Data Recovery Case File · Desktop Externals & Aging Drives · Look at the Common Factor
Two at the Same Time Is Rarely Two Coincidences
His enquiry reports a coincidence that probably is not one. Two external drives of different sizes: "both have recently stopped working. They seem to know when they're plugged in as lights appear and fans whir, but they make clicky sounds and don't work on any PC or with any cable. Neither are that full, but they have music projects and old pho"tographs. Two independent drives failing mechanically in the same period is unlikely — and the useful question is what they had in common, because the answer changes what should happen to everything else in the room.
| Media | Two mains-powered external hard drives of differing capacities — both powering and audibly attempting to start; both producing positioning failure; neither enumerating on any host |
| Reported situation | Two external drives failing within the same period · both illuminating and running cooling fans on connection · both producing clicking · neither functioning on any computer or with any cable · music projects and photographs held |
| Fault class | Concurrent head positioning failure across two devices — shared supply or environmental event implicated; each assessed independently |
| Equipment used | Shared power and environmental history established before assessment · each drive assessed independently on a controlled bench supply · laminar flow bench inspection before any spin attempt · matched donor parts as indicated · imaging per drive in supervised sessions |
The decode: the shared factor, and why it matters beyond these two
Why simultaneity is informative: the chance of any particular drive failing mechanically in a given month is low. The chance of two doing so at once is far lower than the chance of something they shared causing both. So the question stops being "what is wrong with these drives" and becomes "what happened to both of them".
The candidates, in order of likelihood. A power event — both are mains-powered, and if they shared a socket, an extension lead or a surge-protected strip, a spike or a brownout reached both simultaneously. A physical event — a knock to a shelf or desk carrying both, or a fall while stacked together. Or heat, if both sat in the same enclosed space during a warm period.
Why the power explanation would be relatively good news: a supply event most often damages the enclosure's power circuitry or the drive's own board while leaving mechanisms intact. Clicking argues against that here, since clicking is head positioning failure and therefore mechanical — but it is worth establishing rather than assuming, because a marginal supply can also prevent a drive from parking its heads cleanly, which produces exactly this.
Why the answer matters beyond these two drives: if a shared power source damaged them, it is still there. Anything else plugged into it is at the same risk, and replacing the drives without addressing that repeats the exercise. That is the practical reason to work out the common factor rather than treating this as bad luck.
Why both must be assessed independently: they are different capacities and probably different models, so they will not have failed identically even if they failed for the same reason. Two assessments produce two positions and two figures — and it is entirely possible that one is straightforward and the other is not.
What his own testing established: neither works on any computer with any cable, which eliminates hosts, ports and cabling across the board. That is thorough, and there is nothing further to try at that level.
What must stop: further connection attempts on either. Both are clicking, which means heads are crossing surfaces they cannot read, and each attempt costs the same on both drives.
On the bench
Shared power and environmental history was established before assessment — two drives failing concurrently pointing at a common cause rather than coincidence, most often a supply event across a shared socket or lead, and one that remains a hazard to whatever is still connected to it. Each drive was assessed independently on a controlled bench supply, since differing models will not have failed identically. Inspection ran under the laminar flow bench before any spin attempt, matched donor parts were fitted, and imaging performed per drive in supervised sessions.
The outcome
The shared history established, each drive assessed independently on a controlled supply and imaged in separate supervised sessions. Free assessment, one fixed written figure including VAT per drive, 50% of parts and labour upfront with the balance only on successful recovery. The decode: two drives failing at once is rarely two coincidences, so the question is what they shared — a socket, an extension lead, a shelf, or an enclosed warm space. That matters beyond these two, because if a supply event caused it, whatever is still plugged into that supply is at the same risk.
Two drives that failed at the same time
Work out what they had in common, because it probably still exists. Two drives failing mechanically in the same period is far less likely than something they shared causing both — most often a power event reaching them through a shared socket, extension lead or surge strip, sometimes a knock to a shelf carrying both, occasionally heat in an enclosed space. That matters beyond these two drives: if a supply damaged them, anything still plugged into it is at the same risk, and replacing the drives without addressing that just repeats the exercise. Have them assessed separately rather than quoted together, since different models won't have failed identically. And stop connecting either.
Check what they shared — call Guildford Data Recovery on 01483 901310; each assessed independently on a controlled bench supply, inspected before any spin attempt, imaged in separate supervised sessions.
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Our case files are drawn from genuine enquiries received by our laboratory over the past ten years, anonymised to protect client confidentiality. Each one describes the diagnostic and recovery procedure our engineers apply to that fault, using the equipment listed.