Is it safe to run daily Full AV scans on my old HDD that may be starting to fail? WIll it bring it an earlier death??

[polpop]

I know Full AV scans are overkill, but I just sleep better with them on.

My old HDD sometimes makes some sounds, and occasionally I get random shutoffs. If I run Full AV scans everyday, will that actually have a noticeable effect on the HDD lifespan, or am I worrying too much?

 

[D_Know_WD]

Hi there polpop,

Have you tested the drive? In case you haven't, you can do that: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/282651-32-best-diagnostic-testing-utility
Also, you can do something simple as just attaching the drive with different cables to a different port and see whether the issue persists.

If the HDD is failing indeed, I would say that full scans every day could speed up this process. Also, if this is the case, I would advise you to back up all the data stored on it and use it for storing only non important data.

Cheers,
D_Know_WD