mechanical stress, a motor labouring against a stiff bearing or heads that cannot load. If a unit experiences mechanical strain, as indicated by this "buzz", the unit will never become ready for use. This is why the drive can never be accessed using any computer, regardless of how many computers or cables are employed.
| Media | A LaCie external hard drive that lights up and blinks, with an intermittent buzz, is not being recognised by any computer. Another cable has already been tried to replace the original one. |
| Reported situation | The LaCie drive · lights up and blinks · buzzes a little · no longer recognised · same behaviour with many different laptops · tried new cable as well · need data from prior job. |
| Fault class | Fault of type mechanical. Power makes it into the drive and the case is "alive", but the mechanical parts are having trouble (either a labouring motor, or heads that can't load). It is never in a ready state, therefore no computer detects it. All data still exists on the platters; additional power is what will ruin it. |
| Equipment used | Given there was buzzing, it was not going to be powered again · removed from the LaCie enclosure and assessed on a current-limited bench supply, behaviour during spin-up and buzzing assessed · opened on the head-swap bench, assessed under stereo magnification, seized or strained motor fixed, or donor heads fitted and alignment set · data was imaged using DeepSpar over a PC-3000 UDMA, data in R-Studio checked. |
He tested the laptops and cable first; this is a good logical approach as you can test each item separately. Therefore the most appropriate response would be to simply state the question has been answered by his tests. The fact that all three of his computers behave exactly alike with the same drive rules out his computers. His use of a brand-new cable in combination with the same drive (and again seeing identical behaviour) eliminates the possibility of the cable being bad. What remains is the drive.
The light is not very helpful. The light on a LaCie is generated by the enclosure's bridge board. The bridge board will happily light up for you even if the drive it is connected to isn't doing anything at all. A lit and blinking LaCie would therefore only tell you that your power supply and bridge board are alive. It is better to rule the bridge board in or out properly than to assume it is working correctly (or not), as assuming can lead to an incorrect conclusion. LaCie units use the bridge to convert USB or Thunderbolt to the drive's own interface, and a bad bridge board is a common reason for a drive that looks powered but is never found. The buzzing is what helps settle this issue here.
Buzzing is a mechanical noise, and a different one from clicking. Generally a continuous low-pitched buzz or hum which varies in pitch (i.e. rises and falls) is indicative of either a spindle motor straining due to a bearing stiffening or a motor being forced to turn a platter stack where the stack is opposing the motor's rotation. Sometimes the head assembly will be attempting to load but failing to do so. In both cases, the drive does not reach operating speed, cannot read its own tables and therefore will not present itself for use. Every subsequent attempt at operation will continue to put stress on what is typically the least desirable mechanical component to fail completely.
It was not turned back on. Taking it out of the LaCie enclosure also ruled the bridge board in or out at the same time, and on a current-limited bench supply we identified the buzz alongside the current consumption, which would help tell apart a labouring motor from heads unable to load. The drive was opened on the head-swap bench and examined using a stereo microscope; the mechanism was repaired and matched replacement heads were installed where they were needed as part of that repair process, then it was read out to an image on DeepSpar, driven through PC-3000 UDMA, with data extracted and reviewed using R-Studio and verified.
Mechanism was dealt with on the head-swap bench. The drive was imaged (read) and all of the information from the previous job was returned on new media. The diagnostic cost nothing; the next chargeable item was a fixed, written price plus VAT. Half of this quote needed to be paid in advance for the donor parts and bench time to open the drive, and the remaining amount only needed to be paid after the recovery proved successful. The enclosure itself was in good order. It's also important to note that while the bridge can cause issues for the LaCie, it is not always the problem.
You've already completed the relevant testing (several computers with a new cable), so don't continue from here. A blinking light indicates that the enclosure has successfully received power; however, this does not confirm that your LaCie hard disk is functioning. The real evidence is the buzz of your hard drive. This indicates the physical mechanisms are under strain, either because the motor can't overcome friction in the bearings, or because the heads won't load properly. Each additional test puts more pressure on an already strained motor, and if the motor seizes completely during a test it will be a much tougher repair than just getting it to run. Remove all cables, store it flat, and get it opened on a head-swap bench.
Every case file here is written up from a real enquiry handled for households and businesses across Norwich and Norfolk, anonymised so that nobody is identifiable. Each sets out the reasoning behind the diagnosis and the method used on that particular fault, with the equipment named.
The noise is the diagnosis — heads that can no longer read, and every retry costs you surface
He had already worked it out — a clicking drive has no way of announcing itself, so Windows is shown nothing whatever
The shutdown is the drive admitting defeat — it cannot ready its heads, so it stops trying and steps back
Diagnosis costs nothing and takes up to 2 working days from arrival, the quote is fixed in writing, and on logical work you only pay if we recover your data. Start online or ring the freephone.