Continuous Beep and Freeze During SeaTools Short Scan

[Candidium]

Hello,

I've got a 6 - 8 year old Seagate HDD (Barracuda 7200.9) with a more recent ASRock MB and today the computer stopped starting with an "A disk read error occurred." message after the POST. Before this, the computer frequently never completed loading Windows 7, and a restart was necessary.

So, first I switched around RAM sticks (Corsair Vengeance 4GB x 2) - trying them individually and in different slots to no avail. I put SeaTools on a USB stick and booted from the stick to scan the HDD for any problems. The short scan has stopped near the start both times I've performed it and a loud continuous high-pitched beep is emitted, while the computer freezes. The long scan passed, with no errors, which included the short scan with it, therefore I'm a bit clueless.

Thanks very much if you can help.

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Hey there, Candidium!

Unfortunately, it seems like there is some sort of damage on the drive or in the connection to it. The noise could indicate that you might be dealing with internal physical damage, which you cannot fix yourself. You could try plugging the drive externally via SATA-to-USB cable or a docking station and run the diagnostic tool on the HDD again. I would also try doing the tests on another computer and check up on the SMART status there as well. You mentioned that the long scan passed, so what does the SMART data say about the health of the drive?
If you can still access the data on it, I'd strongly advise you to backup immediately before proceeding with the troubleshooting.

Keep me posted!
SuperSoph_WD

 

[Candidium]

Hi SuperSoph_WD,

Under "Selected Drive Information" for the one and only Seagate HDD it states that SMART is enabled and hasn't been tripped. In the log for the long scan, it says SMART is supported but disabled. I'm new to using SeaTools, so I'm not sure how to enable it and from reading the manual it seems like it's either enabled or disabled, with no option?

Just about to test SeaTools on another computer now.

EDIT: Just noticed in the log it says it's not able to get SMART data.

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Hi again, Candidium!

In this case, I'd recommend you to attempt testing with a different diagnostic tool and see if it will be able to get the SMART data of your HDD. You should be able to enable S.M.A.R.T. from the BIOS menu. Check there or refer to the motherboard manual to find where exactly that option is for your mobo. Afterwards, try testing the drive again and see what the results will be.

Keep me posted!
SuperSoph_WD