possible HDD problem, not 100 % sure

DellUser88

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Sep 3, 2013
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Hello guys.

I've been having some problems with my new pc lately, as it keeps having random "partial " freeze's. It may happen during the boot process, and it may take over 5 min's to fully access win, or during whatever task i'm doing.
It goes like this : suddenly all app's get into " not responding mode " , but i'm still able to move the mouse around and open / close 1-2 windows before explore halts too. However music doesn't stop, thats wird.
The blinker that shows the hdd activity either shuts down completely or stays on continuosly, and i interpret that as a stuck hdd. It usually produces a fine clunking noise, once ot twice during the freeze.
These freezes usuallt last 1-5 minutes and then it comes back to normal.
I've been looking at the Event Viewer and there are some errors, including these

The driver detected a controller error on \Device\Harddisk1\DR1.

That indicates , to me, either a hdd or mb problem . Both are new.

I tried replugging the sata cord in all 4 sata ports on the mb, checked the drivers on the mb , checked the firmware and scanned the hdd for bad's, and everything looks good but with no success.

What do you think i should do next ? I don't see any other stuff to investigate. My 'bro says it may be the hdd and i should get it replaced, but i'm not entirely sure, i think it might be the mb .

Spec's : I5 4570, MB gigabyte ga-b85-d3h, 8gb ram, seagate barracuda 1 tb sata3 , sirtec element bronze PS, win 7 64bit OS.
 
Solution
1. I said you on my previous post.

2. If you are not comfortable enough of doing that then a service center would be your only option left.

3. They will test it physically to isolate the problem, so its their problem not ours. We tried to help you but unfortunately you are not ready to take it, so I think its out of our hands now.

Good luck and we are still here if you need anything else.

smitbret

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A SMART report could be very useful here. Try something like HDTUNE. It will at least show us if there are any physical or CRC errors. It almost sounds like just a bad SATA cable or power connector.

Are you getting reboots and/or BSOD? A controller error is not a good thing, though and I would backup any critical data ASAP.
 
Hmm, did you test the PC on safe-mode ? How it performs ?

If the PC performs well in safe-mode, then it could be a problem with driver/software conflicting. Then a format with a clean install of OS will solve the problem hopefully.

Else it could be a hardware related issue, but time hasn't come yet to tell for sure.

Check the HDD with vendor's diagnosis tool or with : http://crystalmark.info/software/CrystalDiskInfo/index-e.html

 

DellUser88

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Checked the hdd with checkdisk / repair, hdtune and the seagate tool and everything was ok.
Didn't check how it performs under safe mode.
Will give it a try with a new sata cable and different power connector, and reinstall windows.

I've had about 4-5 reboots since i bought the pc, but didn't think much of it before the freezes started occuring. No BSODs so far, nor complete freeze's.

The thing that i would hate the most would be if the mb is defective... a so called "hdd killer" as some have discovered ( after ruining 3-4 hdds with the same mb ). That would mean that i'd have to return the whole pc for a complete rebuild ( under warranty of course ).
 
I'll try reinstalling Win, make sure everything is connected the right way and if it still freezes, i will RMA the hdd.

But you said that you already tested the HDD with chkdisk and "Seagate tool" and it was OK. Don't waste your time and money to RMA the HDD.

Do a reformat and reinstall of Windows before that, as Lonewolf7 recommended.

Yogi
 

DellUser88

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I will, i already said that in my previous post. Just not right now, i'm busy :)
But, if a fresh win and drivers don't resolve anything, then i'll try and replace the hdd as it's the next suspect in line. I have warranty on all my parts.
 

DellUser88

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Eell, yes, i agree but i recall reading somewhere that if the hdd is broken in some specific way ( not the platters, the other stuff inside ) it may pass all these conventional tests that we usually throw at them and still be broken.
Furthermore, a friend tells me he experienced the same simptoms a while ago on a laptop and the solution was replacing the hdd.

Agree, must not hurry, take things step by step. Will report back after reinstalling Win, drivers and other stuff.
 

DellUser88

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Yeah, so i took out the hdd and sent it back for RMA. I haven't received it back yet, so i don't know wether it will be replaced or returned as is .
Took the opportunity and bought a Kingston 120 gb SSD and installed a fresh windows on it ( and of course, all new drivers ) .

PC worked splendid for a week but yesterday i've had freeze and today another one.

Next step ?
 
Hmmm, It looks like either your MB or PSU has something to do with it. First try to borrow a known good working PSU to test, if the problem persists, then it would be your MB.

Its hard to test a MB for fault as there are no such software's to test the MB, what we do is, do start the MB without RAM sticks, if the MB beeps then we think that the MB is probably ok, else its faulty. But this is not the ultimate test, we just do it to isolate the problem, sometimes it helps sometimes not, so you can try it, see what happens!
 

DellUser88

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I don't understand what does starting the pc without RAM reveal.
From all the forum literature that i read, it seems that the mb is at fault. Some guys took their time to troubleshoot properly what seems to be a similar behaviour and all of them ruled the RAM, PSU or video card. Some just went ahead and bought a new mb, but mine is new and i gave 3 years warranty.
I'm not used to tearing apart pc's and put them back together so i'm not going to do that. All i have left is to take the pc to the shop and tell them of the problem. But how can they confirm the problem when the freezes occur on a random basis ? What's keeping them from returning it as is ?
 
1. I said you on my previous post.

2. If you are not comfortable enough of doing that then a service center would be your only option left.

3. They will test it physically to isolate the problem, so its their problem not ours. We tried to help you but unfortunately you are not ready to take it, so I think its out of our hands now.

Good luck and we are still here if you need anything else.
 
Solution

DellUser88

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Sep 3, 2013
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Thanks for the opinions mates.
I'm not confident enough to either start removing bits and pieces from the inside 'cause i have'nt done that before ( all my previous pc's have worked flawless from day 1 ) . I'm afraid i'm gonna break a port or clamp or something. I had to watch a couple of tutorials before removing the hdd from the pc, actually.

Will return with a conclusion after i sort it out with the shop. Right now i'm quite dissatisfied with the whole situation but can't blame anyone.

Btw, my mb is a gigabyte GA-B85-D3H . Does anyone know anything about this model , wether it's from a bad lot or something ? It's roughly the same with HD3 variant but with heatsinks on the circuits.