Essentially, the spindle is “locked up,” so it’s not able to run at its normal speed. This can occur due to electronic issues, but it’s more commonly associated with a spindle failure. The hard drive’s electronics aren’t able to provide enough power to the spindle to spin the platters.
The drive “beeps.” A beeping sound usually comes from the spindle motor hub. In that case, you probably encountered one of the following scenarios: With that said, if you’re reading this article, you probably didn’t do that - you tried to start the drive, at which point you realized that your data was inaccessible. Get it to a data recovery company and explain the situation they’ll be able to evaluate the drive without risking platter damage, ensuring that you’ll be able to get a full recovery of the contents. If the drive contains absolutely essential data, the best practice is to leave it powered off. You’ve dropped your external hard drive, and you’re worried that it might not work anymore.
