Hard drive periodically not working?

[marceljagielko]

Lately my hard drive has stopped working. I recently installed a second internal hard drive to the computer, so I installed windows there. Somehow, the first drive began working again, but foolishly I did not back up my data - the next day or so it stopped working again. Today, it started working again (this time I DID back it up). The BIOS and windows boot screen are taking abnormally long times too load (sometimes the computer doesn't go past the BIOS screen at all). I read that this is a sign of a failing component - in my situation, most likely the hard drive. WhatI want to know is if I can somehow fix my hard drive - the data is completely intact, so I think it might just be an issue in the connections. Can a permanent fix be done?

 

[memadmax]

This sounds like a loose cable actually.

You had just installed a hard drive, messed around with the cables and now all of a sudden the first drive is going nuts.

Check the cables.

 

[marceljagielko]

This sounds like a loose cable actually.

You had just installed a hard drive, messed around with the cables and now all of a sudden the first drive is going nuts.

Check the cables.

Will do, thanks - I forgot to mention, the first time it started working again was when I opened up the computer and pressed the sata data + power cables more firmly into their sockets. It probably is just a loose cable, I'll see if it got loose again. Thanks for the help.

 

[memadmax]

Also, SATA cables do go bad. If you still have a hit or miss issue, try swapping the cables. If the other drive starts acting goofy then you found the culprit and it's time to run out and buy a new cable. In my experience, cheaper is definitely not better... Try to find gold plated "premium" sata cables that have a metal locking clip on top so that she stays nice and secure for a long time.