Storage Solutions Are these the signs of a Dying HDD?

Techie#1

Techie#1

Skilled
Let the pics do the talking:

This is what i'm getting from HDD Tune & HDD Inspector:







Now ,this is my Main System Drive(Hitachi 250 GB HDT72252DLA380 Sata HDD), been using it more than 2yrs,since May 07, to be exact.I have been getting some random (often decreasing) spinup time,quite often,particularly at system start up (As seen in HDD Smart info). i but blamed it all upon the previous PSU [Powersafe PSU 500W L&C(Powersafe-KPL) SMPS(model- LC-B500E)] & hence now changed the PSU to a reliable Corsair 550VX,to root out this vexed issue for once & all.It(the HDD in topic here) went Great all about 1 week long,but thereafter now again the HDD is showing random DECREASING Spinup time as can be found in the above pics.

* As u can find out that my HDD has many Reallocated sectors,that has been there for quite a long time too(more than 1-1.5 yrs) without any increase in that vital figures, or has deteriorated as such.Now dont call the HDD Inspector POS,coz the figures there abt HDD Spinup time r exactly in tally with the HD Tune figures,only that the HDD tune figures dont show that much graphically,nor keep the spinup time logs of the HDD as such & moreover does NOT give the Predictive failure date of the drive..

** Considering the Total PowerOn Time,is about 13000 hours & this HDD is Mainly used for torrents dl's almost 24x7,is this issue a Normal thing to happen eventually

i have also chckd the Vcore voltages,etc,everything is in place

Now i am damm confused, what the wrong here??? So is my HDD finally going to die out finally? :huh:
 
Thanks,It doesNOt answer my Query though!

I was More interested in knowing of the HDD in question is going to fail,rather than making an accurate prediction of the fail date....more so, is this all normal for a HDD to show such behaviour when it handles torrents(utorent) 24x7 & with a powerON time approx 13k hours

what can i expect at best?
 
reallocated sectors is normal behavior. sectors get damaged overtime and spare sectors come into action. if it keeps on increasing within days, markedly, then only should it be considered as a sign of a dying drive.

are you getting lot of freezes when accessing data on that hard disk? loud abnormal clicks? temperatures beyond 55C (they aren't supposed to be used in temps above 55)?

if you aren't getting any of that don't worry.
 
^^ Hell NO!!!, just dont say the doomsday scenario, i definitely m NOT getting lot of freezes when accessing data on that hard disk? loud abnormal clicks? temperatures beyond 55C (they aren't supposed to be used in temps above 55)?

There were Some Random freezes & even bootup problems,but that was with the earlier 500 L&C PSU!,..now i suppose it is Working all right Now..with the New PSU,there r NO such problems till now!

It is Now..just some random(read DECREASING mostly) Spinup times...& the reallocated sectors are there for the last 1.5 yrs, NOT deteriorated thereafter!...i'm all the confused at this!
 
then it's possible the motors are showing their age. nothing to worry about. your sectors are doing fine too. if you notice performance degradation and freezes then look into SMART data or else you'll just end up being paranoid :p relax! just keep proper backups .. these things can fail with no warnings too. good luck!
 
your HDD is just normal, any old HDD will look the same. As for failure, before that happens, you would start getting the SMART status as Failed/ Bad. Then backup your data ASAP and get a new one/ RMA this sucker.
 
THANKS Axeman, So this Random & DECREASING Spinup time is All Normal then,Nothing to be concerned of..hmm?

but whatever, i dont however like this odd situation.May be the spindle motor is growing Old & cannot spin up properly@the correct speed when i power on & boot up the system,but still dont have enough exact cluess, what's the Real reason behind the falling spinup times,....extensive HDD & toreent usage 24x7 u say???..hmmm

.I heard of many places & ppl having a BAD HDD,when they have a Spinup Time failure,even if every sector on the HD is Good!..Now,as in there & in my situation too,if spinup time falls below the threshold (value=24) & the Drive is Dead,can i have any chances of Data Recovery(DIY) from this drive then???..i believe Drive failure due to significantly reduced spinup time does not occur alone,there would be a corresponding high level of Read/write failure & Bad sector generations then too..... & all this Would radically change the probability of Data recovery from that drive !

What do ya think ???
 
Not totally on the right track there.

Instead of going so deep, stick to the SMART values. If any go bad, then u know its time to RMA. If its all good, then all good. Keep a good monitoring utility in the tray and you are all set m8.
 
Agree with Axeman, think OP's is looking too deep into just one metric ie relallocated sector count. Spinup time is random so no discernable pattern.

If you are so keen with the vales then keep of them in a spread sheet every month so you can gauge the rate it changes with time.
 
axeman said:
Not totally on the right track there.

Instead of going so deep, stick to the SMART values. If any go bad, then u know its time to RMA. If its all good, then all good. Keep a good monitoring utility in the tray and you are all set m8.
Click to expand...

So,can u specifically mention, which (particular if any) values of the S.M.A.R.T info to look out for?

i may b the noobie here, but can u guys tell how to make the spin up times,steady/fix with good values(more the better) permanent, without any sudden random jumps in values all together,in due course of time.

I get the impression that Random values(Read DECREASING only) of spinup time in a No good sign for HDD Health!

The Health & Reliability of HDD are so volatile nowdays, that i do tend to get anxious for those obnoxious changing spinup times(even though they dont follow a set pattern),when other smart values remains almost the same throughout!
 
Again, if you want to go so deep, I am gonna drown you:

Read this -> S.M.A.R.T. - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The table will explain the meaning of spin up time, and if it is a critical metric, as you see it.

Best to read the 1st section of the wiki so that you can understand how SMART values are used by IT Administrators.

-

2nd thought, no rains, so I am gonna save the water for now, your lucky day I guess m8.
 
Axy, i knew,what critical metric of 'spinuptime' ,but nontheless,if it doesNOT show any uptrend here,it will surely continue 2 anguish me.wiki didn't drown me,nor any other innuendos,i had read that b4 :),..but i wonder if u really from "Flood city"...why "No Rain" ? :p

btw, BIG thanks for replies
smiley.gif
!!!
 
Thanks, ROCK!

btw, these r two HD Tune Benchmark screnies of the same HDD
1)In Normal working situation, with 5-6 background operations in place & 4-5 tabs of FF open


2) No applications working,after a fresh system startup:


I cant read much into those graphs,so now is the performance here of the Disc NORMAL ?
Mayb the experts can answer the query! :)
 
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