My Hard Drive Short DST Check failed. Is it too late the back up my system?

[Plea3e_HelpFast]

I have a HP Pavilion Slimline 400.  I upgraded to Windows 10 (64-bit)

My computer will boot up, but will freeze when I try to use any program (including using the internet.

I ran a diagnostic test and my Hard Drive Short DST Check failed.  Fail ID – 60DL7Q-00090Q-PXPAWJ-60S603

Does my hard drive have to be replaced?  If so, is it too late for me to back up my system (my files are saved on an external hardrive but not my software such as Word)? 

If not too late to back up my system, how do I do it when my computer keeps freezing?

[Maké]

Hi!, @Plea3e_HelpFast:

Please quickly, save all important data, of your HDD and replace, with other new, brand's ... Hitachi, Western Digital (WD) or Seagate.

See this video for replace ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcChcrjCILo

If it has served you, to solve, your problem, you can grant, as Solved. In this way, it can serve other users. Also, you can grant Kudos, if you want to thank, the help provided.

[Plea3e_HelpFast]

---

@Maké wrote:

@hi!, @Plea3e_HelpFast:

Please quickly, save all important data, of your HDD and replace, with other new, brand's ... Hitachi, Western Digital (WD) or Seagate.

See this video for replace ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcChcrjCILo

If it has served you, to solve, your problem, you can grant, as Solved. In this way, it can serve other users. Also, you can grant Kudos, if you want to thank, the help provided.

---

Thank you so much for your fast response.

Is it possible to  back up my system when it freezes shortly after booting?

[Maké]

Hi!, @Plea3e_HelpFast:

You can intend make back-up, of HDD, with other PC.

But, IMHO first before change, try with ...

https://www.easeus.com/datarecoverywizard/free-data-recovery-software.htm?utm_expid=

https://www.easeus.com/resource/repair-bad-sector.htm

https://www.easeus.com/resource/fix-bad-sector-on-hdd.html

https://www.easeus.com/data-recovery-solution/repair-bad-sectors-in-windows-10-8-7.html

https://www.easeus.com/disk-copy/clone-resource/clone-hard-drive.htm

If it has served you, to solve, your problem, you can grant, as Solved. In this way, it can serve other users. Also, you can grant Kudos, if you want to thank, the help provided.

[mdklassen]

>  Does my hard drive have to be replaced? 

Yes.

> Is it too late for me to back up my system (my files are saved on an external hardrive but not my software such as Word)? 

> If not too late to back up my system, how do I do it when my computer keeps freezing?

No.  Follow my advice:

1. Purchase a new SEAGATE  disk-drive, and temporarily connect it (power and data cables), as a "secondary" disk-drive on another computer.

2. On that other computer, download the SEATOOLS "disk-cloning" software, from www.SEAGATE.COM and install it.

3. Run that SEATOOLS software (it requires that at least one disk-drive on this computer be a SEAGATE disk-drive) to create a "bootable" copy of SEATOOLS.

4. Shutdown, and disconnect the new SEAGATE disk-drive from the other computer.

5. Connect the new SEAGATE disk-drive to your computer.

6. Boot SEATOOLS from that bootable media.

7. Select the current ("failing") disk-drive as the "source" disk-drive.

8. Select the new SEAGATE disk-drive as the "target" disk-drive.

9. Run the "disk-cloning" software to copy everything, block-by-block, from "source" to "target".

If some blocks cannot be copied, click "skip".  Probably, 99.999% of the blocks will copy.

10. Shutdown.

11. Disconnect the "old" disk-drive from your computer.

12. Properly connect the "new" disk-drive to your computer.

13. Boot from it.  You'll see that 99.999% of your personal files and installed programs will be present.

Done.

[Plea3e_HelpFast]

---

@Maké wrote:

@hi!, @Plea3e_HelpFast:

You can intend make back-up, of HDD, with other PC.

But, IMHO first before change, try with ...

https://www.easeus.com/datarecoverywizard/free-data-recovery-software.htm?utm_expid=

https://www.easeus.com/resource/repair-bad-sector.htm

https://www.easeus.com/resource/fix-bad-sector-on-hdd.html

https://www.easeus.com/data-recovery-solution/repair-bad-sectors-in-windows-10-8-7.html

https://www.easeus.com/disk-copy/clone-resource/clone-hard-drive.htm

If it has served you, to solve, your problem, you can grant, as Solved. In this way, it can serve other users. Also, you can grant Kudos, if you want to thank, the help provided.

---

Sorry about all the questions.

My computer freezes shortly after booting.

Will Easeus work anyway?

[mdklassen]

>  My computer freezes shortly after booting.

When Windows cannot read a specific block of data from your disk-drive, Windows "freezes".

When "disk-cloning" software cannot read a specific block of data, it asks "Skip?" or "Retry?" and continues to process.

If you have a few "bad" blocks on the disk-drive, then 99.999% of the blocks are "good".

If those "skipped" blocks are allocated to a rarely-used file, e.g., "Finnish keyboard layout", they won't be missed.

If those "skipped" blocks are not allocated to any file, you don't need to copy them.

-----------

Welcome to this forum.

Please click the purple/white "Thumbs Up" icon for every response that is helpful.

Also, please click "Accept As Solution" for the best response.

[Maké]

Hi!, @Plea3e_HelpFast:

Realize all procedures but, with HDD, in other notebook or Desktop.

If it has served you, to solve, your problem, you can grant, as Solved. In this way, it can serve other users. Also, you can grant Kudos, if you want to thank, the help provided.

[Plea3e_HelpFast]

---

@mdklassen wrote:

>  My computer freezes shortly after booting.

When Windows cannot read a specific block of data from your disk-drive, Windows "freezes".

When "disk-cloning" software cannot read a specific block of data, it asks "Skip?" or "Retry?" and continues to process.

If you have a few "bad" blocks on the disk-drive, then 99.999% of the blocks are "good".

If those "skipped" blocks are allocated to a rarely-used file, e.g., "Finnish keyboard layout", they won't be missed.

If those "skipped" blocks are not allocated to any file, you don't need to copy them.

-----------

Welcome to this forum.

Please click the purple/white "Thumbs Up" icon for every response that is helpful.

Also, please click "Accept As Solution" for the best response.

---

I do not understand how disk cloning software works.

Does it act as the "operating system" during the time the computer is frozen?

[mdklassen · Accepted solution]

> I  do not understand how disk cloning software works. 

Do you understand how a photocopier machine works?

It "reads" the input document, and "writes" a copy, without damaging the input document.

If you have a "smudge" on the input document, the copy will show that smudge.

Disk-cloning works in a similar way, but if there is a "smudge" -- a block on the disk-drive that cannot be read -- then an "empty" block is written to the copy.

> Does it act as the "operating system" during the time the computer is frozen?

No.  When the computer is frozen, Windows has "crashed".

The principle of "disk-cloning" is to assume that the disk-drive is the ONLY problem with the computer, i.e., that all the rest of the computer hardware is working correctly.

So, the major steps of "disk-cloning" are:

1. on a working computer, create a "bootable" copy of the "disk-cloning" software.

The usual choices to write the software onto a CD-recordable disk or onto a USB memory-stick.

2. purchase a new disk-drive.

3. connect the new disk-drive to the computer that has the problematic disk-drive, without disconnecting that old disk-drive.

4. boot the computer from the media that contains the "disk-cloning" software.

Your computer is now running a very-stripped-down operating system.

5. within the software, select the "source" disk-drive -- the "failing" disk-drive -- then select the "target" disk-drive -- the brand-new one.

6. tell the software to copy, block-by-block, from "source" to "target".

If the software cannot "read" a specific block, the software will NOT "freeze" -- it will skip to the next block.

Here, the "hope" is that the "non-copyable" block is not "mission critical".

Given that you say that Windows is booting normally, up to a point, this "hope" seems to be reasonable.

7. when it completes, shutdown the computer.

8. physically remove the old disk-drive, and connect the new disk-drive, to replace it.

9. boot from the new disk-drive.  All your personal files & installed programs are available.

Done.