HDD not working properly

[chelski]

Hi guys,

I want to ask something. I have alienware 15 r2, that comes with SSD and HDD. However, the HDD rarely works. It ALWAYS shows up in BIOS, but not in disk management, no matter how many times I used the rescan function in disk management or the Intel RST service.

Its like the HDD will only be detected in 1 out of 10 boot.

Any chance there is a problem with SATA port ? or is it the HDD that needs to be replaced ?

 

[D_Know_WD]

Hi there chelski,

The first thing you may want to do is to back up the data stored on the drive.
After that, you can just test the drive: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/282651-32-best-diagnostic-testing-utility

If the HDD is in a healthy state, then most probably, there's something wrong with the port/drivers.
You can go to the laptop's manufacturer website and make sure all the drivers are up to date. If the issue persists, then I believe you can contact the manufacturer's Support.

Let me know how this goes,
D_Know_WD

 

[chelski]

Hi there chelski,

The first thing you may want to do is to back up the data stored on the drive.
After that, you can just test the drive: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/282651-32-best-diagnostic-testing-utility

If the HDD is in a healthy state, then most probably, there's something wrong with the port/drivers.
You can go to the laptop's manufacturer website and make sure all the drivers are up to date. If the issue persists, then I believe you can contact the manufacturer's Support.

Let me know how this goes,
D_Know_WD

Hi there,

I have installed CrystalDisk. Sadly, like what I said before, the software didn't even detect the HDD I have.

I also ran Memory Diagnostic Tools, and Dell system checking utility, and both stated that no problem was found with my hard drives.

Any further suggestions with the anomaly ?

 

[D_Know_WD]

In many cases, when a drive is recognized by BIOS but not Disk Management, it comes to drivers. Yet, it is really strange that the drive is properly recognized 1 out of 10 boots, which could indicate some sort of a connection related issue.

One thing you can try is to boot up from a flash drive with Ubuntu. (just boot from it don't install anything) If the drive is properly recognized, then it is drive related. If the drive is not recognized even under another OS, then there's something physically wrong with the connection. In both cases, you will need to contact the manufacturer or the place you got it from.

Can you take out the HDD without voiding the warranty?

Thread on Ubuntu Live CD: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/267999-32-recover-data-mode

Cheers,
D_Know_WD

 

[chelski]

In many cases, when a drive is recognized by BIOS but not Disk Management, it comes to drivers. Yet, it is really strange that the drive is properly recognized 1 out of 10 boots, which could indicate some sort of a connection related issue.

One thing you can try is to boot up from a flash drive with Ubuntu. (just boot from it don't install anything) If the drive is properly recognized, then it is drive related. If the drive is not recognized even under another OS, then there's something physically wrong with the connection. In both cases, you will need to contact the manufacturer or the place you got it from.

Can you take out the HDD without voiding the warranty?

Thread on Ubuntu Live CD: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/267999-32-recover-data-mode

Cheers,
D_Know_WD

When I boot, I sticked my ear to the bottom part of my AW, and I certainly heard something was spinning up , before it powered down and stopped spinning before I reached the log-in window. can I assume it was caused by the HDD failing to start ?

I just want to make sure there's nothing wrong with my sata ports/driver

 

[D_Know_WD]

Have you tried booting Ubuntu from a flash drive?
If the issue persists, then the issue is most probably hardware related.
Is the laptop under warranty?

If the HDD is properly recognized under Ubuntu, then all of this is most probably related to drivers. Have you updated all the laptop's drivers?

D_Know_WD

 

[chelski]

Have you tried booting Ubuntu from a flash drive?
If the issue persists, then the issue is most probably hardware related.
Is the laptop under warranty?

If the HDD is properly recognized under Ubuntu, then all of this is most probably related to drivers. Have you updated all the laptop's drivers?

D_Know_WD

How do you boot Ubuntu from flash drive sir ?
Can you explain the steps or give me a link ?