Should I replace this hard disk?

[Lumia925]

It's a notebook internal hard drive, WD Blue 500GB, purchased about 11 months back.
Had zero problems with it in all these months, and I'm still not having any problems with it.
Ran HDSentinel Pro, just to check drive health, and this is what i got:

What now? 🙁

 

[djoneser]

Notebook hard drive, 1 weak sector.

As this is not a server hard drive, you do not need to act preemptively. You just need to make sure (as you always should) that you keep any important data backed up. Most consumers will wait for the part to fail, then replace it. It would be a good idea to look for a replacement drive on sale in the meanwhile if you are planning to keep it.

Alternately, laptops are becoming somewhat commoditized, just replace the whole thing when it fails, get new warranty, etc.

 

[Lumia925]

Thanks
The drive is still covered under WD warranty, can I get it replaced free of cost by WD?

 

[mbarnes86]

Hi

I would test drive with wd own diagnostic software and see what it reports
Does the hdd come with a wd 1 , 2 or 3 year guarantee
If 1 year test it quickly as unless wd software says it is faulty wd is unlikely to rma it

If wd DOS boot cd wont start on your laptop remove drive from laptop and test in a usb tray or another desktop pc with wd datalifeguard for windows

Regards
Mike Barnes

 

[Lumia925]

Hi

I would test drive with wd own diagnostic software and see what it reports
Does the hdd come with a wd 1 , 2 or 3 year guarantee
If 1 year test it quickly as unless wd software says it is faulty wd is unlikely to rma it

If wd DOS boot cd wont start on your laptop remove drive from laptop and test in a usb tray or another desktop pc with wd datalifeguard for windows

Regards
Mike Barnes

It came with 2 years warranty.
I just downloaded WD's diagnostic software, here's what I got:

So I'm guessing the drive won't be replaced by WD at the moment.

This brings us to another question, WHY is HDSentinel reporting a problem and WD tool not reporting anything?
One of them has to be wrong!
I've tested this drive with HDSentinel earlier, and it didn't show problems back them.. This "Weak Sector" thing, and "Raw Read Error" thing, showed up today, for the first time 🙁

 

[mbarnes86]

Hi

Did you run long test as quick test does not test all of drive surface

Probably take a hour to test drive

I would trust professional diagnostic equipment then manufacturers diagnostics software followed by other diagnostic software as manufacturers know quirks of smart reports on their own hdd

Regards
Mike Barnes
Regards
Mike Barnes

 

[Lumia925]

Hi

Did you run long test as quick test does not test all of drive surface

Probably take a hour to test drive

I would trust professional diagnostic equipment then manufacturers diagnostics software followed by other diagnostic software as manufacturers know quirks of smart reports on their own hdd

Regards
Mike Barnes
Regards
Mike Barnes

Thanks Mike,
I'll initiate a full test tonight, after backing up data to an external HDD (I've started an acronis backup now).
Ran only the quick test.
I'll post back full test results..

 

[djoneser]

If you purchased the hard drive separately, and registered for the warranty, they you may be able to get a warranty replacement, but only if it fails the WD diagnostic software. Will it fail within the 2 years, according the WD software? Maybe if it gets used really hard, but unlikely under normal use.

If the drive came with a hardware bundle, the warranty may not actually be yours, but belongs to the vendor, who was the purchaser.

 

[Lumia925]

The notebook had a Toshiba GSYN something hard drive when i purchased it. It's like 5 years old, and i already have a new notebook, this is my second computer now.
The original HDD died last year, after being used for 4 years, and I got this WD Blue, from a local computer store.

If I check WD website with this HDD's serial number, it says the drive is covered under warranty.

The quick test of WD passed, but as suggested by Mike, I just finished running an extended test using the WD tool.
And it FAILED.

Here's what I got:

And HDSentinel Pro is now showing even LESS health:

I have already backed up everything to an external drive.
WD will replace it, right?
Could you please help me on setting up a replacement request? I've never done this before.
Thanks..

 

[djoneser]

That was good advice from mike to run the extended test. Note your model and sn and go to WD now, see your options.

http://wdsupport.wdc.com/rdsfdc.asp?linktype=rmacreate&portaltype=wd&custtype=end&fs=&ss=&lang=en

 

[Lumia925]

Thank you guys, i have returned the defective drive using the link djoneser provided, and just got a replacement drive from WD yesterday.
Installed Windows on this drive and ran extended tests using both HDSentinel and WD data lifeguard.
Tests pass. No errors. HDSentinel is reporting 100% disk health on this replacement drive. My issue is resolved. WD service was good