Storage Solutions Signs of a Laptop HDD failure?

Bluffmaster

Bluffmaster

Skilled
Jan 4, 2006
2,789
75
151
37
Hi Guys,

I want to know if the symptoms my laptop is showing are indeed signs of hdd failure. So, I am running Windows 7 and I noticed the OS getting really slow. It started freezing frequently to the point that even opening a browser took a good 5 minutes. I was suspecting hdd faliure but thought maybe it could be a malware issue so I reformatted the the system. After formatting things got better and now I am able to open stuff fairly quickly but I can still feel that its slower than normal and it still freezes on occasions. Also, now I can feel the HDD spinning which was not the case earlier and also my laptop fan has started making a lot of noise. I figured maybe it was due to the temperature but even in an Air conditioned room, the fan makes lots of noise.

So, What should I do? Any software to check if my hdd is failing? or could it be some other hardware malfunction?
 
Crazy_Eddy

Crazy_Eddy

Staff member
Super Mod
Feb 7, 2005
8,882
2,286
378
123
Grab Hard Disk Sentinel , should give you the low-down on your drive's SMART stats and tell you if there are problems.

About your fan spinning faster - its normal for laptop vents to get clogged, so the fan is probably working harder. You might need to pop open the base panel and clean out the vents and heatsink assembly.
 
Ameet148

Ameet148

Adept
Apr 23, 2009
507
13
32
Use this O&O DriveLED Hard Drive Monitor

In have used this and it really helps to know the threshold of your HDD.

After installation,run the program and you can see black floating gadget on the desktop,right click on that and click on generate report.It'll generate a HDD SMART report in a very well readable manner.
 
Bluffmaster

Bluffmaster

Skilled
Jan 4, 2006
2,789
75
151
37
Crazy_Eddy said:
Grab Hard Disk Sentinel , should give you the low-down on your drive's SMART stats and tell you if there are problems.

About your fan spinning faster - its normal for laptop vents to get clogged, so the fan is probably working harder. You might need to pop open the base panel and clean out the vents and heatsink assembly.
Click to expand...

So, the tests came back ok, what else could be the problem? I am still facing random freeze issues and slowdown. :(

14psw7.jpg
 
Ameet148

Ameet148

Adept
Apr 23, 2009
507
13
32
What PSU are you using?Try swapping the power cable that runs into the HDD,sometimes while the PSU starts to fail,it stops or starts sending bad power to certain molexes.

Click on the S.M.A.R.T tab on the screenshot that you uploaded and upload it again,so that we can view the SMART data :)
 
Bluffmaster

Bluffmaster

Skilled
Jan 4, 2006
2,789
75
151
37
^Did you not read the thread title? :p Its a Laptop.

@eddysir : Running the extended test, by the looks of it its going to take more than 2 hours to complete, is that normal?
 
Crazy_Eddy

Crazy_Eddy

Staff member
Super Mod
Feb 7, 2005
8,882
2,286
378
123
Bluffmaster said:
Running the extended test, by the looks of it its going to take more than 2 hours to complete, is that normal?
Click to expand...

Yep extended tests take a long time.

Were you able to get any tips from DarkAngel's thread?
 
Bluffmaster

Bluffmaster

Skilled
Jan 4, 2006
2,789
75
151
37
The extended test took more than 4 hours to complete and at the end of it, I failed it. :( Just when I was about to view the fail report, the damn thing hanged and I had to restart. :( Oh and now, things have taken a turn for a worse, the lappy is almost unusable now. From what I have read in Dark Angel's thread, my hdd is as good as gone. Thanks for the help though, appreciate it. :)
 
ashis_lakra

ashis_lakra

Adept
Jun 27, 2011
278
12
82
34
Rajgangpur
You did enough tests ^^ .. Take it to a service center or try replacing Hard disk.. The latter one can be costly...( Laptop Self servicing is not recommended though it seems simple )
 
DarkAngel

DarkAngel

Skilled
Apr 10, 2009
6,420
322
222
http://www.challengerpage.in/pricelist.html

320 GB costs ~2.1k (Segate momentus 5400.6)

Replacing HDD is no biggie if your model has hatches for it. For eg., my laptop has a seprate opening for HDD and RAM. Remove 4-5 and you can replace the HDD.
But in some laptops it is will PITA for a end user to replace HDD because you have have to remove KB or open up half the laptop to reach the HDD bay!
 
Bluffmaster

Bluffmaster

Skilled
Jan 4, 2006
2,789
75
151
37
I'll just take it to Nehru Place and get it replaced then. The lappy is out of warranty and as it is I have already replaced/upgraded the ram once. Its strange really, right now I am typing this message from my lappy and everything seems fine, I have already backed up the data, guess I should use it till it completely stops working. :p I use this lappy mainly as a download rig but lately I have run out of HDD space, will get some 2tb drives as well. :p
 
S

sensatul

Disciple
Nov 23, 2009
41
0
6
Dilli
DarkAngel said:
http://www.challengerpage.in/pricelist.html

320 GB costs ~2.1k (Segate momentus 5400.6)

Replacing HDD is no biggie if your model has hatches for it. For eg., my laptop has a seprate opening for HDD and RAM. Remove 4-5 and you can replace the HDD.
But in some laptops it is will PITA for a end user to replace HDD because you have have to remove KB or open up half the laptop to reach the HDD bay!
Click to expand...
The prices of the internal HDD are same as the externals. Why is it so??

I am just asking coz i want an internal HDD for my lappy and they cost same as the external ones..

Also if i buy an external hdd can i break the outer cover and use the extracted HDD as internal?? I am getting 500 GB external at lower price than the internal ones....

Sorry to post in the wrong thread but since you discussed the HDD prices i thought i might ask you...
 
Top Bottom