Is my harddrive going bad?

Illham Jamali · Jan 2, 2014

A few months ago I had to restore my laptop back to its factory settings because I kept logging on, only to be greeted by a series of "application failed to run" pop up boxes. After I restored the laptop back to factory settings and wiped the drive of all things that were mine, everything seemed to be good except for one thing.... Intel Rapid Store Technology (a software on my laptop) gave me an error saying that my SATA disk on controller 0: Port 0 had failed. Now at first I just dismissed this as probably a fluke or something but today, I turned on my laptop only to have to totally freeze on me (except for the mouse on the screen). This happened twice. After the 2nd time, the error from intel finally popped up. Now... although I don't want to acknowledge it (since it's only been 4 months since bought this laptop for $3k), a little voice at the back of my head is shouting harddrive failure. So the question is: should I, or Should I not bring in my laptop to a service shop to get it checked (I have a warranty on it). If not, what do you guys suggest? Thank you!

Shaun o · Jan 2, 2014

It`s very simple,

If the laptop is only four months old.
From when you bought it, return it under warranty as the laptop should have at least a years warranty on any defective parts.
Including the hard drive fitted to it.

Dig out the warranty, and give the Laptop maker a ring for a service or RMA.
It should cost you nothing at all.

cklaubur · Jan 2, 2014

Since you have a warranty, I'd definitely get it checked out. Your problem could very well be a hard drive on its way out.

Casey

elmo2006 · Jan 2, 2014

Illham Jamali :

IMHO, I would backup whatever data that is currently on the laptop, remove said data and then have it looked at via the point of purchase or the vendor. I would be wary about the point of purchase as they may simply re-image the drive and then deem it as no trouble found.
What you can do is download the HDD utility from the HDD manufacturer to perform some simple surface scans and to run some SMART tests. Sometimes the Intel Rapid Storage technology application is useless for a single drive system.

This way if they say otherwise then at least you have some ammo to backup your claims.

I would be up in arms as well after dolling out 3k!

ramalpan · Jan 2, 2014

Well, it could be that your windows os became corrupted.

First you should back up the HDD with a usb drive

If you have warranty then go to an authorized service shop to get it checked and potentially fixed.

You should definitely download a software that checks the integrity of the hardrive from the manufacturer

If that doesn't work out, then try these things:

Assuming you still have the windows reinstallation and drivers disks you could try reformatting the drive again.

If that doesn't work you could completely wipe your HDD (as if nothing was ever installed) with a program like DBAN. http://www.dban.org/

Then reinstall windows.

Illham Jamali · Jan 2, 2014

elmo2006 :

Illham Jamali :

IMHO, I would backup whatever data that is currently on the laptop, remove said data and then have it looked at via the point of purchase or the vendor. I would be wary about the point of purchase as they may simply re-image the drive and then deem it as no trouble found.
What you can do is download the HDD utility from the HDD manufacturer to perform some simple surface scans and to run some SMART tests. Sometimes the Intel Rapid Storage technology application is useless for a single drive system.

This way if they say otherwise then at least you have some ammo to backup your claims.

I would be up in arms as well after dolling out 3k!

Weird thing happened... I ran diagnostics on all memory and hard drive related categories (including the mobo) and everything passed... I ticked off my sata controller as normal again, restarted the laptop and everything is okay now.. So is it normal for that to happen sometimes or no, is that a clear sign of trouble because I've never encountered an issue like this before

cklaubur · Jan 2, 2014

I'd keep good backups of whatever you put on there, in case the problem comes back.

Casey

elmo2006 · Jan 2, 2014

Illham Jamali :

elmo2006 :

Weird thing happened... I ran diagnostics on all memory and hard drive related categories (including the mobo) and everything passed... I ticked off my sata controller as normal again, restarted the laptop and everything is okay now.. So is it normal for that to happen sometimes or no, is that a clear sign of trouble because I've never encountered an issue like this before

It's very difficult to say at this point early in the game. I had somewhat similar issues in the past whereby the OS would need to be loaded up a few times to get it to work as required (including recovery images).

As mentioned in this forum, I'd ensure adequate backups are maintained and that you take note (time/date/issue) within a journal if it occurs again and contact the vendor.

Good luck!

Illham Jamali · Jan 2, 2014

This is why I love Tom's Hardware, you guys are awesome

Thanks a lot for the replies folk! I really appreciate it.

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Is my harddrive going bad?

Illham Jamali

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elmo2006

Shaun o

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cklaubur

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elmo2006

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ramalpan

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Illham Jamali

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cklaubur

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elmo2006

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Illham Jamali

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