HDD failing or not?

[Zdos123]

I have a WD Blue 1TB HDD and recently it started to slow down dramatically and never finishes the windows drive checker. What is happening, is it dying or is it something else?

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Hey there, @ Zdos123!

I'm sorry to hear about your underperforming WD Blue. 🙁 I'd advise you to back up all your data from the HDD somewhere off-site before you proceed with the troubleshooting, especially running CHKDSK. Once you have a duplicate of your files from the WD Blue elsewhere, I'd strongly recommend you run the QUICK and EXTENDED tests from our Data LifeGuard Diagnostics for Windows. The utility will help us determine what is the health and SMART status of the drive. If you this is a desktop computer, I'd also recommend you swap the SATA cable and the SATA port where the HDD is connected to the motherboard. A failed connection could also cause such drops in performance in the SATA devices. If you have access to another PC as well, you could try plugging the WD Blue there and see how it will behave.

Keep me posted with the troubleshooting!
SuperSoph_WD

 

[Zdos123]

Hey there, @ Zdos123!

I'm sorry to hear about your underperforming WD Blue. 🙁 I'd advise you to back up all your data from the HDD somewhere off-site before you proceed with the troubleshooting, especially running CHKDSK. Once you have a duplicate of your files from the WD Blue elsewhere, I'd strongly recommend you run the QUICK and EXTENDED tests from our Data LifeGuard Diagnostics for Windows. The utility will help us determine what is the health and SMART status of the drive. If you this is a desktop computer, I'd also recommend you swap the SATA cable and the SATA port where the HDD is connected to the motherboard. A failed connection could also cause such drops in performance in the SATA devices. If you have access to another PC as well, you could try plugging the WD Blue there and see how it will behave.

Keep me posted with the troubleshooting!
SuperSoph_WD

I would try to keep you posted with the troubleshooting but i turned it on this morning and the OS boot screen (Windows 10) was just stuck there with no loading circle and there were green squares littered across the screen. (HDD usage at 100%) After work i will buy a new HDD and OS, now all i can do is recover the data any advice. (don't have that high a budget so no data recovery services if possible)

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Hey there again, @Zdos123!

I'm sorry to hear about that, but you might want to wait before you buy entirely new hardware (while yours could still be covered by the warranty) and a new OS (which is not needed as long as you are using the same PC). I'd strongly recommend you check how the WD Blue appears and is recognized on another working PC around you. Find access to another desktop and plug the WD Blue as a secondary HDD there. You should be able to access it, if there's nothing wrong with it. The different system, mobo and SATA cables could also help the drive perform better. I'd strongly recommend you exhaust all troubleshooting methods before turning to third-party data recovery tools on your own. Buying a new OS unless you are not satisfied with the Windows 10 version is not necessary as the operating system is tied to the motherboard, not the hard drive (it's just a carrier for the system files). Since you are on a tight budget, you could also check the warranty on your WD Blue here. If it's still covered you should be able to RMA it and get a replacement from our Customer support.

I'd also advise you to back up as much of the data as you can while connecting the WD blue to another working PC or externally via a docking station. It doesn't sound like its a hardware failure, but you need another PC to troubleshoot & determine this. I'm not sure if you also ran the QUICK and EXTENDED tests from our brand-specific DLG tool? Did hte WD Blue pass those tests? Try to run them from the other desktop where you will be connecting the drive.

Keep me posted.
SuperSoph_WD