Hard drives die. It's a sad fact of life. But on some occasions, your hard drive will give you a clue that death is eminent. A metal clicking noise is a sure sign that your hard drive is giving up the ghost. If you move quickly, you have a chance to back up your data before the drive completely dies.

First, remove the drive from its enclosure. Internal hard drives need to be removed from the computer, external hard drives need to be removed from their case.

Place the drive in a Ziploc freezer bag and squeeze out as much of the air as possible.

Put the drive, in its plastic bag, into the freezer and leave it there for at least 4 hours. If you can leave the drive in the freezer overnight, this will improve your chances for success.

Read more: Failing Hard Drive