Hard drive failed diagnostics test

[silly_gooooose]

For as long as I can remember, my computer has had issues with bluescreening (about 3 times a month on average), with different kinds of errors like IRQL NOT LESS OR EQUAL, SYSTEM PTE MISUSE, CRITICAL INITIALIZATION FAILURE, and KMODE EXCEPTION NOT HANDLED, to list only a few. No amount of software troubleshooting has ever seemed to work permanently stop the errors. At the prompting of my laptop itself, I ran a HP Hardware Diagnostics (Windows 2.6.3.0), and it identified a problem with my hard drive.  The error log reads:

Failed to read sector 0
ReportFailure 1
TestFailed.
EndOfTest

I am hoping to hear more about what this means for my laptop.

[Nal_NR]

Hi @silly_gooooose,

Welcome to the HP Support Community. 

I'd be glad to help you! 

That’s understandably frustrating to experience such frequent blue screens, especially after trying so many troubleshooting steps. The hardware diagnostics results showing a hard drive issue could indeed be the underlying cause of these errors. When a drive has sector read failures, it can lead to instability in the operating system, resulting in the types of blue screen errors you've encountered.

Here are a few steps to consider:

Backup Your Data: Since the hard drive is showing signs of failure, it’s essential to back up any important files as soon as possible to prevent data loss.

Consider Replacing the Hard Drive: Given the diagnostics report, replacing the hard drive may be necessary. You can replace it with an SSD for improved performance if compatible with your laptop.

Reinstall the Operating System: After replacing the hard drive, a fresh installation of Windows should help resolve the blue screen errors. This step will ensure that you start with a clean, stable system.

Run a Full System Diagnostic: After replacing the hard drive, you can run a full diagnostic again to confirm that the system is free from hardware issues.

I hope these steps lead to a smoother experience on your laptop.

Keep me posted for further assistance

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