computer geeks i need help with finding out if my hard drive is about to fail?

[bcasey25raptor]

ok so i have a toshiba satellite l655d laptop and i downloaded a program called sentinal hdd and it said my hard drive was about to fail. i can't let this happen. my computer is only 10 months old and i haven't done anything that could make the hard drive go bad. should i trust this program. this computer is my only audio source other then my ipod which is on it's last legs and i need it to last. i cannot afford a new hard drive or computer and i can only back up 50% of my hard drive. all help is appreciated.

 

[sidel]

I've used sentinel in corporate settings before.  It's reading the S.M.A.R.T. data from your HDD,  which is trustable.  Any halfway decent company should be willing to repair (replace your HDD) under a manufacturers warranty.  I recommend checking if you're still under warranty and backing up any important data as soon as possible.

 

[DaBomb77766]

Yeah, you should buy an external HDD and back everything up ASAP.  SMART isn't always right though, and is wrong more often than it's right.  But it's still best to take precautions.  You should always be backing important things up anyway though.

 

[sidel]

Quote:

Yeah, you should buy an external HDD and back everything up ASAP.  SMART isn't always right though, and is wrong more often than it's right.  But it's still best to take precautions.  You should always be backing important things up anyway though.

It's not that the data isn't right,  it actually tests and records information very accurately.  Now where the problem is is there's no truly reasonable way to determine when a hard drive is about ready to die.  The fact something like sentinel is saying the SMART data is suggesting it is though means that the disk has been having problems and is not worth trusting if you value your data.

 

[DaBomb77766]

Well, if SMART says the drive is dying, I'd back it up.  But it doesn't necessarily mean it will die.  I've had drives saying they're going to die for months and not have any problems.

 

[bcasey25raptor]

i have read to many bad things about toshiba's warranty and i think i will just buy this and replace it myself. i kind of have no choice in the matter. also i backed up everything i could, my pictures music and a select amount of videos. my external hd is only 1/2 the size of my internal hd. to make matters worse my ipod classic dies today so i have no ipod either. oh damn. why is this happening to me.

 

[bcasey25raptor]

Quote:

Well, if SMART says the drive is dying, I'd back it up.  But it doesn't necessarily mean it will die.  I've had drives saying they're going to die for months and not have any problems.

problem is that it is saying i have 18% health and the warning starts when it goes under 70%. so it has obviously been bad for a while now. i don't know what i did i am really good to my computer. that would explain why it is so slow though. looks like i need to postpone the fiio e7.
 
 

 

[DaBomb77766]

Could just be a defective drive.  Might want to call up Toshiba about this.

 

[sidel]

Quote:

problem is that it is saying i have 18% health and the warning starts when it goes under 70%. so it has obviously been bad for a while now. i don't know what i did i am really good to my computer. that would explain why it is so slow though. looks like i need to postpone the fiio e7.
 
 

You know,  it's probably nothing you did.  This often just happens.  I'd still recommend contacting toshiba about it,  but you certainly can just replace it with a 2.5" drive and install an OS on that.  I do recommend going for a faster drive than what you linked to though, as it will be your main.  example: link

 

[bcasey25raptor]

Quote:

You know,  it's probably nothing you did.  This often just happens.  I'd still recommend contacting toshiba about it,  but you certainly can just replace it with a 2.5" drive and install an OS on that.  I do recommend going for a faster drive than what you linked to though, as it will be your main.  example: link

it is ok, i don't do anything heavy with my computer i just go on the internet watch movies and listen to music.
 
 

 

[bcasey25raptor]

Quote:

Could just be a defective drive.  Might want to call up Toshiba about this.

to send my laptop off to get repaired isn't worth my trouble. like i mentioned toshiba has a bad reputation when it comes to warranty support. i will just buy a hard drive and replace it. less trouble and quicker. i already almost have enough money.
 
i also have a fresh copy of windows 7 i can install.

 

[DaBomb77766]

Problem with using faster drives, though, is that they're noisier and use more power...but it'd certainly improve performance a bit.  Depends on what your priorities are.

 

[Uncle Erik]

I've started preemptively replacing drives every 18-24 months. Usually doubles the storage and seems to cost less every time. I put the old drive into a cheap enclosure and store it as a backup. I use a regular backup, too.

 

[bcasey25raptor]

Quote:

Problem with using faster drives, though, is that they're noisier and use more power...but it'd certainly improve performance a bit.  Depends on what your priorities are.

my priorities are a computer that works with no issues, so 5400 rpm will do for me.

 

[beamthegreat]

Instead of installing a new os, you could copy your HDD and transfer it to your new HDD as long as you have a SATA to USB cable by using a disk cloning software. You'll save a lot of time that way.