western digital hard drive "click,click,click,click...pause...click,etc

[LocalHero]

Hi all,
I replaced my power supply to upgrade from 250w to 480w.  I carefully unplugged the old and re-plugged the new (after unplugging power source) and when I confidently turned everything back on the hard drive seems not to work.  there's a faint beep but I'm not sure if it's the POST beep or not.  (I have a vague understanding of that)
Instead, the hard drive clicks quite clearly and it clicks 4x then pauses, then 4x, pause, etc, etc.

I tried re-plugging the old power supply back in and get the same result.   The computer screen just stays blank the whole time.

Did my hard drive just die at that point?   Could switching ps cause the hd to die?

a few facts:
I do touch the computer case before I stick my hands in there to remove static charge.

HD is western digital caviar 40g  WD400

Computer is 3ghz P4 running xp with sp3

replacement power supply says it's for a P4 and it fits perfectly where the old one came out, same connections etc.

I have a 160g drive on it's way from Ebay that I intended to replace this drive with anyway and I have the 40g drive backed up on an external so it's not a disaster but it sure is an inconvenience.

I'm ready to try hitting it on the side (percussive maintenance) but thought I'd try a post first. :-)

Thanks,
John

[BC_Programmer]

try a different power connector to the hard drive. I take it the machine doesn't post, then? If not, it could be something else.

Does everything work again when you use the old PSU?

[LocalHero]

I did try a different plug coming off the ps...no go.
It didn't work with the old ps re-plugged in either.   Just click, click.....

[LocalHero]

Also, this is a circa 2005 HP computer and the hard drives are PATA.    Don't know if that makes any difference.

[BC_Programmer]

hmm, well you could try the drive in a external enclosure, or another Computer.

But it sounds like it might be failing/failed.

Does the BIOS detect the drive?

[LocalHero]

I'm not sure...how would I know if the bios detected the drive?

I just tried it again with the original psu and this time the hd doesn't even click and I never heard any beep.   
I do hear the hd click and whirr when I first turn the box on though, so I know it's getting power

[Karnac]

Pretty sure it's had the biscuit.....if there's any data you really need on the drive you could try freeze the drive and then you get to make usually one attempt to retrieve the information. When the pc starts you usually see all the drives  listed in bios information ....harddrive is usually listed as HD0.

[LocalHero]

wait, do you mean freeze as in put in the freezer? (pardon me if this is a stupid question) or is that tech jargon I don't know?

is it common that switching psu's or even unplugging/replugging hd's would make them go bad?   These type of "coincidences" seem to happen a lot to me....

[BC_Programmer]

I believe he means to put it in the freezer. never done it personally, but I've heard it helps. Personally I'd expect it to make things worse, since your supposed to acclimatize drives to prevent operating condensation...

It's not common at all, but not unheard of.

[LocalHero]

Well I guess I could freeze it.   Not much to lose, right?

As for the bios, I'm not getting the first character on the screen.   stays black.

Another couple of questions...
If I hooked up another hd that had some data on it but no os would it show up at all?   I have a 20g maxtor that I was using as a slave but started getting "bad drive" messages from my computer about it so I removed it.   it did still work though and I could maybe test the box to see if anything comes up at all?

Alternately, I have an external drive w/usb connection.   would that be recognized if it were the only hd and didn't contain an os?

Is there any other way to test the rest of the box to verify it's just the hd?

[Karnac]

http://www.lancelhoff.com/freeze-a-clicking-hard-drive-to-recover-data/

[LocalHero]

Got the freeze link Karnac, thanks.

is there any sense to removing the cover on the hd and seeing if an ant crawled in there or anything?   Will springs fly all over?   
If it's definitely bad I'll likely open it up just for curiosity and to destroy it completely to secure any data it might contain.

[Karnac]

Harddrives are vacuum sealed units to prevent dust and moisture from penetrating......no harm in opening it if you're done with it.....educational experience and a cool magnet.....destroy it with a drill  bit...lotsa holes right through it usually does the trick.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Hard-Drive-Fridge-Magnet/

[patio]

Why do you suspect an Ant ? ?

[LocalHero]

Because I suspect a cow might be too big to slip in there.