I'd finally convinced my father, somewhat of a technophobe, to sit at my mom's computer for a few minutes and give iPhoto a try to print some pictures. We got as far as the part where you press the "Print" button on the screen... then the drive started that dreaded and oh so familiar 'click click click' sound. I'm afraid that my poor dad is now scared for life and is convinced that he is solely responsible for "jinxing" the computer.

I put a new hard drive in the iMac and had it up and running again in a short time, sans three years of data (mp3's, documents, photos)- no back up.

My mother would like to try to recover the data, but if it's not recoverable, she will live. We're considering using a recovery service, which will likely incur fees of $600+.

The other thing that comes to mind is buying the identical drive and either replace the failed part(s), or transferring the platters from the failed drive to the good drive. I expect that I'll get responses telling me that I'd be crazy to try it, I know. I guess one of my questions is, aside from using a clean room, what else is it that the data recovery services do aside from what I've described? Has anyone ever attempted what I'm describing? Does anyone have any advice for me if I do decide to play the part of mad scientist?

If I decide to go the safer/more expensive route, got any recommendations?

Cheers,
-Randy

What is the make / model / capacity of the drive? Some people here have had luck buying another (identical) drive and swapping the logic board.

The click click click sound is usually the drive being unable to read clusters that it's looking for. In that case, you're better off installing a new drive and using some sort of data recovery tool.

I've heard a few stories of folks putting the 'bad' drive in the freezer for awhile. Then they are able to retrieve the data when the drive is cold...I haven't tried this method myself, but I've read about it several times...It might be worth a try....

Randy

If it were/is just data, I've heard many good things about Spinrite ($89USD) from Steve Gibson's GRC.COM* but since it sounds like it may be more.... Comments on GRC indicate if you can get the drive to spin up, there's every likelyhood data can be recovered. It is OS agnostic so that's a plus.

Good luck,
Tim

* i've not used it myself...so my endorsement probably doesn't count for much.

Put the drive in a sealed bag first so you don't get condensation on it. I've never tried this method either.

I've done the PCB hard drive swap many times now. It was very simple. Find a working drive with the same model number. Mark the drive and PCS that is good with tape or something. Then remove the PCB from both drives. But the good PCB on the bad drive. Put the drive in the computer and backup the data.

The tape is to help remember what parts when to what drive.

Well, I have had good results from "Whacking" the drive with a good hard thump to the side of the case with the hand during start up.

This can help overcome the "stiction" of the head solenoid and mechanics if it is not pulling in.

I'm not joking: I have managed to get a disk running like this, and pulled everything off it (thank the respective Deity). However, it's very much a one-time thing.

Another good one: stick the drive in the fridge, chill it down, then bring it out cold and put it in the machine again. Let it warm up to room temp for an hour, try again.

Otherwise, buy another of the same model, swap the controller board: this will let you know if the problem was the controller. Sometimes the drive electronics become unable to source enough current due to subtle damage, and a new board replaces the old one to good effect. It's finding the drive that's the problem.

Of course, you are knackered if it's a mechanical problem.