Hard Disk Imminent Failure

[Garrity]

Yesterday evening I began running diagnostics on my computer because it was running slowly. I ran an option provided under my program menu which is titled PC tools. After 4 hours of testing (blue screen) which tested 5 items, my screen was then prompted to bios. It would not allow me to enter F1 for set up or F2 to continue. I made several attempts to re-start in safe mode, but my computer was frozen in bios. And stated hard disk imminent failure. Need to replace. Therefore, I turned my computer off for about 1/2 hour. Currently I am up and running, but am worried this will occur again at another horrible time. I run Windows XP Home Edition, I have a Compaq Presario AMD Processor 3500, with 1.79 GHz, 448mb of Ram.

I have since backed up my data onto my flash-drive, but with impending finals in 3 weeks I am very concerned......Any help would be greatly appreciated. Should I replace the hard drive, and if so any particular brand? Computer currently has samsung sp1604nr listed as its master drive. Or should I purchase a new pc tower? Also, the computer is only 13 months old, and is primarily used for work/school.

Please note, I am not a computer literate, but do know more than just the basic....Please us laymen's terms.

Thank you in advance for your time and consideration.

 

[Nodsu]

Test the hard drive. You can download a diagnostic tool from the manufacturer.

Since the problem went away, maybe you have overheating issues?

 

[Garrity]

Nodsu,

Thanks for your input. However, what does overheating issues imply?

As for the download, should I do it now?

And, I have been hesitant to turn off my computer.

Should I still turn off the computer once I have completed working on my project?

Any help is GREATLY appreciated.

Garrity

 

[Garrity]

Manufacturer's Update - Compaq/HP Presario Hard Drive

Through reading through Compaq's/HP updates there are several updates in which to choose. One even includes the bios and motherboard, which is listed below:

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...n&cc=us&dlc=en&product=1815875&os=228&lang=en


Does anyone know if I should attempt others from this site? If so, which ones.

I just need my computer to last until the end of the semester! Or should I bite the bullet and purchase a new hard-drive?

Thanks,
Garrity

 

[pioneerx01]

Did you run a checkdisk with "scan for and attempt to recover bad sectors" checked?

 

[Garrity]

Yes, and believe it or not after performing updates I am up and running. I am concerned about the stability of my system. It is only 13 months old.....

I have even re-started and shut down my computer and so far so good. I have also performed disc clean up and defragment. What is odd, is that I can only save my files on an external drive, e.g., flash drive and not onto a disc (D-Drive). In addition, to scanning system with my protection software which is McAfee.

Any other suggestion would be appreciated.

 

[TangoTrolly]

You mentioned you had a message stating "hard disk imminent failure." Did you get this message during boot-up, before Windows starts? If so, it was a message from the S.M.A.R.T. circuitry on the HDD. S.M.A.R.T. checks the health of your HDD and predicts failure.

To check S.M.A.R.T. run a free utility called SpeedFan ver 4.32. Click on the S.M.A.R.T. tab and select the HDD in question. It will show all the parameters and if they passed or failed. In addition, you can click on the "In-depth analysis" button, which gives you an explanation of each parameter.

SpeedFan Download:
http://www.almico.com/sfdownload.php