# the signs of a dying hard disk



## justfei (Mar 15, 2005)

I've got this phobia of hard disks suddenly locking up and dying on me. So I was just wondering what are the signs of a hard disk on its last legs?

Are hard disk utility programs such as HD Tune as reliable whenever a hard disk passes their scan tests? What are the most minor and major physical signs of a dying hard disk?

Thanks!!


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## etaf (Oct 2, 2003)

blue screen errors 
Noise - ticking, clicking


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## bigbear (Apr 27, 2004)

The best thing to do instead of worrying if your drive is about to die is adequate back up.
There is software to test your drive now but it wont tell if its going to pack up next month


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## etaf (Oct 2, 2003)

i use synctoy from MS free to back up my data - once or more a week I let it run and backup to a USB drive - then once a month or more often I copy to DVD 

anything really important goes onto two CD's and USB drives

its quite simple 

just need to make sure you use my documents for all your data and then back that up - plus I back up outlook .pst files too


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## theses93 (Jun 4, 2005)

Well we never know when technology decides to fail. Do we!

So you should listen to the previous posts. Get yourself a external USB Harddrive and back up all data, pictures, document, presentations and everything else that is not replaceable.

Do it weekly or twice a month depending how much work you do on your PC. You will be grateful that you did it and your HDD fails without previous warnings. 
Consider also that you could loose your data also do to OS problems or serious viruses. It does not have to be a hardware failure to loose your important data. So yes.........back everything up and you will sleep a lot better. 

By the way do you monitor your HD Temperature? You should.....because most early HD failure and data loss is related to prolonged exposure to high temperature. The HD has a longer live and better reliability if it does not run to hot. I have read that the optimum operating temperature is below 45 Celsius. So my HD operates between 37C and 42C My software automatically hybernates the PC as soon the HD reaches 46Celsius.

There is free software on download.com or majorgeeks.com

There might be different opinions about the Temperature range but i like to be on the safe side.


I hope that helps a little bit.

theses93


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## justfei (Mar 15, 2005)

thanks for the replies. yup i have been backing up my important stuff quite a bit. most of my documents are in an external drive for safe keeping.

as for theses93, yup i do monitor my HD temperature. my laptops an inspiron 81oo so its got heat issues, so im constantly updated with the temperatures using this i8Kfangui program.

just scouting for thoughts - my hard disk has been loyal to me for 5 years now, almost hitting 6. is it a good idea for a change or just keep using it until it bonks out? so far its not showing any signs of weakness.


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## DaveBurnett (Nov 11, 2002)

Get SMART monitoring and/or turn it ON in the BIOS.
Most modern disks support Smart Monitoring And Reporting Technology


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## Rich-M (May 3, 2006)

One thing everyone forgot to mention is another sign can be constant momentary freezes where you see an hourglass....of course this can mean other things too but usually sign of dying hard drive.


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## justfei (Mar 15, 2005)

ohh good point rich-m, i get that momentarily freezing a lot. looks like ill have to get ready to save some cash for a new drive!


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## Rich-M (May 3, 2006)

And backup whatever is important as you go...


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## etaf (Oct 2, 2003)

good point Rich-M, I remenber getting them first, then blue screen then noise - the freezing was a few days before hand


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## Alex Ethridge (Apr 10, 2000)

The best backup system and the only one that works consistently and regularly on a set schedule is one that, once set up, runs without user attendance.

Get an extra hard disk, external or internal, set it up on a program like Acronis True Image or Norton Save and Restore and schedule periodic backups. From that point, all you have to do is occasionally check to be sure backups are being done.

The more human element involved in any task, the greater the chance of inconsistency and failure.


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