Constantly and randomly clicking hard disk
- Thread starter Vikas
- Start date
- Status
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
Originally Posted By: Vikas
I made some room on an external USB drive and letting Windows 7 to the image backup on it so that if the drive goes dead before I get the new one, at least I will be covered.
I need UBCD and NOT the UBCD4WIN, correct? thanks
You need this:
http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/download.html
I made some room on an external USB drive and letting Windows 7 to the image backup on it so that if the drive goes dead before I get the new one, at least I will be covered.
I need UBCD and NOT the UBCD4WIN, correct? thanks
You need this:
http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/download.html
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2008
- Messages
- 5,524
Originally Posted By: Donald
Originally Posted By: Bottom_Feeder
Not sure why you're worried about things like bad blocks when the drive's mechanical bits are obviously failing. Don't spend drive up-time on testing it which may send it over the edge. Back up your data immediately and just replace it.
Crystal Disk Info reads the SMART data. Thats stored in the electronics for the drive.
Why does he need to test anything at this point? The drive's behavior thus far is enough to determine that it has problems and needs to be replaced.
Originally Posted By: Bottom_Feeder
Not sure why you're worried about things like bad blocks when the drive's mechanical bits are obviously failing. Don't spend drive up-time on testing it which may send it over the edge. Back up your data immediately and just replace it.
Crystal Disk Info reads the SMART data. Thats stored in the electronics for the drive.
Why does he need to test anything at this point? The drive's behavior thus far is enough to determine that it has problems and needs to be replaced.
Originally Posted By: Bottom_Feeder
Why does he need to test anything at this point?
I'd recommend SpinRite, but realistically, you're right. This isn't 1985 any longer. Drives are cheap enough that if they're acting up, move the data and replace them.
Why does he need to test anything at this point?
I'd recommend SpinRite, but realistically, you're right. This isn't 1985 any longer. Drives are cheap enough that if they're acting up, move the data and replace them.
Originally Posted By: Vikas
and *EXTREMELY* slow operation but I see NO other indication of disk going bad aka no errors that I can locate anywhere. The Dell Desktop i5 based computer is about 1.5 years i.e. out of warranty.
At first I only noticed the faint clicking noise and eventually managed to correlate it with the disk activity light. I killed all the applications but the clicking did not stop. So I rebooted the machine. It took over 20 minutes to come up and it was as slow as molasses be but still no errors. I powered it off and then booted in safe mode. Still extremely slow but I was able to connect an external USB drive and was able to copy some of the important data from that computer. It took a while though. At one time, it was giving me 20 MB/s throughput which seemed not too bad.
It was still slow after rebooting it. Then an alert popped up saying "Update was completed" and now it seems to be behaving normally but that might be just an illusion.
The restore partition is on the same disk, so now I have to scramble and find the Dell media if I end up having to restore it.
What are the built-in tools or utilities on Windows 7 which can show me disk errors or bad blocks etc?
Download Process Explorer to see what application or process is causing this. PE allows you to see CPU, memory, I/O, HD uses, etc. Excellent diagnostic tool.
XP will do this to me at times: 50% CPU utilization, confuser crawls along, finally the process exits and cpu goes down to 2%.
and *EXTREMELY* slow operation but I see NO other indication of disk going bad aka no errors that I can locate anywhere. The Dell Desktop i5 based computer is about 1.5 years i.e. out of warranty.
At first I only noticed the faint clicking noise and eventually managed to correlate it with the disk activity light. I killed all the applications but the clicking did not stop. So I rebooted the machine. It took over 20 minutes to come up and it was as slow as molasses be but still no errors. I powered it off and then booted in safe mode. Still extremely slow but I was able to connect an external USB drive and was able to copy some of the important data from that computer. It took a while though. At one time, it was giving me 20 MB/s throughput which seemed not too bad.
It was still slow after rebooting it. Then an alert popped up saying "Update was completed" and now it seems to be behaving normally but that might be just an illusion.
The restore partition is on the same disk, so now I have to scramble and find the Dell media if I end up having to restore it.
What are the built-in tools or utilities on Windows 7 which can show me disk errors or bad blocks etc?
Download Process Explorer to see what application or process is causing this. PE allows you to see CPU, memory, I/O, HD uses, etc. Excellent diagnostic tool.
XP will do this to me at times: 50% CPU utilization, confuser crawls along, finally the process exits and cpu goes down to 2%.
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31500341AS 1.5TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
This is in the computer currently. We don't really need the while 1.5TB and could live with 1TB *if* it will not cause problem during the restore.
What are your recommendations? I want to keep it under $100 if possible.
This is in the computer currently. We don't really need the while 1.5TB and could live with 1TB *if* it will not cause problem during the restore.
What are your recommendations? I want to keep it under $100 if possible.
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
Originally Posted By: Vikas
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31500341AS 1.5TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
This is in the computer currently. We don't really need the while 1.5TB and could live with 1TB *if* it will not cause problem during the restore.
What are your recommendations? I want to keep it under $100 if possible.
A WD Red (they target them at NAS systems but they make good regular drives too) would be an excellent choice:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236342
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31500341AS 1.5TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
This is in the computer currently. We don't really need the while 1.5TB and could live with 1TB *if* it will not cause problem during the restore.
What are your recommendations? I want to keep it under $100 if possible.
A WD Red (they target them at NAS systems but they make good regular drives too) would be an excellent choice:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236342
JHZR2
Staff member
^"Enhanced reliability: With a 35% MTBF improvement over standard desktop drives, the WD Red drive is designed and manufactured to be a more reliable and robust solution."
Id say so...
Id say so...
Get a WD 1.5TB drive.
I'm reading in a tomshardware.com forum that the WD Acronis TrueImage won't work on a failing drive. I think that's what I found too. I think you will have to try to create recovery media from your current HDD, then use that to do a fresh install on the new HDD.
Once the OS is reinstalled on the new HDD, you could plug in the old HDD and do some drag-and-drop.
Don't get the WD RED!
The fail-to-read algorithm is made for use in a RAID, not for a desktop (non-RAID) machine. (Why do you think they put the red sticker on it? Supposed to be a warning.)
I'm reading in a tomshardware.com forum that the WD Acronis TrueImage won't work on a failing drive. I think that's what I found too. I think you will have to try to create recovery media from your current HDD, then use that to do a fresh install on the new HDD.
Once the OS is reinstalled on the new HDD, you could plug in the old HDD and do some drag-and-drop.
Don't get the WD RED!
The fail-to-read algorithm is made for use in a RAID, not for a desktop (non-RAID) machine. (Why do you think they put the red sticker on it? Supposed to be a warning.)
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
Originally Posted By: spackard
Get a WD 1.5TB drive.
I'm reading in a tomshardware.com forum that the WD Acronis TrueImage won't work on a failing drive. I think that's what I found too. I think you will have to try to create recovery media from your current HDD, then use that to do a fresh install on the new HDD.
Once the OS is reinstalled on the new HDD, you could plug in the old HDD and do some drag-and-drop.
That's why you don't use Acronis and instead use one of the (many) utilities on the UBCD, which work fine with this scenario. I know this for a fact, I've done it many, MANY times! Heck, I just did one last weekend! LOL!
Get a WD 1.5TB drive.
I'm reading in a tomshardware.com forum that the WD Acronis TrueImage won't work on a failing drive. I think that's what I found too. I think you will have to try to create recovery media from your current HDD, then use that to do a fresh install on the new HDD.
Once the OS is reinstalled on the new HDD, you could plug in the old HDD and do some drag-and-drop.
That's why you don't use Acronis and instead use one of the (many) utilities on the UBCD, which work fine with this scenario. I know this for a fact, I've done it many, MANY times! Heck, I just did one last weekend! LOL!
First of all, your drive is failing. It can quit any time before your sophisticated backup scheme/software is done with its job.
So do not waste time using any clone or whole disk backup. You may not finish it and risk losing something.
Grab a USB drive or USB based hard drive (i.e any USB to SATA adapter / enclosure would work too), and start copying individual files or folders yourself, from the most important things to the least important things.
If you are lucky enough to have time left, feel free to use any sophisticated software to backup / clone if you want. Every drive manufacturer (I think only Seagate, WD, and Toshiba are left standing, the rest all sold out) has a cloning software you can download for free, and can use as long as you have one of their drive in the system.
So do not waste time using any clone or whole disk backup. You may not finish it and risk losing something.
Grab a USB drive or USB based hard drive (i.e any USB to SATA adapter / enclosure would work too), and start copying individual files or folders yourself, from the most important things to the least important things.
If you are lucky enough to have time left, feel free to use any sophisticated software to backup / clone if you want. Every drive manufacturer (I think only Seagate, WD, and Toshiba are left standing, the rest all sold out) has a cloning software you can download for free, and can use as long as you have one of their drive in the system.
Why not get the serial number from the drive, and see if the manufacturer will replace it for free?
I have replaced at least half a dozen drives so far from Western Digital. Most hard drive companies have an online RMA tool.
I have replaced at least half a dozen drives so far from Western Digital. Most hard drive companies have an online RMA tool.
Manufacturer warranty says it is an OEM drive and is warranted through Dell but my year is up. I have backed up using the windows image backup and created the corresponding windows rescue disk.
Usually, this computer is only used as a web browser and all the important stuff is somewhere in the cloud.
I am going to invest in a bigger USB drive for the money and then periodically save the image on it.
I guess this computer is going to be my next "project" just like the lawnmower and my vehicles. I am going to treat this as a therapy
Usually, this computer is only used as a web browser and all the important stuff is somewhere in the cloud.
I am going to invest in a bigger USB drive for the money and then periodically save the image on it.
I guess this computer is going to be my next "project" just like the lawnmower and my vehicles. I am going to treat this as a therapy
Originally Posted By: Vikas
Manufacturer warranty says it is an OEM drive and is warranted through Dell but my year is up. I have backed up using the windows image backup and created the corresponding windows rescue disk.
That's odd. I had a failed 80gig Samsung drive in an HP back in 2003 or 2004 and the drive was 2 1/2 years old and Samsung replaced it under there 3yr warranty despite coming from an HP desktop.
Manufacturer warranty says it is an OEM drive and is warranted through Dell but my year is up. I have backed up using the windows image backup and created the corresponding windows rescue disk.
That's odd. I had a failed 80gig Samsung drive in an HP back in 2003 or 2004 and the drive was 2 1/2 years old and Samsung replaced it under there 3yr warranty despite coming from an HP desktop.
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Originally Posted By: beast3300
From my experience this means failure is imminent. Back up any important data.
^THIS.
My experience as well - imminent failure indeed.
Originally Posted By: beast3300
From my experience this means failure is imminent. Back up any important data.
^THIS.
My experience as well - imminent failure indeed.
Dead as a door nail as of yesterday! I have the Windows backup on an external drive along with the restore CD.
Question:- Do I have to have at least the original size drive or smaller driver would be fine as long as the amount used is less?
The dead drive was 1.5TB but only a fraction of that was used (under 100GB). Can I restore the content on a 1TB drive?
I need to order drive this weekend from Amazon and your suggestions would help me.
Question:- Do I have to have at least the original size drive or smaller driver would be fine as long as the amount used is less?
The dead drive was 1.5TB but only a fraction of that was used (under 100GB). Can I restore the content on a 1TB drive?
I need to order drive this weekend from Amazon and your suggestions would help me.
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
You SHOULD be able to. I've done it.
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
You SHOULD be able to. I've done it.
It might require some fiddling with the partition info via something like Gparted, but technically you can restore a 1.5TB disk onto something smaller.
You SHOULD be able to. I've done it.
It might require some fiddling with the partition info via something like Gparted, but technically you can restore a 1.5TB disk onto something smaller.
HA! just stumbled upon this thread, and before reading the whole way through, my first question was going to be "Seagate drive?"
My Personal experience with Seagate Drives (both 1TB external) have been abysmal.
After i bought a WD Caviar Green 1TB, and a cheap enclosure (Drive still running like a champ,coming up on 5 years later), my buddy got an off-the-shelf seagate 1TB, and it completely failed with in a year.
a while later, I picked up another seagate external 1TB(Different model) on a black friday deal. the "Click of Death" was present the Instant i fired that drive up for the first time. replaced it with another 1TB WD Green Drive, and moved them both to internal.
My boot drive, a 320GB Hitachi(only about 80GB used), is in it's 3rd computer since 2007ish, all 3 computers have run nearly 24/7. tried to replace it w/a Monster branded 120GB SSD, which when it worked, WAS blazing fast, but within 48 hrs, had file errors left and right.
this Hitachi has been rock solid, and i've yet to have a WD drive fail on me, going back to...92...and my old gateway 2000 PC, with an intel 486sx, running @ 25 Mhz.
My Personal experience with Seagate Drives (both 1TB external) have been abysmal.
After i bought a WD Caviar Green 1TB, and a cheap enclosure (Drive still running like a champ,coming up on 5 years later), my buddy got an off-the-shelf seagate 1TB, and it completely failed with in a year.
a while later, I picked up another seagate external 1TB(Different model) on a black friday deal. the "Click of Death" was present the Instant i fired that drive up for the first time. replaced it with another 1TB WD Green Drive, and moved them both to internal.
My boot drive, a 320GB Hitachi(only about 80GB used), is in it's 3rd computer since 2007ish, all 3 computers have run nearly 24/7. tried to replace it w/a Monster branded 120GB SSD, which when it worked, WAS blazing fast, but within 48 hrs, had file errors left and right.
this Hitachi has been rock solid, and i've yet to have a WD drive fail on me, going back to...92...and my old gateway 2000 PC, with an intel 486sx, running @ 25 Mhz.
- Status
