Possible HHD failing

[DeepMartin]

I have a Hitachi DesKstar hds728080plat20 80GB

and its already happened to me twice that my computer will only freeze while playing Sims2 but right when its freezing i see lag and then i hear the hhd make the same whine up whine down and click sound it makes when i turn on the computer and then nothing

so that makes me suspect its the hhd (its about 5 years old on normal use and about 8 total formats, i havent formatted it for a good year now) the way i see it and think about it, sims2 is more of a videocard/cpu usage type of game so when my hhd isnt used it spins down and then it has a problem spin back to life so possibly its starting to wear out

now my question is, am i right? is the hhd about to die on me?
could it be just a sims2 error since it only happened while i was playing sims2?

 

[Matthew DeCarlo]

Your HDD shouldn't be grinding, whining or clicking (especially if it's a new sound). If it is, at least cover yourself and back your data up. It might not fail overnight but, it sounds like it's on it's way to the grave.

 

[DeepMartin]

It always made that sound, since day 1, i just thought it was a cheapo loud hhd. its not a harsh sound

i am gonna start backing up my data soon anyways (i got tons of dvds and im only using 40gbs of the 80 so its probly less than 4 dvds to burn of files)

 

[Matthew DeCarlo]

If it's made the same sound from day one, and it's five years old, odds are it's safe to assume it's not the sound of inevitable failure.

That said, even if you weren't expecting your HDD to fail, you should always back your data up frequently. It's something most people don't even think twice about and yet they're crushed when all their music and pr0n is gone.

HDD's will fail, always. It's just a matter of when.

 

[SNGX1275]

I don't think you mean its always made that sound during use. Maybe you meant its made that sound when you've powered on or powered down the computer, but not during.

In any case, what you described is exactly the behavior you expect from a dying hd. I'd get to backing up my stuff immediately. Sometimes hard drives can go on for months like that, but other times they die very quickly (sometimes with no warning at all).

 

[DeepMartin]

ok so now a replacement, my mobo says it suppoerts ata100 and ata133 this one is hhd is an ata100 with 2mbs of buffer

so i should see a big speed boost if i get the 16mb buffer ones
link

but will the ata133 make a noticeable difference worth the money?
(ata133 at newegg were just hitachi and im not getting one of those)

 

[SNGX1275]

You'll see a speed boost with the more cache, I don't know how much though. You could probably get a decent idea by getting SiSoft Sandra and doing a hd benchmark (after your data is backed up) and then in the pull down menus they have speeds from other drives.

As far as ATA 100 vs 133. No difference, just get the 100.

 

[DeepMartin]

S.M.A.R.T. report by speedfan

Attribute Current Raw Overall
10 Raw Read Error Rate 100 1 Very good
10 Throughput Performance 100 0 Very good
2 Spin Up Time 108 3 185 185 Normal
0 Start/Stop Count 99 4385 Watch
Warning: Start/Stop Count is below the average limits (100-100).
10 Reallocated Sector Count 100 0 Very good
10 Seek Error Rate 100 0 Very good
10 Seek Time Performance 100 0 Very good
1 Power On Hours Count 99 7216 Normal
10 Spin Retry Count 100 0 Very good
0 Power Cycle Count 99 4244 Watch
Warning: Power Cycle Count is below the average limits (100-100).
0 Power Off Retract Count 97 4409 Watch
Warning: Power Off Retract Count is below the average limits (99-100).
0 Load Cycle Count 97 4409 Watch
Warning: Load Cycle Count is below the average limits (99-100).
10 Reallocated Event Count 100 0 Very good
10 Current Pending Sector 100 0 Very good
10 Offline Uncorrectable Sector Count 100 0 Very good
10 Ultra DMA CRC Error Rate 200 17 Very good