Editing Click of death

{{short description|Computing term that indicates storage failure}}
[[Image:Zip-disc-back.jpg|right|thumbnail|A standard ZIP100 disk]]
{{Listen |filename=Zip 100 SCSI click of death.ogg |title=Click of death |description=The click of death of a failed Iomega [[Zip drive]].}}
'''Click of death''' is a term that had become common in the late 1990s referring to the clicking sound in [[disk storage]] systems that signals a disk drive has [[failure mode|failed]], often [[Catastrophic failure|catastrophically]].<ref name="pcworld1">{{cite web |url=http://www.pcworld.com/article/9378/the_click_of_death_ate_my_data.html |title= The Click of Death Ate My Data |work= [[PCWorld]] |date= January 15, 1999 |accessdate= September 12, 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20110906141825/http://www.pcworld.com/article/9378/the_click_of_death_ate_my_data.html |archivedate=September 6, 2011 }}</ref>

The clicking sound itself arises from the unexpected movement of the disk's [[Disk read-and-write head|read/write actuator]]. At startup, and during use, the disk head must move correctly and be able to confirm that it is correctly tracking data on the disk. If the head fails to move as expected or upon moving cannot track the disk surface correctly, the [[disk controller]] may attempt to recover from the error by returning the head to its home position and then retrying, at times causing an audible "click". In some devices, the process automatically retries, causing a repeated or rhythmic clicking sound, sometimes accompanied by the whirring sound of the drive plate spinning.

== Origin of the term ==
The phrase "click of death" originated to describe a failure mode of the [[Iomega]] [[ZIP drive]]s, appearing in print as early as January 30, 1998.<ref name="cnet">{{cite web |last1=Festa |first1=Paul |title="Click of death" strikes Iomega |url=https://www.cnet.com/news/click-of-death-strikes-iomega/ |website=[[CNET]] |publisher=[[CBS Interactive]] |accessdate=28 October 2018 |date=30 January 1998}}</ref> In his podcast of September 18, 2008, [[Mac (computer)|Mac]] journalist Tim Robertson claimed to have coined the phrase in the early 1990s.<ref>[http://www.mymac.com/showarticle.php?id=3388 ''MyMac Podcast'' #201] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090826005517/http://www.mymac.com/showarticle.php?id=3388 |date=2009-08-26 }}, 00:56:40 – 00:58:30.</ref>

== Iomega Zip drives ==

[[Iomega Zip]] drives were prone to developing misaligned heads.<ref name="cnet" /> 
Iomega received thousands of complaints about the click of death. Iomega stated that fewer than 1 in 200 Jaz and Zip drive owners were affected by the click of death.<ref name= "pcworld1"/> A [[class-action suit]] (''Rinaldi v. Iomega Corp.'', 41 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d 1143) was filed against them for violation of the Delaware Consumer Fraud Act<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Oo5MfD6y8hwC&q=rinaldi+v.+iomega&pg=RA1-PA32 |title=Products Liability: Recreation and Sports Equipment |first=Jeffrey D. |last=Wittenberg |via=Google Books |pages=13–54 |publisher=ALM |year=2012 |accessdate=2011-09-12}}</ref> in September 1998.

== Hard disk drives ==

{{expand section|date=September 2011}}
{{Listen|filename=WD bad heads click of death.ogg|title=Click of death|description=WD hard drive with click of death caused by a [[head crash]]|format=[[Ogg]]}}

On a [[hard disk drive]], the ''click of death'' refers to a similar failure mode; the head actuator may click or knock as the drive repetitively tries to recover from one or more errors. These sounds can be heard as the heads load or unload, or they can be the sounds of the actuator striking a stop, or both.<ref>{{Cite web| last = Saurbh| first = Utkarsh| title = 4 warning signs that your hard drive is dying| work = Gadgets Now| accessdate = 2022-12-29| date = 2018-09-03| url = https://www.gadgetsnow.com/how-to/4-warning-signs-that-your-hard-drive-is-dying/articleshow/65442931.cms}}</ref>

== See also ==

* [[Head crash]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
* [http://grc.com/tip/codfaq1.htm Comprehensive account of the click of death at grc.com]
* [http://datacent.com/hard_drive_sounds.php Collection of noises made by failing hard drives at datacent.com]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9IVSS2d8Z0 Zip Disk Click of Death at youtube.com]

[[Category:Rotating disc computer storage media]]
[[Category:Technological failures]]