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Possible Hard Drive Failure

mlecruz
By mlecruz
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Well the drive just failed. Good thing I've backed up all important files before it did. Only games we're left. Thanks for your replies.

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My secondary drive suddenly disconnects for no apparent reason.

 

This started happening recently when I updated to the latest TechPreview build of Windows 10. It happens when randomly accessing the drive. Watching videos or copying to the drive seems to trigger this. Playing games somehow had no effect on it. What happens is all my drives would disappear in the Task Manager Performance tab. They are still visible in Windows File Explorer though. After some time, the list drives would come back to Task Manager. However the drive in question would have 100% Activity all the time until I restart my PC.

 

I thought this was a problem with the latest build of Windows 10 so I went back to Windows 8.1. However, as I was creating a System Image backup to the drive, it disconnected again.

 

It there any way to test which component is the problem? The Hard Drive, or perhaps the Sata Port?

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K @ 4.4GHz CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 GPU: Sapphire R9 290 Tri-X OC Motherboard: Asus Z87-Plus RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8GB DDR3-1600 SSD: Samsung EVO 840 120GB HDD: Western Digital 1TB Blue PSU: Corsair RM1000 Case: NZXT Phantom 630

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got any spare SATA cable around?

 

also recheck the SATA power cables

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My secondary drive suddenly disconnects for no apparent reason.

 

This started happening recently when I updated to the latest TechPreview build of Windows 10. It happens when randomly accessing the drive. Watching videos or copying to the drive seems to trigger this. Playing games somehow had no effect on it. What happens is all my drives would disappear in the Task Manager Performance tab. They are still visible in Windows File Explorer though. After some time, the list drives would come back to Task Manager. However the drive in question would have 100% Activity all the time until I restart my PC.

 

I thought this was a problem with the latest build of Windows 10 so I went back to Windows 8.1. However, as I was creating a System Image backup to the drive, it disconnected again.

 

It there any way to test which component is the problem? The Hard Drive, or perhaps the Sata Port?

This is the way hdd's die, but it's most likely a power problem.

I'd reccomend, as @dragoon20005 said, check sata cables and copy all data to another drive.

My old samsung hdd died just like that.

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Had a problem like that not so long ago- kept making noises and disconnecting and the next day it was dead... ;(

See my blog for amusing encounters from IT workplace: http://linustechtips.com/main/blog/585-life-of-a-techie/

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Had this drive for only 1 year now. Checked it's health with HD Tune and everything was ok with only 1 bad sector. Right now I'm backing up data. I'll try changing cables and ports later.

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K @ 4.4GHz CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 GPU: Sapphire R9 290 Tri-X OC Motherboard: Asus Z87-Plus RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8GB DDR3-1600 SSD: Samsung EVO 840 120GB HDD: Western Digital 1TB Blue PSU: Corsair RM1000 Case: NZXT Phantom 630

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My secondary drive suddenly disconnects for no apparent reason.

 

This started happening recently when I updated to the latest TechPreview build of Windows 10. It happens when randomly accessing the drive. Watching videos or copying to the drive seems to trigger this. Playing games somehow had no effect on it. What happens is all my drives would disappear in the Task Manager Performance tab. They are still visible in Windows File Explorer though. After some time, the list drives would come back to Task Manager. However the drive in question would have 100% Activity all the time until I restart my PC.

 

I thought this was a problem with the latest build of Windows 10 so I went back to Windows 8.1. However, as I was creating a System Image backup to the drive, it disconnected again.

 

It there any way to test which component is the problem? The Hard Drive, or perhaps the Sata Port?

 

Hey mlecruz,
 
What is the drive's brand and model that you are having problems with? Do have in mind that if a bad sector appears, the drive is prone to failure as more will appear. It could be tomorrow, it could be after an year, but it will happen and I wouldn't rely on that drive for storing data. Bad sectors can appear from vibrations, bad mounting, shaking and other external factors as well as from a faulty drive.
I would use the manufacturer's diagnostic tool to check the drive again and if under warranty - replace it. 
 
Captain_WD.

If this helped you, like and choose it as best answer - you might help someone else with the same issue. ^_^
WDC Representative, http://www.wdc.com/ 

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Hey mlecruz,
 
What is the drive's brand and model that you are having problems with? Do have in mind that if a bad sector appears, the drive is prone to failure as more will appear. It could be tomorrow, it could be after an year, but it will happen and I wouldn't rely on that drive for storing data. Bad sectors can appear from vibrations, bad mounting, shaking and other external factors as well as from a faulty drive.
I would use the manufacturer's diagnostic tool to check the drive again and if under warranty - replace it. 
 
Captain_WD.

 

 

It's a Western Digital Blue 1TB drive.

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K @ 4.4GHz CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 GPU: Sapphire R9 290 Tri-X OC Motherboard: Asus Z87-Plus RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8GB DDR3-1600 SSD: Samsung EVO 840 120GB HDD: Western Digital 1TB Blue PSU: Corsair RM1000 Case: NZXT Phantom 630

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It's a Western Digital Blue 1TB drive.

 

In that case I would suggest running WD Data Lifeguard Diagnostic tool ( http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=Mc4PDN) to check the drive's health. I would run both the quick and the extended tests in order to check the drive's S.M.A.R.T. status as well as for any other bad sectors that might have appeared. If the drive passes the test it should be OK to use. If it fails some of them - contact our support on the website and go for the RMA procedure if the drive is still under warranty. 
 
Captain_WD.

If this helped you, like and choose it as best answer - you might help someone else with the same issue. ^_^
WDC Representative, http://www.wdc.com/ 

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In that case I would suggest running WD Data Lifeguard Diagnostic tool ( http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=Mc4PDN) to check the drive's health. I would run both the quick and the extended tests in order to check the drive's S.M.A.R.T. status as well as for any other bad sectors that might have appeared. If the drive passes the test it should be OK to use. If it fails some of them - contact our support on the website and go for the RMA procedure if the drive is still under warranty. 
 
Captain_WD.

 

 

Thank you but the Diagnostic tool crashes when detecting drives.

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K @ 4.4GHz CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 GPU: Sapphire R9 290 Tri-X OC Motherboard: Asus Z87-Plus RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8GB DDR3-1600 SSD: Samsung EVO 840 120GB HDD: Western Digital 1TB Blue PSU: Corsair RM1000 Case: NZXT Phantom 630

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Well the drive just failed. Good thing I've backed up all important files before it did. Only games we're left. Thanks for your replies.

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K @ 4.4GHz CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 GPU: Sapphire R9 290 Tri-X OC Motherboard: Asus Z87-Plus RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8GB DDR3-1600 SSD: Samsung EVO 840 120GB HDD: Western Digital 1TB Blue PSU: Corsair RM1000 Case: NZXT Phantom 630

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Well the drive just failed. Good thing I've backed up all important files before it did. Only games we're left. Thanks for your replies.

 

You can hook it up externally to another working computer and check it with the tool. See if the drive is under warranty and simply replace it :) You should receive the same or better drive.
 
Captain_WD.

If this helped you, like and choose it as best answer - you might help someone else with the same issue. ^_^
WDC Representative, http://www.wdc.com/ 

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