First, in regard to the video above, I have to say, “Don’t try this at home!” Just opening the case of your hard drive will almost certainly destroy it (they have to be opened in a clean room.) So, obviously that guy in the video was more into taking out his frustrations than fixing his drive. And it certainly can be very annoying. But there may be a simpler, more effective solution to your problem.
A clicking sound coming from your computer is usually a sign of physical damage to the hard drive. In fact (and I almost hate to tell you this…), the sound is often called “the click of death.” Wikipedia: Click of Death.
Hard drives are one of the few components of a computer that have lots of moving parts, so they do wear out. The clicking sound is often the first warning. Don’t ignore it.
The clicking sound is typically made by the arm of the drive moving too far to the right. The hard drive attempts to recalibrate the drive, which causes the clicking sound. Sometimes this recalibration will work, and the clicking will stop. But it will almost always return eventually.
Can you hear me now?
If you are currently experiencing a clicking sound, or if you have in the past, it is very important that you establish a regular backup system. All hard drives eventually fail. But this isn’t a huge problem, as long as you have a current backup.
Of course, if your data is particularly important to you, it is probably best to go ahead and replace the drive before it causes further problems.