Storage Solutions Is my HDD Bad?

Status
Not open for further replies.

aasimenator

MCITP 2008
Reseller
Innovator
Hey,

Recently i was experimenting with Fedora 16 via Live USB and it gave me error that one of my hard drive has bad sectors.

So I logged in via windows 7 & did a check disk with Attempt recovery of bad sectors on all my partitions on that HDD. It didn't find anything. event viewer said 0KB in Bad Sectors.

But i am still skeptical about the HDD & wondering if there is anything wrong with the HDD.

I've used HD Tune and under Health it shows the following

Untitled.jpg


That Reallocated Sector Count is the same error i've seen on Fedora..

I am running error Scan but i have to leave right now so i'll just cancel that & Update with that screenshot later.
 
Three words : backup and RMA

You reallocation sector count is high, it might give away any day. You should better backup all the contents and send it for RMA.
 
^ Thanks that's what I thought... Backing up data now... any idea how long it takes to get a RMA hdd back from seagate

This will the first time in the last 8 years that a seagate hdd gave up on me..

Also what test should i run in SeaTools to get the code, as I ran S.M.A.R.T & Short Drive Self Test & both come as Pass
 
TRy the extended test. If it passes both the tests, you are probably gonna have a tough time getting the drive RMAed.

The RMA should take anywhere between 7-10 days.
 
Thanks I'll Try the extended test... I'll reckon it will take longer than a few hours.

I'll see what I get from the test.
 
Why not do the error scan. It visibly shows bad sectors. That yellow streaked thing, reports false positives at times.
 
Even my Seagate drive is showing Reallocated Sector Count error. But Seagate on their waranty page have said that they will charge us for shipping if they find that the HDD is working properly. I didnt get any error code from Seatools upon scanning. I have done all short tests only the long test remains to be done. So far Seatools hasnt reported any errors.

#aasimenator

I would suggest you send your drive for RMA only if Seatools report any error and you get the error code. Otherwise Seagate will send your drive back and charge you for it!
 
I would suggest you send your drive for RMA only if Seatools report any error and you get the error code. Otherwise Seagate will send your drive back and charge you for it!

^^ Exactly my point. Even the WD Rep asked me if my Drive had failed the WD Tool tests before creating an RMA for me. They really do not care for HDTune results. In fact, don't even bother mentioning the HDTune results to them.
 
Now What???

Untitled.jpg


Wasted almost 1 1/2 hours on this test.. should i still do long tests from Seatools or just wait for my HDD to die one day for sending it to seagate for RMA.

I have no worries about data loss.... as I have daily backups of this drive.
 
^ How about dropping the HDD on floor from a height of 20 cm, a couple of times then you can pack and visit accell.
<
 
^ How about dropping the HDD on floor from a height of 20 cm, a couple of times then you can pack and visit accell.
<

you don't want to do that. If anything snaps physically then you get no warranty and buying a new drive at this point will cost a bomb.

CAUTION: these kind of feat are performed only by trained professionals and not to be emulated at home, office or anywhere else
<
 
you don't want to do that. If anything snaps physically then you get no warranty and buying a new drive at this point will cost a bomb.

CAUTION: these kind of feat are performed only by trained professionals and not to be emulated at home, office or anywhere else
<

Thats why i mentioned some 20cm above the ground. It won't damage the HDD physically, but internally yes, it will be damaged enough to avail warranty.

@OP, you can ship the HDD to me, i can make it RMA-ready
<
 
^ How about dropping the HDD on floor from a height of 20 cm, a couple of times then you can pack and visit accell.
<

^^ The safest way to do this would be to drop the HDD from a fair enough height on a bed. That way, the internals experience a shock that is sufficient to damage them while the external appearance remains unchanged!

I have done this successfully in the past for my Kodak 5MP digicam. I wanted to buy a new one and my brother was asking me to use the old one for as long as it was working fine.

Of course, that was a long long time back...
<


Note: I am not suggesting you to do this. Just sharing an experience. When I did it, I was too young to understand the costs involved and just wanted a new cam!
<


My suggestion is that you keep backing up the data periodically. Sooner or later, the drive will fail. Get it RMAed then.

But if the warranty is coming to an end soon, well, put the drive to sleep on the bed!
<
 
@neha, yes mate, bed is an additional option. On second thought its safer then then on the floor
 
Status
Not open for further replies.