I've got a WD Blue external drive that I've been using for backups for like 5 years. Yesterday it started making this weird clicking noise whenever I plug it in, and Windows won't detect it anymore. The drive is still spinning. Is this fixable or am I looking at data loss?
Stop plugging it in immediately - that clicking sound usually means the read/write head is hitting the platter, and each attempt makes it worse. Your best shot at recovering the data is to take it to a professional data recovery service rather than keep troubleshooting it yourself, since physical drive failure is beyond DIY fixes. The drive might still be salvageable if you don't keep powering it on, but the longer you use it the less recoverable your files become. If the data isn't critical, you're probably looking at a dead drive, but a recovery specialist can tell you what's possible and what it'll cost.
The clicking noise is a sign the drive's mechanical parts are failing - that's likely the read/write head making contact with the spinning platter, which gets worse every time you power it up. You're right to be concerned about data loss, but you haven't lost it yet. The drive still has power and is spinning, which means the data itself is intact on the platters. What's damaged is just the mechanism that reads it.
Stop plugging it in now, yeah, but before you panic about recovery services (which can run anywhere from a few hundred to over a grand depending on the damage), try one thing: put the drive in the freezer for a couple hours, then plug it in while wrapped in a bag so condensation doesn't get inside. Sometimes this temporarily contracts the metal parts enough to let the head work again for a short window - maybe long enough to copy critical files off. It's a gamble and not guaranteed, but it costs nothing and takes minutes. If it works, copy everything you need, don't rely on the drive after that.
If the freezer trick doesn't work or you only get partial access, that's when you'd need professional recovery. A local data recovery shop can open the drive in a cleanroom and swap the failed head assembly, which usually recovers most or all of your files. It's expensive but way cheaper than losing years of backups if those files matter to you. Either way, once this is resolved, get a new external drive and rotate backups - five years is pushing it for any mechanical drive.
That clicking is a mechanical failure - your drive's internals are already damaged, and every power cycle makes it worse. The pitfall people miss is thinking a different USB port or cable will help; it won't, because the problem is inside the drive itself. A data recovery service is your only realistic option if that backup is critical, but it'll cost you a few hundred bucks. If the data isn't essential, the drive is done and should stay unplugged.
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