Hard Drive Failing (?)

O

OrangeWolf

Gawd
Joined
Jan 6, 2011
Messages
884
I think my Hard Drive is failing. I'm here to (1) confirm I'm right, (2) ask about possible ways to fix it if possible, and (3) select a replacement assuming #2 fails.

Symptoms:
When starting up Windows informs me that I have a Bad Disk. Running Disk Check locates all kinds of errors. Internet has stopped working (though other computers hooked up to the same connection work fine). Computer has begun making a strange noise -- it's not quite knocking or grinding, but it's also not normal. Computer is running very slow compared to a month ago. MalwareBytes and MSE find no problems.

All of this occurred about two weeks after the computer was moved (possible something is loose, etc?)

Current Rig, built February 2011:
Phenom II x4 965
Radeon 6850 1GB
8GB DDR3 RAM
1TB Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD
...I forget which MoBo and PSU I had, I can look those up later if they prove remotely important for some reason.

So is there anything hardware wise I can look at to see if I can fix this? I doubt it's something simple, but I had hoped to get at least 3 years out of this system before having an issue. Any software I can run (while the computer still works) to try and determine if there is another non-hardware issue?

I already planned to build/upgrade my computer when Broadwell came out, though I considered waiting for Skylake (or whatever). Apart from the hard drive issues it meets all my needs adequately, especially as I haven't been gaming much recently.

So if I have to replace the hard drive I'd like to get one I can use in the next build, which is one of two things: (1) A nice SSD, 250gb or so, that I could use as the OS/programs drive in the new rig a year from now, or (2) A larger drive again (2-4tb) that I could use as an additional storage drive on the new rig in a year. Leaning towards running 3x drives in that future computer (ssd, general stuff hd, and storage for videos/pictures hd).

Aren't bigger drives riskier b/c drive failure like this is a more common problem? I keep anything truly VITAL backed up on the cloud, and this time I managed to back up most of my other stuff, but I'd hate to lose everything.

Cheers
 
Firstly, if you suspect something is loose, then pop the box open and check. That is very easy to solve if it is the problem.

How old is the drive? If is still under warranty, there is no need to fix anything. If you are in North America, most hard drive manufacturers (if not all) provide advance replacement, where they will send you the replacement drive first. This allows you to transfer your data and set your system before shipping the defective drive.

There is no evidence that proves there is a relation between drive size and failure rate. The risk with larger drives is you have more data to loose. If you have the things you need backed up, don't worry about drive failure during your purchase. Simply buy the best value drive that suits your need.
 
Thanks for the response!
ezno_matrix said:
Firstly, if you suspect something is loose, then pop the box open and check. That is very easy to solve if it is the problem.
Click to expand...
I'll check when I get home, though I'm not really sure what to look for.

How old is the drive? If is still under warranty, there is no need to fix anything.
Click to expand...
I bought it from Newegg in Feb 2011. I doubt it's still under warranty and am not sure how to check that either.

There is no evidence that proves there is a relation between drive size and failure rate. The risk with larger drives is you have more data to loose.
Click to expand...
Aah, okay -- I thought higher failure rates were associated with larger drives because they usually have more platters.
 
OrangeWolf said:
Thanks for the response!
I'll check when I get home, though I'm not really sure what to look for.

I bought it from Newegg in Feb 2011. I doubt it's still under warranty and am not sure how to check that either.

Aah, okay -- I thought higher failure rates were associated with larger drives because they usually have more platters.
Click to expand...

Just check the cables connected to the drive and press them towards the drive. similarly to the ones going towards the motherboard. Unfortunately, I have had one situation where a bad cable just happened to me. It wasn't possible to diagnose other than to swap out the cable with a new one that fixed the issue I had. If you have a spare SATA cable try swapping it out and running your machine.

I highly recommend this program: http://www.hdsentinel.com/ to see if your drive is failing. Best money I have ever spent for piece of mind. It won't catch a sudden failure, but you can see if a drive is starting to go.

Feb 2011 that might be borderline under warranty. Samsung IIRC is a 3 year warranty. So find the receipt if you can. If you can't then the warranty will be based on the manufacture date of the drive which will be written on the drive label.

SSDs will feel like a HUGE upgrade, but with SSDs I would highly recommend a second drive for actual storage of your files. I don't trust SSDs for longevity. I have had 2 SSDs now, a Mushkin and now a Samsung. The Muskin died suddenly no real warning, it just died. No recovery, it won't even show up. It's a good thing I do a daily backup so I only lost a few hours of data. So if you do go SSD, I would highly recommend you also have a scheduled daily backup or you might be sorry.

Edit: One last thing. If you do decide to send the drive for warranty, please be sure to do a wipe on the drive. At the very least a FULL format before you send it in. You don't want to be a victim of ID theft even if the chance is small.
 
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OrangeWolf said:
I bought it from Newegg in Feb 2011. I doubt it's still under warranty and am not sure how to check that either.
Click to expand...
Check the manufacturer's website for warranty information. You will need to provide the model and serial information of the drive. If your OS have SMART functionality, you can get the model and serial from the drives SMART data, no need to pull the drive. Otherwise, check the sticker on the drive for the info. As stated by the other poster, warranty is from the date of purchase if you have proof of purchase, otherwise it will be from the manufactured date. I have never had to deal with Samsung, but WD and Seagate have been known to be lenient with their warranty. I have gotten replacement from Seagate upto 3 months pass the warranty, after which they provided another 3 months (90 days) replacement warranty.

OrangeWolf said:
Thanks for the response!
Aah, okay -- I thought higher failure rates were associated with larger drives because they usually have more platters.
Click to expand...
More platters may cause the drive to run hotter. So yes, if the drives are not optimally cooled it could lead to premature failure. This is an environmental issue and not an inherent defect with the drive. Today's green drive are runs very cool so additional platters a not noticeable.
 
There will be an invoice in order history on Newegg site which will prove the time of purchase.
However, the warranty period is a year or 3 years depending on your model.
 
CrystalDiskInfo will tell you right off the bat based on SMART data if your drive is dying. Usually bad sectors. If you can't repair it through checkdisk, then there are MANY bad sectors, maybe the MBR. I just had a WD do this to me, no application worked to resolve it.

That being said you said "Samsung Spinpoint" and I knew it was a bad drive...had a 1TB go dead dead on me last winter for no apparent reason. Just stopped working. Out of warranty and $hit out of luck.
 
That being said you said "Samsung Spinpoint" and I knew it was a bad drive...had a 1TB go dead dead on me last winter for no apparent reason. Just stopped working. Out of warranty and $hit out of luck.
Click to expand...

This happens with all drive manufacturers and even enterprise drives.
 
drescherjm said:
This happens with all drive manufacturers and even enterprise drives.
Click to expand...

Obviously...and everyone has bad experiences with all manufacturers across the board. I have just had more failures, and I mean complete failures, no coming back, no warning, with samsungs.
 
It appears that I had a 1-year warranty (according to newegg) and not a 3-year, so I'm out of luck there. It isn't the hard drive that is making the noise, it's the video card (and I fixed that mostly with a good cleaning).

I'm going to try some of the software mentioned here in the next day or two, but in the meantime...

I might as well look at getting new hard drives. What's the current "best bang for your buck" SSD around 250gb and then a decent storage drive to go with it? I hear good things about Samsung EVO.

Also, hmm, I have a legit version of Windows but no idea where the disks are from a few years ago. Also I'm not even sure if I can use the same key when I re-install -- I think you can if you don't change the Mobo? I don't remember.
 
Is there a way to get my key off my current computer? I think it's listed somewhere.... system properties maybe? For now the computer still works, if barely.
 
OrangeWolf said:
It appears that I had a 1-year warranty (according to newegg) and not a 3-year, so I'm out of luck there. It isn't the hard drive that is making the noise, it's the video card (and I fixed that mostly with a good cleaning).
Click to expand...

Did newegg state the drive is covered for 1 year or did you check with samsung? I have never heard of HD with less than 2 years warranty (unless the drive came with a pre-built PC).
 
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