Hard Drive failure?

[OrtegaSeason]

Hi there,

I think my hard drive might be failing as it appears to have become much louder in the past couple of months.  Initially I thought it was my fan that was making the noise but it seems now that it was my hard drive.  I've already run Check Disk and Windows Memory Diagnostic and they both indicate that there's no problem, but I understand that they're not too accurate.  Are there any other tests I can run to check whether my hard drive is failing?  

Thanks for any help

These are my system details by the way;

Operating System: Windows 10 Home 64-bit
CPU: AMD A12 Bristol Ridge 28nm Technology
RAM: 8.00GB Single-Channel Unknown @ 1064MHz (15-15-15-35)
Motherboard: HP 81B8 (P0)
Graphics: HP ALL-in-One (1920x1080@60Hz) 512MB ATI AMD Radeon R7 Graphics (HP) 
Storage: 1863GB Western Digital WDC WD20EZRZ-60Z5HB0 (SATA ) 
Optical Drives: hp HLDS DVDRW GUD1N
Audio: Realtek High Definition Audio

[iomare]

Hi,

You should be able to run HP Hardware Diagnostics on the system and check the drive. You can do this at boot by turning off the PC by holding the power button until it shuts down. Turn on PC and continuously press ESC until startup menu appears and then press F2 to enter Hardware diagnostics, here you can perform the fast test or component test on the Hard Drive.

You can also perform from HP support assistant in Windows.

In any case, you could replace the drive with an SSD which would give a boost to the performance of the PC. Anyway, let me know how the tests work out and then we can see how to proceed.

https://support.hp.com/lt-en/document/c03467259

Hope it helps,

David

Please click on thumbs up for thanks

Please click on accept as solution if answered your question

[OrtegaSeason]

Thank you for the response.  I ran the HP hardware diagnostic, and the Long Drive Self Test failed.  Everything else passed.  When I clicked on the Failure ID link it took me to a page saying “The Test Found a critical problem with your hard drive and it may need to be replaced.  If possible, back up your personal files to a flash drive or external hard drive as soon as you can.”

Are there any other tests that are worth running?

Thanks for any help.

[iomare]

You're welcome,

You are going to need to replace the drive. If you can still boot into Windows you should back up all your important data to an external drive.

What you need is a 3.5" SATA3 Hard Drive from your preferred brand such as Seagate, WD...

Example:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IEKG402/ref=twister_B07P23JYYD?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

or you could opt for a 2.5" SATA3 SSD which would greatly improve the performance of the PC

Example:

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Inch-Internal-MZ-76E1T0B-AM/dp/B078DPCY3T/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=860+evo...

In the guide below you can see the steps to replace the drive.

http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c05158393

You can also take a look at these videos. Click on the hard drive in the list on left.

http://h20574.www2.hp.com/results.htm?SID=13823536&MEID=7E13B028-42A8-45A3-9BFD-50D0FF577568

Here is a small guide on how to reinstall Windows 10:

You will need to reinstall the OS on the drive, either by using recovery disks, migrating a backup image or by downloading media creation tool from Microsoft on different PC (or on yours if still working) running and creating a bootable pendrive with the OS on it on a different computer. (there is an explanation on the Microsoft web page on how to create the pendrive) Windows will automatically activate once installed and connected to the Internet.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

If you choose this option you will need to use the pendrive to perform a clean install of Windows 10. You might need to disable fastboot and secure boot in BIOS (probably not). So, insert the pendrive in the PC and it should boot directly from the drive. If not, turn off the PC by holding the power button. Press the power button and immediately keep pressing ESC  until the startup menu appears and then press F9 and choose the pendrive in the boot menu. Once it boots from pendrive follow the procedure to install Windows.

When finished installing allow Windows to completely update and find all or most drivers. You can follow this process by going into settings > Security and update > click on Verify for updates. You might need to reboot a couple of times. Once completely updated you can go into device manager and see if there are any missing drivers (there will be yellow exclamation mark next to the device). You can find these drivers and software on the HP support page for your product.

https://support.hp.com/us-en/product/hp-pavilion-24-b200-all-in-one-desktop-pc-series/13823536/model...

 I recommend installing HP support assistant which will help to keep drivers up to date and much more. Here you can download latest version

https://www8.hp.com/us/en/campaigns/hpsupportassistant/hpsupport.html

Hope it helps,

David

[OrtegaSeason]

Thank you for the response.  I took the PC back to the shop I got it from as I have a care plan that I pay for already.  They’ve got no excuse to not replace the hard drive for free.

[iomare]

Yes, That is the best idea. The hard drive should be covered under warranty.

All the best,

David