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Possible SATA Hard drive problem?

Z

zupadupa

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jul 15, 2003
Messages
217
I noticed that my 200GB SATA Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 drive disapears in windows when I go into my computer. I also noticed that my system freezes for a few seconds then goes back to normal when I game, and I have found that I had a write delay error when this happens. The game is installed on a different drive, my 36GB SATA raptor. I am really hoping that its not the raptor drive and that it's the Seagate that is causing the problems.

I ran Seatools on the Seagate and the quick test runs fine, but the full test does not want to run at all. It just freezes. I ran windows check disk and it found nothing. When I ran check disk and selected the option: scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors, it seems to complete the task really really really fast. It's done in a matter of 10 seconds or so. I don't think that is normal, and I am pretty sure I have a faulty drive.

A few questions:

A) Is disk keeper a good defragging program? (Someone told me to be careful as to the number of times I use it as it may damage the surface of the disc. I was told not to use it on a regular basis, but from time to time and sparingly).

B) How fast should a 200GB Sata drive format when doing a regular format (not a quick format)? I think I remember something along the lines of 15 to 20 minutes for a complete format? When I do a regular format of the drive, it formats in 10 seconds or so. I thought it was supposed to be that fast when you do a quick format (this made me suspicious so I ran Seatools and the full test will not run).

C) What brand of drive is the best? I have used Maxtor, Western Digital and Seagate. I was told that Seagates can run very hot, but have longer warranty. I have never had too many problems with Maxtor, nor with Seagate drives until recently.

D) What's the best program to use in order to perform a low level format?

Thanks in advance!
 
A) Diskkeeper is a fine program, but the version included with Windows is horribly crippled. Another alternative that may be cheaper and is fine for desktop users is O&O.
B) It depends a lot on what drive formatting utility you're using. Some write only a MFT, others re-write every byte on the disk, which takes a lot longer. Either 15 minutes or 10 seconds is a standard length of time for it to take.
C) That's like asking "What color is best?". Well, they all have their strong points. It depends on the application.
D) You can't actually perform a traditional "low-level format" on a modern hard drive. What you mean is a zero fill utility. DBAN is a good one, or there's probably one on the UBCD.

 
unhappy_mage said:
A) Diskkeeper is a fine program, but the version included with Windows is horribly crippled. Another alternative that may be cheaper and is fine for desktop users is O&O.
B) It depends a lot on what drive formatting utility you're using. Some write only a MFT, others re-write every byte on the disk, which takes a lot longer. Either 15 minutes or 10 seconds is a standard length of time for it to take.
C) That's like asking "What color is best?". Well, they all have their strong points. It depends on the application.
D) You can't actually perform a traditional "low-level format" on a modern hard drive. What you mean is a zero fill utility. DBAN is a good one, or there's probably one on the UBCD.
Click to expand...

Everything that he said.

for C) Personally I've used a few hundred Samsung HDs and very few have failed (under 10) they run the coolest out of all HDs I've seen and the new 250gb and 300gb ones performange is AWASOME and they are the most QUIET out of any HD I've ever seen (aside from solid state flash ones).

So if your buying new I would recommend a 250gb or 300gb Samsung HD. (get the 300 =D)

but this is just my opinion, I've had lots of peoblems with Maxtor in the past but I have 2 in my server PC right now and they havn't died yet (used them for about a year now)
 
Thanks for the info guys.

I was thinking zero fill utility, but for some reason said low level format. I tried to run some other utilities on the Seagate drive and none of them wanted to work. Just flat out gave me errors. I am lucky that I managed to save some critical data off the drive.

Maxtor just isn't what they used to be. Almost every maxtor I have had has ended up crashing and failing on me after some time. I will definetly be looking into a samsung since I like the idea of a cool and quiet drive.

Cheers!
 
Maxtor drives are fine, if you're cooling them properly and powering them well. That's a pretty big if, but it is also good advice for other disks. Check the power supply voltages, preferrably with a multimeter, and see how your current drive feels to the touch - it should be cool to the touch.

 
Hitachis are very tolerant of voltage but not tolerant of temperature. They're as quiet as the Samsungs, but perform best at 43C or lower, and start losing lifespan over 50C. Best cache performance of all drives hands down, despite claims otherwise. (Hitachi's strong suit has always been buffer strategy.)
Seagate's got the best warranty, hands down. Unless you're anal about drive noise and performance, that's who I've gone back to using. (Till they pull another Medalist.) All around solid drives, though I only recommend the 7200.9 and later, and still place an AVOID on all Cheetahs due to temperature.
Samsung's quiet. They're fast. They're sturdy. They're reliable. They're cheap. There's very few negative points. They're certainly not the best in class, but they're also far from being the worst in class. Very respectable drives, but against Seagate's 5 year warranty, unless you see a significant price difference, the advantage goes to Seagate on warranty.

As far as your particular drive goes, it actually sounds like it might have a bad PCB. I've seen 'em pass MBIST and fail external diag, and vice versa. Seagate will issue an RMA if you get 'em on the phone and explain that you can't run the full diagnostic.
 
They will RMA if I can't run a full diganostics? I guess I will try that first and see where that leads me. Thank you kindly for the advice.
 
zupadupa said:
They will RMA if I can't run a full diganostics? I guess I will try that first and see where that leads me. Thank you kindly for the advice.
Click to expand...

Yep. Trick is to get 'em on the phone. Explain the situation in basic terms; drive sometimes disappears in Windows. You ran a quick scan, it came back okay. But the drive kept disappearing. So you tried to run the full scan, and the drive wouldn't do it. They should flag it as a bad PCB and issue an RMA.

Generally, unless they're assholes, they should issue an RMA on a drive making funny noises without any error code bullcrap. Some manufacturer's are just assholes though.
 
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