Is my hard drive failing me?

[P0lyp]

Have had this seagate 1tb storage for almost 2 years now. Maybe 6 months after the build I had this problem where my system would hang if left idle at home screen with no programs running (around 15 minutes idle.) The issue progressed maybe 8 months ago, the system would hang in video games like CSGO all randomly. Sometimes a restart would resolve the problem, other times it would crash again after playing for 2-3 minutes. The system hangs became more prevalent ~4 months ago when it would hang on boot ups in regular windows and safe mode. Restarting the computer and running the repair worked most of the time until now. Windows would hang anytime I launched a clean CSGO that installed directX. Now I can not even get to a windows screen, and last time a windows repair was launched it could not even find a fix. About a month ago I ran HDTunePro and it had 2 warnings for my sector counts, with the reallocated sector being at worst 98 with a threshold of 38 and data around ~3000 if my memory serves me correctly. I was able to run seagates smart check about 3 hours ago when my system would at least run for a little bit and it passed the test. I have ran chkdsk and sfcscan's that came up with some errors and a memtest overnight that had no errors. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
P0lyp

 

[Boogieman_WD]

Hey there, P0lyp.

It really does look like the drive's failing. I'd suggest that you try to backup any important data which you might have on it, if you are able to access it. After that, you can download the manufacturer's diagnostics tool and run some tests just to double-check. Although having in mind the errors you've been encountering along with the test results, it really seems like the HDD is way on its way to failing. I'd suggest that you contact the HDD manufacturer's customer support and ask about RMA if the drive is still under warranty.

Hope that helps. Please let me know how everything goes.
Boogieman_WD

 

[P0lyp]

Hey there, P0lyp.

It really does look like the drive's failing. I'd suggest that you try to backup any important data which you might have on it, if you are able to access it. After that, you can download the manufacturer's diagnostics tool and run some tests just to double-check. Although having in mind the errors you've been encountering along with the test results, it really seems like the HDD is way on its way to failing. I'd suggest that you contact the HDD manufacturer's customer support and ask about RMA if the drive is still under warranty.

Hope that helps. Please let me know how everything goes.
Boogieman_WD

Appreciate the quick reply Boogieman. Funny thing is I ordered a Western Digital Caviar Blue from Amazon (I think) and ended up with a seagate. I was so happy to have all the parts that I did not care to return it for the hard drive that I should of received (lesson learned.) If the warranty does not go through I will definitely be switching to Toshiba or Western Digital because of the data I have seen on the lifespan of seagate drives, something like ~2.1 years. Again, thanks for the reply and I will let you know how things go!

P0lyp

 

[Boogieman_WD]

Sure thing mate. I'll be sure to check your reply once you've posted it.

I hope you're able to recover the files you need by normal means (by just accessing the drive and copying the data to a new HDD). If not - you can try connecting the drive to a different computer and try some data recovery programs: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/id-1644496/lost-data-recovery.html and http://pcsupport.about.com/od/filerecovery/tp/free-file-recovery-programs.htm, to see if you have any luck with any of them. Or try accessing it via Ubuntu Live USB/DVD, to see if it's properly recognized and if you can get to your data.

Good luck!

 

[P0lyp]

Sure thing mate. I'll be sure to check your reply once you've posted it.

I hope you're able to recover the files you need by normal means (by just accessing the drive and copying the data to a new HDD). If not - you can try connecting the drive to a different computer and try some data recovery programs: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/id-1644496/lost-data-recovery.html and http://pcsupport.about.com/od/filerecovery/tp/free-file-recovery-programs.htm, to see if you have any luck with any of them. Or try accessing it via Ubuntu Live USB/DVD, to see if it's properly recognized and if you can get to your data.

Good luck!

The seagate is out of warranty but will be getting a WD Blue here shortly. Thanks Boogie for confirming my suspicions.

Polyp

 

[Boogieman_WD]

Did you manage to recover any of the data? If you didn't have any luck with any of the methods described by my previous post, you could always try contacting the HDD manufacturer's customer support and ask if they can help with data recovery or recommend you a specific place where you could send the HDD. I understand that he drive is out of warranty, so this would most probably not be a free service (it probably wouldn't have been free, even if the drive was still under warranty), but if your files are important to you - it's worth the try.

I hope your new HDD has a long and happy life.
Don't hesitate to ask if you have any other questions.