Question Intermittent HDD Problem

Seif Samir

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Oct 29, 2014
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Hello guys, I hope everyone is alright
I have a strange problem with my HDD , it had happened twice now

First time it happened my PC was shut off completely fine and when I started it again next day, my HDD wouldn't load with sort of a clicking or beeping sound, here is what it sounds like.
View: https://youtu.be/PX40dnaVrZE


I thought I resolved that issue by replacing the mobo sata cable port, but no that didn't do it.

Second time which was like two days ago, my HDD shut off during a game even though everything was running very smooth. I ended task the game and shut off my PC completely fine, next day same thing happened but my HDD won't load at all, restarted my PC and had the same issue again, same clicking sound and HDD won't, swapped the sata cable and the port and still won't make a difference.

It worked again by holding the HDD upside down? I don't think that this resolved the issue actually or did anything, but it worked.

I ran a few tests on the HDD and it seems alright, also its running at max 43C which is good for Seagate HDDs , the whole setup is also new.

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated, sorry for the long thread.
 

Seif Samir

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Oct 29, 2014
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The fan noise in your video overwhelms the clicking. I can't hear the clicking at all.

Clicking in a hard drive is a bad sign assuming that is the true source.

Do you have backups of whatever is on that drive?

If it happened again, I'll record with the fan off.

I made sure it's the source, I tried unplugging the HDD and the clicking sound was gone.

I have only videogames installed on my HDD, so it the data won't matter.

I was just thinking if it's the hard drive that is starting to fail, won't I notice that while gaming or like the performance of the drive itself?
also any test results seem to be completely fine.
 

Seif Samir

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Diagnose your HDD with HDtune health, show screenshot.
(upload to imgur.com and post link)

Clicking HDD usually means it's dying or dead already.
Backup and replace.

What model Seagate HDD ?

The issue happened again

I think the clicking sound is much clearer in this video
View: https://imgur.com/uCuAVxE


I can't diagnose with HDtune now as the HDD won't load, however I took this screenshot earlier today when it was working
View: https://imgur.com/Dn0EYfC
 

Seif Samir

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Oct 29, 2014
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I'd probably get a WD if it has to be a standard spinning hard drive. You can have bad luck with any brand.

If an SSD is possible, maybe WD, Samsung, or Crucial.
A big ssd will be quite expensive in my country tbh, I have a small one installed I use it just for windows.

I'll replace the seagate one since it's still within warranty, and prob get a WD or Samsung.

It just makes me wonder, is it normal for an HDD to fail within two month only?
 
A big ssd will be quite expensive in my country tbh, I have a small one installed I use it just for windows.

I'll replace the seagate one since it's still within warranty, and prob get a WD or Samsung.

It just makes me wonder, is it normal for an HDD to fail within two month only?

No....not normal. But not extremely rare either. A certain percentage will not work when brand new and completely unused. It's a risk you have to take if you want to use one at all.