External HD ticking and computers won't recongize it

[signage]

Tell me more about this... I have taken apart hundreds of hard drives and never seen a gyroscope in one.

Yea me too, all I have seen is two rear-earth magnets that keep the platters equally spaced! Never have seen a gyroscope, or any thing resembling one!

 

[jiarby]

the so called clicking many hear when a drive starts to fail the heads banging against the plates of the drive.

The clicking sound is not the heads crashing... it is the sound of the magnets reversing the direction of the arm because the heads cannot locate the platters. Over and over again. This can be because of a bad voltage problem, or a bad circuit board. It sounds like the OP's problem was low voltage. He was probably using a 2.5" external drive that only draws power from USB ports.

An actual physical head crash sounds like a screech.

 

[signage]

The WD external HD needs an external power supply. Now hooking up a power supply with different voltages can possibly cause an issue. I would make sure that I back it up regularly.

 

[round man]

Do a google search on hard drive gyro stabilizers and see how many hits you get,..you guys may not recognize them as such but they are there just the same

 

[jiarby]

Maybe you should read some of those links, not just search for them.

There are no gyroscopes in hard drives that calibrate anything.

Your google search is not about gyroscopes inside hard drives...they are about using hard drives (and their fast spinning platters) as gyroscopes for other DIY devices. The spinning HDD resists tortional movement the same was that a bicycle wheel does when you hold the axle and spin the wheel.


No offense, Jack... I think you are wrong about this one.

 

[round man]

I'm just going by what my professor at school taught me here,...the gyro effect is there, as for how it works I have no real clue I didn't ask for details as I wasn't the only one in class that day,and I really didn't want to complicate the topic anymore than it was getting at that point. I was however scolded for moving a drive while it was in use, and that was the reason given for the scolding,....

 

[jiarby]

there is a gyroscope inside most hard drives that calibrates the heads so they won't contact the plates,it drives me crazy to see someone pick up an external drive while its still spinning as this can cause a drive to crash and at the very least screw up the calibration process making it easier for the write heads to come into contact with the spinning plates of the drive.

Do a google search on hard drive gyro stabilizers and see how many hits you get,..you guys may not recognize them as such but they are there just the same

I have no real clue

Ahh,

Finally we get to the facts!

 

[buttons]

I'm just going by what my professor at school taught me here,...the gyro effect is there, as for how it works I have no real clue I didn't ask for details as I wasn't the only one in class that day,and I really didn't want to complicate the topic anymore than it was getting at that point. I was however scolded for moving a drive while it was in use, and that was the reason given for the scolding,....

Want to give a try at explaining laptop drives then?

 

[jiarby]

A long time ago I was doing pc support for a Major Semiconductor Manufacturer™.... a troublesome secretary (with alot of tenure and an important boss) opened a ticket which found it's way into my inbox.

She wanted me to move the computer from her desk (she also had her monitor on top if the PC in the normal desktop PC style) to the floor next to her desk. But... she wanted the chassis to stand on it's side like a tower case.

I was feeling snarky, so I asked her what she needed me for... just move it yourself. She commented that she would have but they thought that putting the computer on it's side was going to ruin the hard drive, because when it was formatted it has horizontal and now it would be vertical.

She thought I needed to image her hdd, then format it vertically, and then restore her data.

<gasp>

OMG!! I had always heard of these people but never met one in person!

Well..

I told her that re-formatting the drive was not required...

BUT, She would have to change the page orientation of all her word documents (a monumental task given her job) from portrait to landscape so they wouldn't print sideways.

She says: OMG! Never mind then... that is too much work!

I offered to write a macro that automatically modified the file when she opened a word doc, but it would take a few weeks.

I came back a few weeks later and moved the PC. (Of course, there is no such macro!)

She loved me forever after that. She would only let me work on her trouble tickets.

LOL!
Honest to God True Story!

 

[round man]

Actually it WAS a laptop drive in an an external usb enclosure that the professor scolded me in class about handling when in use. as for not having a clue my professor has a masters from MIT, where as I have no clue, to coin a phrase as to the validity of your stance of superior knowledge,..I'm not trying to convince anyone here of anything just trying to share what I have been taught,if I thought for one second the information I was giving was wrong what good would it do to share it? I feel quite certain there are gyroscopic physics involved here as to whether or not I worded my response to suit your obviously vastly superior intellect I apologize for any ignorance shown on my behalf

 

[WOODBS]

what about the flux capacitor?

 

[jiarby]

I have no clue... as to the validity of your stance of superior knowledge

Your assessment of the level of my knowledge is purely an extrapolation you have made on your own based on the quality of information in my posts. I make no claims of superior knowledge...

My only claim was that I have taken apart hundreds of hard drives and never seen a single gyroscope...

Based on my 20 years of experience as an IT System Administrator, and multiple industry certifications (both hardware and software) I believed that I was qualified to challenge your claim.

College professors are the biggest dorks out there (after IEEE engineers)... and it does not surprise me that one would be preaching bogus information as if it were gospel and that his minion sheep would not challenge his false claim. They often are very knowledgeable in a very narrow area, but in their minds that expertise is wider than it really is.

Maybe you can get your money back?

The facts is that hard drives are on the space shuttle... they can take some movement.

What hurts HDD's is sudden G-Force shocks... like if you had dropped it while it was spinning. Just holding it and moving them around is no big deal.

When the platters are spinning the drive will resist your movement of it in a gyroscopic fashion... but that is not because there are gyroscopes in there. I would not have made my comments except that you proclaimed it as fact and then told us we just didn't know as much as you.... and them offered up some bogus google search as proof.

We can't have people being misled.

 

[jiarby]

I feel quite certain there are gyroscopic physics involved here as to whether or not I worded my response to suit your obviously vastly superior intellect I apologize for any ignorance shown on my behalf

In the cycling world this is called "Back Pedaling"... Your snarky sarcasm (no doubt learned from ISAG) does not contribute to the strength of your argument and only serves you make you seem petty. Sorry you got offended when I said that some bullshit you said was actually bullshit.

You clearly stated that HDD's contained little gyroscopes, and even told us WHY they were in there...

there is a gyroscope inside most hard drives that calibrates the heads so they won't contact the plates

This, obviously is not true.

When questioned about it you stuck to your story... and told us WE just didn't know what you knew.

Do a google search on hard drive gyro stabilizers and see how many hits you get,..you guys may not recognize them as such but they are there just the same

Then... in the face of mounting information to the contrary you play the "It wasn't ME... I was just regurgitating what my super smart college professor told me... I do not have a clue myself...

I'm just going by what my professor at school taught me here

Now You got your BVD's in a wad because I said something snarky.

So what....

Get over it.

You were wrong. It is not about who is smarter than whom. You do not have to defend yourself.

The fact is that there are no little gyroscopes inside hard drives that calibrate the heads so they do not strike the platters as you claimed. It does not matter where you got your bogus information. It does not matter what degrees the guy has that told you this info. It does not matter how smart I am.

 

[SignosaurusRex]

Actually it WAS a laptop drive in an an external usb enclosure that the professor scolded me in class about handling when in use. as for not having a clue my professor has a masters from MIT, where as I have no clue, to coin a phrase as to the validity of your stance of superior knowledge,..I'm not trying to convince anyone here of anything just trying to share what I have been taught,if I thought for one second the information I was giving was wrong what good would it do to share it? I feel quite certain there are gyroscopic physics involved here as to whether or not I worded my response to suit your obviously vastly superior intellect I apologize for any ignorance shown on my behalf

Weeeeelllllllll, I for one, appreciate your educated input there "Round man". At least it has a sound base rather than being simple conjecture.

 

[jiarby]

butt kisser

 

[SignosaurusRex]

butt kisser

Is that all you have there charger?

 

[jiarby]

yep, lets do this another day when I have more time!

 

[iSign]

butt kisser

like you being a little dick wagger in a pissing contest is somehow so much better somehow?

 

[jiarby]

yah... I get it...

 

[SignosaurusRex]

yep, lets do this another day when I have more time!

Makes no matter to me. Did you need more than an hour?
If I'm a "butt Kisser" because I happen to have an appreciation for someone posting help based on an education one receives......so be it. That is your opinion and your problem. I do take offense at being called such by one who seems to find pleasure in nit-picking at details in anothers willingness to be helpful regardless of whether or not it suits your opinion. I suggest that you keep some salt readily available, get more fiber in your diet and relax more.