Seagate External Hard Drive Beeping? Try These Fixes

Seagate external hard drives are some of the most popular hard drives. However, sometimes you may encounter certain issues with the drive, such as the device beeping after connecting it to a PC. 

The issue occurs due to a lack of sufficient power to the hard drive or if the motor inside the drive cannot spin. The first issue is easy to resolve, but the second one is more serious. In this article, we mention what you can do whenever you encounter both of these scenarios on your Seagate external hard drive.

What Causes the Beeping Sound?

The hard drive contains cylindrical platters which is the actual device that stores data. It is connected to a motor for spinning and a head slides over the platter to read/write the data. When the PC provides a small current to the head, it writes data on the platter by magnetizing small spots, and by providing a small current to those spots, the head can read the data.

But the head only goes over the platter after the platter starts rotating at full speed and stays in the resting zone in the meantime. If it stays on the platter or goes there before it reaches full speed, the platter becomes stuck and the motor cannot rotate properly. 

So, you may get a beeping sound if the head or slider becomes stuck on the platter due to a damaged head or other components. On the other hand, the motor will also not rotate if it is damaged or if it doesn’t receive enough power from the USB connection.

You should only encounter the issue on an HDD. SSDs do not use platters and heads as it is not magnetic disk and hence, do not cause beeps.

How to Fix Seagate External Hard Drive Beeping?

Here are the possible fixes for the beeping error on Seagate’s external hard drive:

Check Connection and Power Issues

The first thing you should do is check if there are any connection issues or if the hard drive is getting enough power through the USB. Here are the troubleshooting measures you can apply for these purposes:

1. Try connecting the device to another USB port, especially one that comes attached to the motherboard.
   
2. Try using it with another computer or see if other hard drives work on your PC.
3. Use a powered hub in case the drive is not receiving sufficient power.
4. Replace the cable with another one and check if it works.

If the issue is with the power or connection, you can resolve it by using the corresponding method above. If the drive continues beeping in all scenarios, it shows issues with the device hardware.

Recover Data and Replace the Hard Drive

No matter what some people say on the internet, do not freeze your drive. Doing so runs the risk of damaging the disk even more and you may not be able to recover data from it.

You can try recovering the data yourself or have an expert do it. Then, you need to take your drive to a hardware technician for repair (if possible) or replacement.

Recover Data Yourself

If the contents on the drive are not extremely precious for you or you don’t want to spend tons of money hiring data recovery experts, you can try doing it yourself. However, this process requires precision. So, if you are not sure, it’s always better to leave the recovery to hard drive experts or data recovery companies.

The beeping usually occurs if the head inside the hard drive is stuck to the platter instead of resting in the parking zone. So, you need to open the drive and pull it carefully back to the parking zone in order to be able to access the data in such a scenario. 

However, keep in mind that doing so is a temporary fix to give you enough time to recover the data as the issue may continue occurring afterward. So you still need to replace the hard drive with a functional one.

Regardless, here’s what you need to do to recover the data:

1. Get these tools ready:
   • Torque Screwdriver (Usually T-6, but check on your hard drive)
   • Pick tool
   • Prying tool
   • Antistatic equipment
2. Unscrew the plastic case if necessary. The screws may be under rubber pads. or stickers.
3. Use the prying tool to remove the plastic casing by unhooking all the notches. You should be able to see the lines on the edges where you need to pry.
4. Place the hard drive over an antistatic mat and wear the anti-static equipment as well. If you don’t have such equipment, make sure not to touch any circuits and the inside of the hard drive with your fingers and only hold the metal or plastic parts on the outer case.
5. Unscrew all the screws in the hard drive to take it out of the metal frame and unlock the metal case. There may be hidden screws beneath the sticker as well.
   
6. Remove the SATA to USB Micro Type B bridge.
7. After that, use the pry tool to remove the metal case of the hard drive.
8. Check if the head is stuck on the platter. If so, you need to put it back in the parking zone.
9. Place the screwdriver vertically over the screw in the middle of the platter. Don’t start rotating it yet.
10. Insert the pick in the hole on the head.
11. Rotate the platter counter-clockwise while using the pick to pull the head to the parking zone at the same time.
    
12. Reconnect the metal case and screw it back. Make sure not to screw too tightly or too loosely.
13. Then reverse the dismantling process and connect it to your PC and see if it works.
14. Alternatively, you can use a SATA to USB Type A adapter to directly connect the drive to your PC.
15. Retrieve all the data on the drive as soon as possible.

Have Data Recovery Experts Recover Data

Data recovery companies and experts have access to more sophisticated tools, so they have a higher chance of successful data recovery. So, if your Seagate drive stores more important data, it’s best to buy the services of such companies/experts. The recovery may not always go through successfully so try seeking help from more reliable experts by checking customer reviews or forums.