HARD DISK FAILURE

[eldiablo696]

Hi All

When I booted up this morning I heard a grinding noise. It lasted ten seconds, then disappeared.

I have now been on the computer for over 10 hours and no problem and no grinding.

I did hear it for a few seconds when I ran:

chkdsk, defrag, disk clean, liveonecare and anti virus scanner.

I have backed up the 'system state data' and all personal files onto usb flash drives.

I have the registration key and recovery cd x 2.

I plan to run chkdsk /f to attempt recovery/fixing of bad sectors. Which is into 6 figures.

I have approx 59% free on my hard drive, as displayed in DEFRAG' screen.

I do not have a cd-r or cd-rw. I do not have an external back up device.

I do have another drive, about 28gb. But am not sure whether my pc will run with two hard drives.

Are there any other files that I will need to backup?

If, after chkdsk /f, all hell breaks loose and I can only boot from recovery cd, will I need to know which cd is linked to the product key.

I am looking for a storage device for back up and a new hard drive. But funds are scarce at the moment and my pc is more imprortant than any personal info currently held on it.

But am up ____ creek without a paddle.......

I am too scared to switch pc off, as grinding only happened at start up and given that it happens when the disk is being checked, I presume the boot part of the drive has all the bad sectors on, or this is where the damage is.

I should have posted this earlier, but all the research I have done has just led me round and round in circles......so far

 

[eldiablo696]

Thanks

I will give it a go.

Just need to be sure I have everything covered with the back up.

I am trying to open the .bkf file to see what it has copied.

Should I leave it on over night?

Thanks for the info

 

[eldiablo696]

Thanks

I have managed to start the pc this morning with no grinding whatsoever.

I have checked the gpu and cpu fan. All is good here.

Given that my bad sectors are in the 6 or 7 figure category and have been for at least 6 months or so.

I will take this as a final warning to replace my Hard Drive and begin the 'trying to install a new hard drive' adventure.

If I am able to get onto the internet, I will no doubt have to call on the expertise of ocuk'ers to help me once again.......

I would like to ask for some assistance in the art of 'backing up'.

I do not have a cd-r or cd-rw or an external hard drive. I only have 10 or so floppies @1.44mb

What is the cheapest method of performing a safe back up. I managed to change one of my usb pen drives to ntfs. But it only holds 1gb.

Can i purchase a larger usb drive to boot from?

 

[eldiablo696]

I do actually have a cd-rw.

I must have disconected it, thinking it was just a player.

I have purchased a new hdd which is twice the size of original.

As we are talking about an old machine the hdd cost me £3.60 on ebay 80gb.

My old drive has 1941956 bad sectors, so if I install both can i copy over to new and then get rid of bad/old drive.

Is this the best way to do it. I will of course backup all files.

I have an old copy of nero 5 burn. It looks really complicated. Is there other software that is easier to use.

This is my first hd install and after extensive research all I am sure of, is that a problem will occur somewhere along the line.

Even though my pc is clean and no overclocking ever.

I tried calling manufacturer. Was sent to three different locations and then told I needed to pay 60p per minute for support. £60 per hour....

ouch