External hard drives provide superb flexibility and enhance your productivity. When you need additional data storage or quick file transferring, a portable hard drive is a convenient selection. They are cheap, come with plenty of space, and require no direct power supply. However, you may still face some issues with an external hard drive.

Perhaps, you have experienced some noise coming from your hard drive. this is entirely normal because the platter is spinning inside. But, a beeping noise is a red sign that the drive is in trouble. If you have the same issue with an external hard drive, this article will be helpful.

Let’s find out more about the issue and possible solutions.


Is the beeping noise from the external hard drive normal?

Both internal and external hard drives will definitely make some noise since several movements happen inside of them. Hard drive noise doesn’t always point to a big issue. A hard drive generates a gentle buzzing sound in general. But, if the noise sounds more like grinding, clicking or beeping then that’s generally a red signal.

When the spindle fails to spot a drive, the hard drive beeping usually occurs. So, it is not a normal sign when unusual noises — except for a gentle buzzing — come from your hard drive.

Why does an external hard drive beep?

The Seagate external hard drive beeping issue mostly appears in smaller Seagate external hard drives. The motor used in the drive is not very powerful because it gets its power supply from the USB cable. The beeping noise happens when the head is on the disks, but the motor is unable to spin. It is a sign of physical damage that usually occurs due to a direct hit or drop.

Is hard drive beeping noise dangerous?

Since the beeping occurs due to a fastener slider, it won’t be able to read or write any data. Hence, you won’t be able to track down any data stored on the drive. Moreover, if the platters become scratched by any chance, your data is at high risk and can even be lost forever.

The beeping issue is very harmful because most users fail to detect the exact damage. They usually try to boot up the drive. But this incorrect attempt to recover an impaired hard drive will only make the damage worse.

Handling an internally damaged hard drive in the wrong way not only raises the risk of data loss but also narrows the possibility of successful data recovery.

What should you do?

The hard drive beeping sound is alarming. But, you can restore the data if the steps are followed correctly. If you are not a trained person, do not attempt to repair the drive and recover the data. We suggest consulting a professional data recovery company without delay. They can identify the exact cause of trouble, and apply the appropriate troubleshooting.

Beeping from your hard drive is considered a serious issue since it implies that it has suffered some internal damage. In most cases however, the data and the drive can be restored successfully.