what do i do when...

[crazychris]

i think my hard drive is about to die, its not even 6months old. just today while playing battlefield 2 i started hearing a loud buzzing a bit like a fan rubbing a casing checked all the fans and think they are fine... sometimes it makes a catching noise, mabye the bearings are gone... what do i do? it sounds bad!

[howfast]

Hi crazychris

What brand is you rig?
How old is it?
Do you leave it running 24/7?
What make is HD?

HD problems are mostly manifested by the rig either exhibiting difficulties accessing files in windows explorer or failing to find the HD during bootup.

While it is highly unusual for a HD to die after only 6 months I suppose it is not impossible for it to have a mechanical failure. Try the HD manufacturers’ support online or by phone [you might be lucky and find they have freephone support], and if the HD is faulty you should be entitled to a free replacement from the manufacturer.

In any case if you have a 2nd HD back up your most important data immediately.

If you don't have another HD check out Komplett.ie or Elara Online - Ireland Computers Online Laptops where you can get another HD / replacement at reasonable cost.

Howfast

[crazychris]

ok tis morning it had a bit of trouble booting up, but when i got it going i backed up all the important stuff on dvd, i only have the one in the pc, but when i get it replaced i will set up 2 just incase.

pritty sure its gona die tho cos its making a noise a bit like an electric shaver, and sometimes sounds worse.
i built the pc myself, hard drive is a samsung sata 2 200gb
i'll phone the place i got it on tuesday and see about returning it.

[howfast]

Hi crazychris

Looks like the HD is dying alright.

I'd recommend checking the manufacturers support website and looking for a return authorisation [sometimes called RMA]. Then send the drive back directly, its better that trying to deal with a shop. Thats my experience when I had a similar problem before.

Howfast

[crazychris]

sound man! tho i found a tempory solution, i took out the hard disk and decided to turn back on the computer with the disk in my hand, to my suprise it made no noise , then i turned it up the otherway(the way it was in the pc, shinny side up) and it started making noise, turned it back and its been working away fine now for a few hours. tho it still could go at any minute!