Hard-disk drive failure

[SharonS33]

I have received the message "Hard-disk drive failure - Strike the F1 key to continue". This has occurred twice - 12/26/14 and about exactly a month ago. Happens during the night when I'm not on computer. I powered machine down and restarted. Had no other problems between the two failure messages. I purchased the Dell Inspiron 660 June 2013. Does my hard drive need replaced already? Or is this occurring because some automatic system check triggers the error?

 

[RealBeast]

First back up any important data asap.

Then determine which model HDD is in the computer, I will assume Seagate or Western Digital -- go to their support site and download the HDD checking tool (Seatools or Data LifeGuard Diagnostics) and run it on your HDD to check its condition, use the extensive tests if given a choice.

 

[fzabkar]

Examine the SMART report using a tool such as CrystalDiskInfo.

http://crystalmark.info/software/CrystalDiskInfo/index-e.html

Look for reallocated, pending, or uncorrectable sectors.