Attempting to Recover data off a Clicking Hard Drive

A little information first. Yesterday when I tried to run my VPN an error popped up that there was a corrupt file and I needed to run check disk. After this when my computer re-booted many of my programs wouldn't run. After I re-booted again nothing. My hard drive wouldn't read at all. I was able to install Windows 7 x64 on another hard drive and then I tried to get the hard drive to read. At first it read for about a minute or two then it just vanished from my computer, disk manager and even bios (I will also say when it did read the drive, the size was in correct) and would only appear after a full shut down not a restart. After many tries I finally got it to pull up the drive in it's entirety for a brief moment. But then the whole system froze. I re-booted my computer and then the clicking started. and when ever I try to boot with it plugged in the system won't get past starting windows. If I plug it in after startup it gets stuck as well. Is there any course of action that I can take without damaging the drive further or should I seek professional help?

Welcome to the forum. It depends how valuable the data is profession help is the best bet but it can cost a fortune if the drive has to stripped in a clean room. I would guess the drive fault is heat related so when its cold its ok the old trick is to put it in a sealed bag in a frezzer then conect and get the data quick

Just as a side question could replacing the pcb help at all for a temporary fix in order to recover the data? Also right now I have my faulty hard drive sitting quietly on a shelf. Until I can figure out the best option moving forward.

Lady Fitzgerald said:

It would be difficult to impossible to find an exact match for the PCB. If you don't get the exact one, you could destroy all chances of getting your data off the drive.

the best option is to do nothing yourself and send the drive to a data recovery specialist. Sadly, that can easily cost well north of $1,000. I know that is steep but it is your safest option.

If your budget can't stand that steep of a price tag, let me see if I can get Jumanji, Win 7's unofficial drive guru involved here to see if he might be able to help.

I have been able to locate a pcb that matches my drive exactly but I am scared to attempt such a task. If you can get Jumanji to help that would be awesome. I am all ears for possible options.

Sorry to double post but in my haste to get some sort of an answer I forgot to mention what my HDD was.
seagate
sv35.5
S/N: 5VPBH6ZM
ST31000526SV
P/N: 1AA 154-500
Firmware: CV15
Date Code 12377
CSO: 1336-1
Site Code WU
once again sorry for the double post. I hope this extra info may be of some use.

A clicking HDD means a physically damaged drive. You had already seen it go from bad to worse as you continued your efforts to salvage the data. BIOS not seeing it, HDD not appearing in Disk Management. Any further run/data recovery effort will only hasten it to its ultimate resting place. ( First of all, if the drive is not seen, no DIY data recovery is possible.) Changing the PCB is not going to repair the mechanical damage.

Your only hope is Professional Data recovery in a clean room. How much data you will still get unscathed will still be a big question mark - will depend upon the extent of damage, if any, done to the platters..

hmmm......jumanji is hopelessly helpless in this case. Sorry for that.

It's fine. I am just happy that I have some sort of answer. I will just put the drive on my shelf and wait until I gain the funds for professional assistance. If I may ask one last question. Do you know of any reputable recovery companies?

I am in India. Don't know the state of affairs in India itself :), much less in USA. May be other folks in USA may advise you.