HDD is possibly dead, need suggestions on what to do.

[razak3l]

Hello people, so this morning I put GTA V to download and I went for school. When I came back there was this problem that popped up with the hdd and that I need backup, I kind of ignored it since the drive is 6-7 years old.. After restarting my computer there was an error popped up that there is no disks whatsoever connected to my PC and I'm pretty sure it died. I even when into bios tried to change some boot settings but nothing worked. I want to buy a new drive as soon as possible but I don't want it to be really expensive as I'm little stretched out on money atm. I can take suggestions for ssd's but I don't reLly care about fast boot times and that but if it's way better then why not. I just don't want it to exceed the 40£ range I know it's hard.. If I can only buy HDD then that's totally fine and I'm down with it. 1TB for 30£ is way better than an ssd. Thoughts?

[zlolslavez]

If you game and only have like ~40 to spend, then there's nothing wrong with a 1TB HDD.

(if you want to stretch, a wd black, but they are generally over-priced and a wd blue would suffice)

[terrytek]

Check to make sure the cable or the host port on the mobo isn't unplugged or dead. I had situation like this, only to find out one of the ports on the motherboard had gone kaput. Try a different port.

[razak3l]

Check to make sure the cable or the host port on the mobo isn't unplugged or dead. I had situation like this, only to find out one of the ports on the motherboard had gone kaput. Try a different port.

Going to try this now, reporting back soon

[razak3l]

Check to make sure the cable or the host port on the mobo isn't unplugged or dead. I had situation like this, only to find out one of the ports on the motherboard had gone kaput. Try a different port.

Yea..nope, it's definitely dead. Funny thing is, it says there are no devices found before startup but when I go into the bios it does show my 477 GB SB ..weird.

[terrytek]

Yea..nope, it's definitely dead. Funny thing is, it says there are no devices found before startup but when I go into the bios it does show my 477 GB SB ..weird.

Then probably windows might have screwed up if the BIOS finds it. Looks like it's time for a reinstall. Luckily for me, i had a copy of Technical Preview to use as a spare OS when 8.1 shit itself.

[razak3l]

Then probably windows might have screwed up if the BIOS finds it. Looks like it's time for a reinstall. Luckily for me, i had a copy of Technical Preview to use as a spare OS when 8.1 shit itself.

Are you sure? i don't want to waste my time reinstalling..

[terrytek]

Are you sure? i don't want to waste my time reinstalling..

Do you have an extra hard drive you can use? If so, install another OS on there and see if the hard drive recognizes it. If so, then it's the OS's fault. If not, then i don't know what to tell you.

[razak3l]

Do you have an extra hard drive you can use? If so, install another OS on there and see if the hard drive recognizes it. If so, then it's the OS's fault. If not, then i don't know what to tell you.

Unfortunately, no. What I'm going to do is just try reinstalling like you said and see if I can sort it out, if not, my new hdd should be on its way

[terrytek]

Unfortunately, no. What I'm going to do is just try reinstalling like you said and see if I can sort it out, if not, my new hdd should be on its way

OK,  as long as you reinstall it, and it works, then it really was an OS issue. Sometimes they just corrupt themselves from time to time.

[KevinTYJ]

I really hate HDD dying on me- alot did, some on like on the month i bought it.

 

I would most defiantly get any kind of ssd than hdd. I have seen ssds that failed due to its errors. 

[Captain_WD]

Hello people, so this morning I put GTA V to download and I went for school. When I came back there was this problem that popped up with the hdd and that I need backup, I kind of ignored it since the drive is 6-7 years old.. After restarting my computer there was an error popped up that there is no disks whatsoever connected to my PC and I'm pretty sure it died. I even when into bios tried to change some boot settings but nothing worked. I want to buy a new drive as soon as possible but I don't want it to be really expensive as I'm little stretched out on money atm. I can take suggestions for ssd's but I don't reLly care about fast boot times and that but if it's way better then why not. I just don't want it to exceed the 40£ range I know it's hard.. If I can only buy HDD then that's totally fine and I'm down with it. 1TB for 30£ is way better than an ssd. Thoughts?

 

 

Hey razak3l,

 

Before jumping to conclusions that the drive is dead, I would first test it to see what the problem might be. As @terrytek suggested, try different ports and cables. I would also take the drive to an already working system and plug it in externally to check if the OS can detect it. You can use a SATA to USB cable, docking station or a simple external enclosure. If so, check the drive with the brand-specific diagnostic tool and see what the S.M.A.R.T. status would show as the cause of the problem. 

 

Regarding the new drive, WD Blue is one inexpensive option. It is an everyday drive that is fully capable of running games and some heavier applications. Here's a link: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=RM8bKn

 

Captain_WD.

[MeepLikesToBuildPc's]

I have this problem too. what i do is turn th PC off and then unplug the sata DATA cable for 10 secs and put it back in. works perfectly.

[razak3l]

Hey razak3l,

Before jumping to conclusions that the drive is dead, I would first test it to see what the problem might be. As @terrytek suggested, try different ports and cables. I would also take the drive to an already working system and plug it in externally to check if the OS can detect it. You can use a SATA to USB cable, docking station or a simple external enclosure. If so, check the drive with the brand-specific diagnostic tool and see what the S.M.A.R.T. status would show as the cause of the problem.

Regarding the new drive, WD Blue is one inexpensive option. It is an everyday drive that is fully capable of running games and some heavier applications. Here's a link: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=RM8bKn

Captain_WD.

i changed the cables, no luck. I actually managed to boot into windows by going to intermidiate boot..something i son't know can't recall. When i did boot up a window popped up and it said : 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. I don't really know what to think..

[Captain_WD]

i changed the cables, no luck. I actually managed to boot into windows by going to intermidiate boot..something i son't know can't recall. When i did boot up a window popped up and it said : 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. I don't really know what to think..

 

I would strongly suggest backing up all your important files while you still have access to the drive. Also, try using a diagnostic tool to get the S.M.A.R.T. data of the drive and post a screenshot of it here. This way we would be able to tell you what exactly is wrong with the drive and how prone to data loss are you. I would recommend using the brand-specific tool to scan your drive. 

 

Captain_WD.