Any way to fix a ticking hard drive?

[BUTT]

So, last night I went to pull something off my external hard drive which is several years old, and when I clicked on it, my computer froze up. I unplugged the hard drive and when I plugged it back in it started making a weird clock-like ticking noise and the computer wouldn't even recognize it. Apparently, from what I've read online, this is known as the "click of death" and it means my drive is majorly fucked up. Do any of you know of any way in which I could get this thing working again, even for a little bit, just so I can pull some irreplaceable files off there? I read about some method of freezing the drive for several hours, but that sounds suspicious, and I don't know if this being the kind of hard drive you have to plug in would make that unfeasible. Thanks for any and all help you guys can give me.

 

[vivisectvi]

I had this happen once before and the drive was fucked.

 

[ViciousFish]

Freezing a drive can work and seems to be the most reliable but your odds are still really shitty.

 

[Sabre]

Freezing generally only gives you a few hours to backup your data to something else. Ticking means the drive is on its way out and will eventually not work

 

[BUTT]

So, this happened again! My 3TB Seagate, which I purchased just 26 months ago, passed away early this afternoon. I didn't bother with that freezing method last time, but I am interested in trying it this time. Like my old hard drive, it requires an AC adapter, so...can I freeze it and not expect to get electrocuted when I plug it back in? Serious question.

 

[Sabre]

I have no idea. If anything wouldn't the power just trip out if it did cause a surge.