HARD DISK SHORT DST: FAILED

[Gobregon2000]

PC could not start so managed to run Hard Disk Test and got the following results:

HARD DISK SHORT DST: FAILED

FAILURE ID: 60BRV3-000927-MFPP0K-60X203

PRODUCT ID: H3Z72AA#ABA

Hard Disk 1

Thank you in advnace

[mdklassen]

Bad news: your computer's disk-drive is in "imminent failure" status.

Good news: maybe, even though you cannot boot into Windows, there  might be some "residual" life remaining in the disk-drive, to allow you to copy your personal files from it.

The quickest remediation is to use "disk-cloning" software, to try to copy, block-for-block, from the old disk-drive onto the new disk-drive.  If a few blocks cannot be copied, then 99.999% of the blocks will have been copied. If you are "lucky", those "missing" blocks will not be noticed.  Then, boot from the new disk-drive, to access your personal files and your installed programs.  This takes 2 to 5 hours.

The other method of remediation is to install Windows onto the new disk-drive, run Windows Update, reinstall your programs, and then try to copy your personal files from the old disk-drive.  This takes a full day -- mostly watching Windows Update do its work.

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[Gobregon2000]

Thank you. Does it mean the old disk-drive is ruined? After recovering the files from the computer, would it make any sense to reset the PC reinstaling Windows and the rest of the programs or the old disk-drive is not going to work anymore?

Thanks again

[mdklassen]

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Does it mean the old disk-drive is ruined? After recovering the files from the computer, would it make any sense to reset the PC reinstalling Windows and the rest of the programs,
or the old disk-drive is not going to work anymore?

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> PC could not start

> so managed to run Hard Disk Test and got the following results: HARD DISK SHORT DST: FAILED

The DST (Drive Self Test) failed.

See: SMART  for details on how the disk-drive and the motherboard monitor the "health" of the disk-drive, at over 20 measuring points.  In your case, one of those points is reporting "warning" or "fail".  Compare SMART to the NASA Control Room, just before a rocket-launch. If any one of those NASA engineers report a "fail", the count-down is stopped, for a "hold" or a "scrub".

Yes, the disk-drive is "failing". 

It makes no sense to continue to use the disk-drive, by trying to reinstall Windows.

Like a "bald" automobile tire, it has reached its "end-of-life", and needs to be responsibly recycled.

The disk-drive probably had a 1-year, maybe a 2-year, warranty.

How old is it?

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[Gobregon2000]

Almost six years, got it in 2012. Will buy a new computer then.

Thanks again

[mdklassen · Accepted solution]

> Almost six years, got it in 2012. Will buy a new computer.

Good decision.  In 2012, your computer came with Windows 7 pre-installed.

Microsoft will terminate all support for Windows 7 in January 2020 -- less than 2 years away.

So, buying a new computer will get you Windows 10, which will be supported for many years.

If you can find a "pre-owned" disk-drive at a local owner/operator computer-store, for about $20 US, you could connect it, and install UBUNTU, or some other variant of LINUX, and "play" with UBUNTU on the current hardware.  Or, reinstall Windows onto that disk-drive, if you have young children that you don't want to have them touching your brand-new Windows 10 system.

Or, post an "selling as is" advertisement onto CRAIG'S LIST, to see if somebody will pay a few dollars for your parts. Surprisingly, your old RAM is going-up in price, as RAM manufacturers gear-up to produce the newest generation (DDR4) of RAM, and produce less of your older (DDR2 or DDR3) RAM.

[Gobregon2000]

Thank you

[Sd2005]

How do I get my files off my computer now since the diagnostics shows the hard disk short has FAILED? I have important stuff I need.....  

[mdklassen]

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@Sd2005 wrote:

How do I get my files off my computer now, since the diagnostics shows the hard disk short has FAILED?

I have important stuff I need.....  

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The "short" test only takes a few minutes, as opposed to the "long" test.

That test queries the S.M.A.R.T. technology that is used by the motherboard & the disk-drive, to monitor the health of the disk-drive, at over 20 measuring points, e.g., "highest-lifetime-temperature".

Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.M.A.R.T.

So, the overall "health" of the disk-drive is determined by the "worst" of the measurements.

For example, if the disk-drive has ever exceeded 70 degrees Celsius, it could be flagged as being "bad".

Another example: the disk-drive has a few "spare" sectors that normally are "hidden" from Windows. If the disk-drive detects that one of the in-use sectors is going "bad", it will logically substitute one of those "spares" for the "bad" block.

S.M.A.R.T. will count the number of times that this "swap" has been performed.

Too many "swaps" implies that the disk-drive is on the path to a "failure".

(Compare to your automobile -- you have one "spare" tire in the trunk, not two spare tires.

One flat tire temporarily stops you, while two flats at the same time is a big problem.)

Any "badness" does not always indicate that the disk-drive is "totally-dead".

(A dent in your automobile's bumper does not make your vehicle "undriveable".)

In the best case of a "failed" disk-drive, you can still boot into Windows, and then make a backup of your personal files.

In the second-best case, Windows will not successfully start, but the disk-drive is "mostly" OK.

So, physically remove the disk-drive from the computer, and attach it as a "secondary" disk-drive in a working computer.  Then, you may be able to read all your personal files, to make a backup.

In the worst case, there exist EXPENSIVE "data recovery" companies, who use high-tech "clean-rooms" to disassemble your disk-drive, and repair it, but only just long enough to make a one-time copy of the entire disk-drive. EXPENSIVE.

[Lyonheart15]

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@Sd2005 wrote:

How do I get my files off my computer now since the diagnostics shows the hard disk short has FAILED? I have important stuff I need.....  

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