Hard Drive In My Laptop...

[Mad Maxx]

Is Acting Up again.

Nothing Program or OS wise is Happening. But ever Few Hours, coming from the HD Area, there is a Beep, then 2 Clicks. Like the HD is Reading itself or something.

Nothing Happens other than that. Laptop keeps Working and going just like nothing Happened. It doesn't Run Hot or even Warm for that Matter. The Fan hardly ever has to come On.

It just Started doing this too, I'd say Yesterday or Today.

Any Ideas?

Should I start Backing things up? :mad2:

 

[L98TPI]

Should I start Backing things up? :mad2:

Yes you should. But you should do that any way. If you have a fast connection Carbonite is a good way to go.
Its does sound like the HDD is is doing a calibration or a reread when it should not need to. Keep that puppy backed up and when it craps put in a new drive and use the restore disks to get the OS back and then get your MyDocuments files back from that back up you did right now :thumbsup:

 

[WarWagon]

I would back your data up because even with a new drive you don't know how long it will last before total unrecoverable failure. Unusual sounds are a pretty clear warning you are in the danger zone.

Online backups you should just post to Wikileaks or your Facebook account. Never let your data leave your direct control if you can help it. One bad apple on the 'shared' server and your kids in the tub photo gets you on child abuse charges as they look at everything on a server with a warrant for someone else. Ya know stupid stuff like that.

External HDD's are the quickest to back up to or dual layer DVD's. Then put it in a fireproof safe.

Hard drives can die suddenly and grind the data off the platters with a head failure. Solid state disks and USB keys can go 'pop' and be doorstops just as quick.

Hard drives always scan the surface and move the heads to level the wear on the platter surface. Power save settings can park the heads when not in use by lifting them on a ramp. After they do this the platters can spin down. They will click and do a recal after being loaded back on the platters to go to work. If the platters have spun down there will be a 'beep' like noise as they spin back up and then the click and recal.

Check your power save options for both AC and battery power.

Check the BOIS/CMOS setup and see if the cheap manufacturer turned off SMART error reporting. Run the drive diagnostics - download them from the drive maker if the laptop doesn't have a test program. Do this only after your data is backed up. And drive diagnostics can miss a lot.

I would recommend a solid state drive from Intel or Western Digital.

To really know what is going on with the obsolete precision mechanical magnetic measuring and writing device known as a hard drive get SpinRite www.grc.com. It can show you a drive that is worn out. Sudden failure is unpredictable.

 

[L98TPI]

You are right about the SMART reporting but I did think it was a bit of an advanced subject.

But about the online back ups like Carbonite, they are heavily encrypted. Not even Carbonite can read your data after it leaves your PC. The data is kept in a storage cloud in multiple locations around the world. The NSA might be able to decode it but if you have their attention you have other bigger issues.

 

[VW_Lupo_TD]

clear sign of impending head crash.
number of possible boot ups is limited at that point.

 

[Mad Maxx]

This Hard Drive isn't even a Year Old!!

If it Breaks again (soon), I'm gonna be Pissed.

 

[VW_Lupo_TD]

sometimes you have bad luck with hard drives.
the life span of a HDD is decided by two factors.
number of rotations and temps.
if you leave it on all the time, it does not matter how old it is, or if you are always out in the freakin desert....

 

[Mad Maxx]

sometimes you have bad luck with hard drives.
the life span of a HDD is decided by two factors.
number of rotations and temps.
if you leave it on all the time, it does not matter how old it is, or if you are always out in the freakin desert....

Well, I am on it from the Time I Wake Up til I go to Sleep.

I don't have Good Luck with Computers Lasting. I've had them Last as Short as 3 Moths before HD Failure and I've had them Last 4 Years before HD Failure.

I have all my Important Things Backed Up on an External HD now anyways. Just waiting for the Blue Screen now.

 

[WarWagon]

Was the drive entering power save?

Hard drives are like tires. They can blow up on a pot hole when brand new or wear for a long time, usually 5 year design life. They are the last mechanical device in use where everything else has gone solid state. Solid state drives do have life limits that are shorter than the CPU for example.

I have had brand new drives fail out of the box. I also have seen drives run 24/7 since 2004 and wear out the platters till a lot of them crash the heads from air bearing wear.

 

[Mad Maxx]

Nope I was in the Middle of Using the Computer.

Like for Example, as I would be Typing this Message, it would Beep and do the Click thing, and just keep Running as if nothing Happened. Wouldn't Freeze, Flicker, Stumble, get Hot, nothing.

 

[BoostN]

Nope I was in the Middle of Using the Computer.

Like for Example, as I would be Typing this Message, it would Beep and do the Click thing, and just keep Running as if nothing Happened. Wouldn't Freeze, Flicker, Stumble, get Hot, nothing.

I've got a Win7 Dell laptop that is going on 4 years old that is doing the same thing.. I think mine was heat related though.

I've already replaced it with a new Sony i7 in a 13.3" screen. Basically windows version of the 13" Macbook. I love this one!

 

[Mad Maxx]

I've got a Win7 Dell laptop that is going on 4 years old that is doing the same thing.. I think mine was heat related though.

I've already replaced it with a new Sony i7 in a 13.3" screen. Basically windows version of the 13" Macbook. I love this one!

That's what I got now, a VAIO. I Love it, it's even got some REAL Metal on the Casing of it!

 

[Franko914]

Nope I was in the Middle of Using the Computer.

Like for Example, as I would be Typing this Message, it would Beep and do the Click thing, and just keep Running as if nothing Happened. Wouldn't Freeze, Flicker, Stumble, get Hot, nothing.

You continue to type away because the program(s) you are using were copied form the hard drive into the PC's RAM/core/main memory. Remember, applications run out of RAM but have to copied into there, first, from the hard drive/secondary memory.

Plug-in an external USB hard drive, use freeware like Driveimage XML to create a mirror image of your internal/primary drive. If your internal drive does crap out, you should be able to boot off the external USB drive, if your BIOS allows it. You can even configure a USB flash drive to boot the laptop, then redirect the laptop to run off the external USB drive.