"Windows detected a Hard Disk Problem" - Showing Upon Startup

[kronogor]

Hello all,

Seemingly out of the blue, my new build is having a hard drive error. When I turned on my PC yesterday I was given this message:

"Windows detected a hard disk problem
Back up your files immediately to prevent information loss,
and then contact the computer manufacturer to determine
if you need to repair or replace the disk.
>Start the backup process
>Ask me again later"

Following the prompts, I backed up my pc to an external hard drive and then Windows told me to shut down my pc and not use it again until I am able to repair or replace the hard drive. Also, the hard disk is "Predicted to fail" because of a SMART program or something to that effect, it has not failed yet, everything just takes a lot longer to load and such.

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Question 1:

So, my question is, what is my next step in trying to solve the problem before resorting to buying a new hard drive?


Question 2:

After reading these posts on this forum that pertain to my issue, what I think I have learned is that there are two types of hard drive errors, physical and data; am I correct in thinking this? If so, how do I determine if it is the data on the hard drive that is predicted to fail, or the hard drive itself that is predicted to fail?


Question 3:

If it is a data problem, would deleting the partition and starting over from a fully cleaned hard drive solve this issue?

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Things I have tried:

I tried to generate a system health report and then had Windows attempt to repair the hard drive upon reboot; which did not fix the problem as the error message appeared once the pc had fully rebooted.



Thank you very much in advance for your time in reading all this.

 

[kronogor]

Thank you anonymous1 for your reply.

After checking out the manufacturer's and Newegg's sites concerning RMAs, I have another, perhaps subjective question. Which RMA would you recommend I go through? Directly through Western Digital's site or go through NewEgg's RMA? According to Western Digital's information on the drive, it is still under a limited warranty and is eligible for replacement. I am just confused as I haven't found any information on either site that specifies which service to go through should I try to RMA a product.

Does it matter which I choose? Will they both lead to the same end?