wd 500gb hd - is it failing?

Tyrion2

Tyrion2

Tyrion2

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Recently i've noticed that windows 7 is taking longer to load. Thought it might be malware (anti virus scan seems ok) or additional programs loading on startup (checked startup program list in msconfig & seems ok). Ram usage also seems normal (no program is eating up ram).

I then had a look at the event viewer (system) log, which showed this:



i dl'd & ran a wd diagnostics program which gave me this error:



googling that gives some comments about the drive beginning to fail etc....

after that i ran CHKDSK, i think, on startup http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows-vista/check-your-hard-disk-for-errors - took a while but by the time it had finished it had 'replaced bad clusters' in a couple of files. Event viewer (pic 1 above) isn't showing an error any more although i get the same error (pic 2) with the WD tool.

ps - apart from a slower startup, the pc seems to run fine & i haven't noticed any other issues.

just wondering if those errors show it might be time to start thinking about replacing the hd? (i've backed up the pc drivers & most of my data, just the hassle of having to install stuff again).

advice appreciated ;)

spec: [email protected], Asus P6T, 6gb Ram, Amd R9 280
 
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I think you know the answer here... it sounds like you've bought yourself a bit of time but get a replacement and clone the drive as soon as you can. That'll save you the hassle of reinstalling everything.
 
thanks - will order a new hd ;)

hadn't considered cloning :o i can insert the new hd into the new pc for cloning purposes, before removing/replacing the old one - i'm guessing i just replace the old drive with the new drive after cloning & the OS should boot & work as before?

ps - can you recommend an easy to use cloning program? i noticed wd have their own suggested program for wd hard drives: http://support.wdc.com/product/downloaddetail.asp?swid=119 but i also noticed there are other free ones around?

Thanks
 
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another thing occured to me, instead of cloning it might be worth it for me to do a clean install (lots of leftover/redundant stuff on the old hd which just takes up space & isn't used) & make the switch to an SSD, in which case i was thinking of going for:

Samsung 840 EVO 120GB (seems to be getting good reviews & should be big enough for W7 & a few programs) & a WD 1TB Black as a secondary drive (for additional programs/games)?

sorry, don't know much about SSD's, but would that be a decent combo?

Thanks
 
Definitely go for an SSD if you can, it'll be one of the most noticeable upgrades you've ever done! Yeah the Samsung's are good (I have a pair of 830s) but others here can probably offer more advice. One thing I will suggest is checking your mobo for a SATA 3 port, if it only has SATA 2 then you might as well go for a cheaper drive (like Crucial).

In terms of your secondary storage WD black might be a bit overkill price wise, although you do get five years warranty on them. I'd suggest just keeping an eye out for offers on OcUK and grabbing the best deal.

Perhaps put the price difference into a 256GB SSD. 128GB is enough but it's nice not to have to worry about available space and being very tidy. I have Windows 8, all programs, no games and 60GB of pictures on my 256 and I'm usually floating around 40GB available.
 
Tyrion2 said:
another thing occured to me, instead of cloning it might be worth it for me to do a clean install (lots of leftover/redundant stuff on the old hd which just takes up space & isn't used) & make the switch to an SSD, in which case i was thinking of going for:

Samsung 840 EVO 120GB (seems to be getting good reviews & should be big enough for W7 & a few programs) & a WD 1TB Black as a secondary drive (for additional programs/games)?

sorry, don't know much about SSD's, but would that be a decent combo?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Yes thats a good combo. I have the same ssd, but wont touch WD now after experiencing drives fail like yours. :(

SSD will give you a massive boost on load time and windows working. You might actually be happy it failed due to this. LOL ;)
 
WD hasn't failed yet :) but yeah, looks like it's time may be running out....first time i've had that so far with a WD.

re SSD's, was just reading through the Evo Assistance thread: http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18615995 (decent overview here: http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=26838526&postcount=262) & seems there's an issue at the moment, so looks like a CrucialMX100 or a Sandisk might be a better choice for now.

thanks for the 'Crucial' suggestion....seems the asus p6t is sata 2 (supports up to 3gb) rather than sata 3.

might well go for the SSD now & add a secondary regular hd, if needed, later.
 
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