Questions tagged [hard-drive-failure]
Questions about hard drive mechanical failure.
24
questions
6
votes
1
answer
22k
views
Computer doesn't boot up, shows PXE error and/or "operating system not found", "no bootable device", "insert boot media", or other similar error
My computer no longer boots Windows or the installed operating system. Instead, I may get this error:
PXE-E61: Media test failure, check cable
-or-
Check cable connection!
PXE-M0F: Exiting PXE ROM.
...
- 46.2k
48
votes
3
answers
84k
views
What do the current, worst, and threshold SMART values mean?
I have a 2TB internal hard drive that might be failing. It spends several minutes at 100% usage when I first turn it on since I installed Windows 10, and yesterday it reported a corrupted Recycle Bin.
...
- 613
1
vote
1
answer
1k
views
What happens to a RAID 0 array if some of the constituent drives are unavailable?
If I have three drives in a RAID 0 array containing a file system, and I happen to disconnect two of the drives, then what would I see on the only connected drive? Would I see nothing? Would I get an ...
- 23
11
votes
4
answers
12k
views
Mean Time to Failure (MTTF): When disk manufacturers post this, how should you interpret their numbers?
Mean Time to Failure (MTTF) is usually given in terms of hours, and by doing some calculations, it seems that a disk should fail only after a good number of years have gone by.
It seems that disks ...
- 759
21
votes
5
answers
138k
views
How can I recover dead SSD drives?
I haven't lost any mission critical data or anything, but I have in my possession a large number of SSD 2.5" drives that were pulled for unreliability or being "dead". I am curious if there's any way ...
- 856
8
votes
5
answers
19k
views
How do I fix a boot process that broke because of a failed hard drive? (Windows 7)
I used Windows XP for years, before I was able to get my hands on Windows 7 RC, which I bought a new HDD for, and setup to dual-boot. About a month ago, Windows XP started acting funny, and I thought ...
- 145
4
votes
2
answers
10k
views
My harddrive failed SMART check and short drive self test. What should I do?
I used SeaTools for Windows to test my harddrive and i failed the S.M.A.R.T check and Short Drive Self Test.
What's wrong with my hard drive?
Is it a big problem? Do I need to do anything to solve ...
- 27.4k
3
votes
1
answer
26k
views
SSD stopped working suddenly. Any chance of data recovery?
I have been using a Corsair Force 3 (120GB) SSD since last 1.5 years.
Yesterday, the laptop freezed suddenly and I had to hard reset it.
Then it refused to boot as if no HDD was installed. This has ...
- 115
24
votes
2
answers
8k
views
How to prevent programs (e.g. Process Monitor) from killing my SSD in 2 weeks?
I just got my first SSD - Intel 320 Series 120GB yesterday. And I have SSDLife monitoring in the background. I have TRIM enabled.
After I have installed all software, and did some basic testings. ...
user68795
16
votes
5
answers
10k
views
How to prolong the life of an external hard drive?
In ten years, across several different machines, different companies, and different operating systems I've noticed a trend that external hard drives die long before their internal counterparts. ...
- 4,444
14
votes
6
answers
7k
views
Are SSD's really reliable enough for power users? [closed]
TL;DR (though please read my full experience before jumping in with a quick answer.)
A power user performs a certain amount of write cycles. Does an MLC SSD drive support enough write cycles to last ...
- 5,788
13
votes
3
answers
6k
views
Why do SSDs tend to fail much more suddenly than HDDs?
Modern PCs tend to use one of two types of internal-storage devices:1 2
Hard-disk drives (HDDs) store data on spinning disks coated in a magnetic recording medium, a technology dating back to the ...
- 269
7
votes
3
answers
17k
views
What is the fastest way to force hdd to reallocate bad sectors and discard the data?
I either own or am in charge of (at work) a lot of HDDs that are either part of raid arrays, or there are backups of the data elsewhere.
When a disk is starting to fail and going slow because it's ...
- 1,967
5
votes
1
answer
11k
views
Whole working Windows 7 partition (on SSD) suddenly became "Unallocated Disk Space"
I have an HP 2540p with Windows 7 installed on a Plextor M3 SSD that sits in the upgrade drive bay (that used to house a DVD drive). The system has been working fine for months until this morning when ...
- 153
4
votes
3
answers
8k
views
Windows detected a hard disk problem — what should I do?
I'm using Windows 7 x64 Ultimate, I'm getting windows error popups like this one for about 3 days, multiple times a day:
This Samsung SpinPoint F3 HD502HJ 500 GB is about 2 years old and I already ...
- 39