DIY hard drive repair

[ckyr]

I am having a problem with my external WD MyBook hard drive. Suddenly, a few days ago it starting making a clicking noise and it failed to mount on the desktop. I tried to connect it using an IDE to USB adaptor (after I took the drive outside the WD case), but I still get the noise every second or so and it fails to mount.
Because the drive does not mount I cannot use Data Rescue II to get at least some of my files out of it.
Can anybody suggest something that might help me get some of my files back?
Thanks a lot.

 

[BlueRevolution]

The click means your hard drive is dying or dead. The only thing at this point that can allow you to recover your data is expensive surgery. And no, there is a 0% possibility that you could successfully open and repair a failed hard drive without a clean room.

At this point, there are a few things you could try with the reasoning being that you couldn't possibly make things any worse. If the click is a result of a jammed read head, you may be able to jar it loose by whacking it edge-on against a hard surface. Some people also have success by placing it in a freezer overnight.

I've never had either approach work for me personally. Even if you can access the files, it will only be for a brief period before it fails again. I'm sorry to say that your drive is probably toast.