Is my hard drive about to crash?

alihamilton · 05-09-2006, 07:18 PM

Just recently my cpu is making a weird sound from time to time. At the same time the light near drive A comes on. Is this my hard drive about to crash? Is there any diagnostics I can run to see what is happening?

**linderman** · 05-09-2006, 08:08 PM

yes find out what model number and make of hard drive you have. Then go to the manufacturer's website and download the diagnostic utility (free)
run the full version of the diagnostic

good luck and give us a holler on the outcome

alihamilton · 05-10-2006, 01:36 PM

Thanks.....I forgot my HP computer came with PC doctor. I ran the tests and everything came back OK. The sound does not happen often but does concern me.

Tumbleweed36 · 05-10-2006, 03:03 PM

Hi,

You might want to run the diagnostic that the manufacturer of the drive makes. That seems to be more accurate than the PC doctor utility that HP sends with their unit at times. Here is a link to all of them in case you need to find the website for the manufacturer since you did not list the make of the drive:

Manufacturer’s websites for the utilities of all drive makes and models

http://tacktech.com/display.cfm?ttid=287

Most Commonly Used sites for a quick link:

Western Digital – Data Lifeguard
http://support.wdc.com/download/index.asp?swid=3

Maxtor – Maxblast 4
http://www.maxtor.com/portal/site/Ma...re%20Downloads

alihamilton · 05-10-2006, 09:02 PM

Will do that but, having googled a bit more, I think the sound was the computer trying to find the disk in the A drive. The light was also coming on when the noise happened. This has only started recently and since I began using some floppy disks. I will still do the diagnostic test as it will do no harm. Thanks!

alihamilton · 05-11-2006, 06:04 AM

I tried the link you gave but cannot find the manufacturer for 40 GB Ultra DMA which is the hard drive my HP came with. Can you advise please?

~~whodat~~ · 05-11-2006, 06:13 AM

try the maxtor utility

**hwm54112** · 05-11-2006, 06:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alihamilton

40 GB Ultra DMA

That’s the drive size/type

Go to My Computer. Right click on “local disk c:”>properties>hardware tab. That will show you a name and/or model number. If you don’t recognize a manufacturer name, google the model number

05-09-2006, 07:18 PM	#1 (permalink)
alihamilton Registered User Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 52 OS: xp	Is my hard drive about to crash? Just recently my cpu is making a weird sound from time to time. At the same time the light near drive A comes on. Is this my hard drive about to crash? Is there any diagnostics I can run to see what is happening?

05-09-2006, 08:08 PM	#2 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 14,909 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	yes find out what model number and make of hard drive you have. Then go to the manufacturer's website and download the diagnostic utility (free) run the full version of the diagnostic good luck and give us a holler on the outcome __________________ If you cant be polite and friendly; then please be silent. Power Supply Selection

05-10-2006, 03:03 PM	#4 (permalink)
Tumbleweed36 Asst Manager Hardware Join Date: May 2005 Location: USA Posts: 14,853 OS: XP Professional	Hi, You might want to run the diagnostic that the manufacturer of the drive makes. That seems to be more accurate than the PC doctor utility that HP sends with their unit at times. Here is a link to all of them in case you need to find the website for the manufacturer since you did not list the make of the drive: Manufacturer’s websites for the utilities of all drive makes and models http://tacktech.com/display.cfm?ttid=287 Most Commonly Used sites for a quick link: Western Digital – Data Lifeguard http://support.wdc.com/download/index.asp?swid=3 Maxtor – Maxblast 4 http://www.maxtor.com/portal/site/Ma...re%20Downloads __________________ ----------

05-10-2006, 01:36 PM	#3 (permalink)
alihamilton Registered User Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 52 OS: xp	Thanks.....I forgot my HP computer came with PC doctor. I ran the tests and everything came back OK. The sound does not happen often but does concern me.

05-10-2006, 09:02 PM	#5 (permalink)
alihamilton Registered User Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 52 OS: xp	Will do that but, having googled a bit more, I think the sound was the computer trying to find the disk in the A drive. The light was also coming on when the noise happened. This has only started recently and since I began using some floppy disks. I will still do the diagnostic test as it will do no harm. Thanks!

05-11-2006, 06:04 AM	#6 (permalink)
alihamilton Registered User Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 52 OS: xp	I tried the link you gave but cannot find the manufacturer for 40 GB Ultra DMA which is the hard drive my HP came with. Can you advise please?

05-11-2006, 06:13 AM	#7 (permalink)
~~whodat~~ Register user Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 5,931 OS: XP	try the maxtor utility