# Solved: Clicking noise from harddrive, Windows won't boot up



## Armiris (Sep 6, 2007)

I was using my computer when I heard a clicking noise from it. All of a sudden, it rebooted.  When Windows tried to boot up, it happened again. And again. And again.  I tried GoBack, it worked, then I tried booting up windows. It rebooted again.

EDIT: The first time it rebooted after the clicking noise, it said 'Operating system not found'


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## griffinspc (Nov 16, 2001)

Sorry but if the clicking noise is coming from the hard drive it's almost 100% sure it's dead or at the least the first sectors are toast. If so you've likely lost your files. If you need files off it you can try and make it a slave drive on another machine and recover them that way but it's a long shot.


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## Armiris (Sep 6, 2007)

It will boot up fine, and GoBack will start up, but after I choose Windows XP Pro, it hangs.


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## griffinspc (Nov 16, 2001)

That's not what your thread title says at all. Is the hard drive clicking? If it isn't the hard drive then you're only probable solution is to reinstall the OS. Can you start in Safe Mode?


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## Armiris (Sep 6, 2007)

I can start in Safe Mode, how would that help?


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## Armiris (Sep 6, 2007)

Oh, and I can't re-install Windows. it can't read the keyboard driver or something.


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## griffinspc (Nov 16, 2001)

Armiris said:


> I can start in Safe Mode, how would that help?


If you can start in safe mode and boot all through the process to the desktop then probably the drive isn't shot. It would likely mean that the OS install has been corrupted at some point, after that it's up to you what you would want to do to fix it. Are you saying that you did start in Safe Mode and got no clicks or keyboard errors, etc.?

So did you try and reinstall XP and it failed or what ???


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## Rich-M (May 3, 2006)

griffinspc said:


> If you can start in safe mode and boot all through the process to the desktop then probably the drive isn't shot. It would likely mean that the OS install has been corrupted at some point, after that it's up to you what you would want to do to fix it. Are you saying that you did start in Safe Mode and got no clicks or keyboard errors, etc.?
> 
> So did you try and reinstall XP and it failed or what ???


I disagree. Booting to Windows takes a lot more from he drive than safe mode...and I have seen drives first show signs of dying like this. have you run checkdisk from safe mode?


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## Armiris (Sep 6, 2007)

No more clicking noise, got it to boot up long enough to back up all my important files, now it hangs at the thing where you select Start Up Windows Normally and stuff. Check my other post for more info


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