Is this computer store's diagnosis incorrect?

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Cnootje

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Recently I have been experiencing the very annoying issue that during games, my monitor suddenly goes black displaying the message 'no signal'. I then have to disconnect the power cable and restart my computer. I have been trying to rule out components as the possible cause but I was unable to find anything. Nothing is overheating, I stress tested/benchmarked my cpu/gpu and both seemed to work perfectly fine, I found a small issue running a S.M.A.R.T. test on my harddisk, it gave me a 'current pending sector count of 200 200 0 1'. I don't know exactly what that means, but apparently it's not that big of an issue and shouldnt be the cause. I decided to bring my computer to a local computer store to have them run a detailed diagnosis. Today they returned to me with the conclusion that my harddisk is the cause and that it needs to be replaced. However,I'm seriously doubting if that's correct, mainly because when I turn the graphics settings of my games down, it crashes significantly less frequently. Which should have nothing to do with the harddisk, right? Could a faulty harddisk cause my monitor to go black during games, even though it happens less frequently on lower graphics settings? The store charges 40 euros for that diagnosis, but I really don't want to pay that if I'm not convinced that their diagnosis is 100% correct. What do all you geniuses here make of this? :)

I play games like HotS, Diablo3, WoW, GW2, HS. No overheating. Tried reinstalling the games. Reinstalled windows. Thoroughly tested cpu/gpu, can't find any issues there. Haven't really been able to test the psu, which should be a much more likely cause? (even though the store claims the psu is fine)

Unfortunately I don't have any spare harddisks lying around and I don't think I can borrow one either, and buying a new one cause 'it might resolve my issue but I'm really not sure' is painful for me right now as I am currently unemployed.

 
Solution
SuperSoph_WD
Hey there, Cnootje!

As Phillip Corcoran suggested, you should test the drive yourself using the HDD manufacturer's diagnostic tools.
The current pending sector is not necessarily a bad sector, it just means that the data from that sector failed or the data has been corrupted. The best thing to do is backup the data from the HDD somewhere else, just to keep it safe.
Afterwards proceed with the testing of the HDD using the tools mentioned above and keep an eye on the pending sectors regularly.
However, keep in mind that hard drives don't last forever and eventually you will need to consider getting a new HDD.

Good luck! Hope this helped!
SuperSoph_WD
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Phillip Corcoran

Phillip Corcoran

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Test the hard drive with the manufacturer's diagnostic software for DOS which loads from a bootable CD:

For WD hard drives, the link to the CD image is here: http://www.smartestcomputing.us.com/topic/63494-looking-for-western-digital-data-lifeguard-iso/

For Seagate hard drives, and any other brand, use SeaTools for DOS: http://www.seagate.com/gb/en/support/downloads/item/seatools-dos-master/

To create the CD from the ISO file, use ImgBurn: http://filehippo.com/download_imgburn

Then boot your PC from that CD.
 
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SuperSoph_WD

SuperSoph_WD

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Jul 30, 2014
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Hey there, Cnootje!

As Phillip Corcoran suggested, you should test the drive yourself using the HDD manufacturer's diagnostic tools.
The current pending sector is not necessarily a bad sector, it just means that the data from that sector failed or the data has been corrupted. The best thing to do is backup the data from the HDD somewhere else, just to keep it safe.
Afterwards proceed with the testing of the HDD using the tools mentioned above and keep an eye on the pending sectors regularly.
However, keep in mind that hard drives don't last forever and eventually you will need to consider getting a new HDD.

Good luck! Hope this helped!
SuperSoph_WD
 
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Solution
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Cnootje

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Thanks for the answers, I will definitely do some more testing on my hdd. Still, I'm curious if the issue of my monitor going black during games (and it is clearly affected by the graphics settings) is typical for a faulty hdd. Is there a clear link between a game's graphics settings and my hdd that can cause a black screen?
 
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SuperSoph_WD

SuperSoph_WD

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Jul 30, 2014
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Frankly, no, this is not a typical error for an HDD. However it won't hurt to test it just in case.
The black screen may be caused by almost any component on your system. The best thing to do here is to rule out the components one by one, using specific testing utilities. I'd suggest to start by testing your graphics card and running Memtest on the RAM.
Here are a couple of threads that might shed some light on how to perform those:
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-2189736/test-graphic-card-working-fine.html
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/304927-33-screen-black-playing-games

[EDIT:] It might be the PSU indeed, you can test that at any computer service repair store I believe.

Hope this helps! Good luck!
SuperSoph_WD
 
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Cnootje

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Frankly, no, this is not a typical error for an HDD. However it won't hurt to test it just in case.
The black screen may be caused by almost any component on your system. The best thing to do here is to rule out the components one by one, using specific testing utilities. I'd suggest to start by testing your graphics card and running Memtest on the RAM.
Here are a couple of threads that might shed some light on how to perform those:
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-2189736/test-g...
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/304927-33-screen-bl...

[EDIT:] It might be the PSU indeed, you can test that at any computer service repair store I believe.
Click to expand...

I tested my graphics card with Furmark and 3DMark, both of which gave no indication that my graphics card is failing. Valid benchmark, and it survived a 30 minute stress test in Furmark without any issues, unlike during most games where my monitor just goes black after only a few minutes even though the load on my graphics card is very low, so I think my graphics card is definitely not a possible cause of this issue. Same with cpu, I stress tested it with the Intel diagnostics tool and it worked fine. Didn't run memtest yet, but I used the Windows memory diagnostics tool to test RAM, no issues found there. The only thing I haven't really been able to test is the psu, but it should have been tested in the full system diagnostic test I paid for at my local store, they concluded that only my HDD was failing, so that also makes the PSU unlikely as the cause. But then.....If my HDD is unlikely to be the cause of my screen to go black during games (affected by graphics settings) then I'm not sure what does, as apart from my HDD all components seem to be working perfectly fine. Any thoughts on this? Also, which tool do you recommend for testing my HDD (which is a Western Digital) if I can't burn CD's like Phillip Corcoran suggested?

 
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SuperSoph_WD

SuperSoph_WD

Glorious
Jul 30, 2014
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Hi again!

Glad that all components are working fine though I'm sorry to hear about the HDD. :(
In this case you need to test it with WD's Data LifeGuard Diagnostics tool. There are 2 versions of it one for Windows and one for DOS (needs burned CD). Here's a link to the Windows: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=ghVjB1

Keep me posted with the results! Good luck!
SuperSoph_WD
 
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Cnootje

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Thanks for the help so far. I tested my HDD with WD's Data LifeGuard Diagnostics tool. It found bad sectors which are not repairable
http://i.imgur.com/x9ZMApb.png
http://i.imgur.com/gxovbAx.png
What would be the best course of action here? Is there any way this could be repaired or am I most likely better off purchasing a new HDD?
 
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SuperSoph_WD

SuperSoph_WD

Glorious
Jul 30, 2014
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Sorry to hear about that! :(
Well, I'd recommend you to get in touch with our tech support for further assistance. They will be more than willing to let you in on the procedure how to RMA your WD drive.
If your drive is still under warranty, you should definitely RMA it and get a replacement.
Here are the contacts: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=gZJY2X
And how to RMA: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=w9SOVQ

If you want to check the warranty on the HDD yourself, you can do it here:
http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=rwFQyy

Hope I helped!
SuperSoph_WD
 
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Cnootje

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Unfortunately my warranty expired 3 months ago. So I suppose it's time to say goodbye to this HDD and order a new one. I still doubt if this will resolve my issue (as you said, a HDD failure is unlikely to cause a black screen during games, affected by graphics settings), but at least it's good to know that even if it doesn't resolve my issue, my HDD was due for replacement anyways so it's money well-spent. Thank you for your great support, this helped a lot!
 
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