Need Help with possible HDD Issues. [update]

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Sam Byer

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Hello,

I was wondering if BSODs and Slow load times are common issues surrounding a death of a hard drive. My current HDD is a SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 ST1000DM005/HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive in which I have had for the past 4 years. I just recently encountered an issue where a driver failed on me. When I tried to boot after a BSOD it would say "Boot Image is corrupt" and I would have to restart several times to get to safe mode. I eventually fixed my issue by getting a system restore and it appears to work fine now. My question is: Is it time to think about updating my HDD to a SSD and new OS? I am currently running windows vista 64 SP2.

*UPDATE*

Still have not replaced the hard drive because I am able to get the computer to barely work. When the computer cold starts, it will not get me past the BIOS. It sometimes stops at "Initializing USB Controllers" or most of the time stops at "Auto Detecting Sata 4 ..". Here are some pictures of what I am talking about: USB and Sata. I did unplug my HDD (Sata port 1) and Disc drive (Sata 4) and after like two restarts it will give me the appropriate "insert hard drive and restart". So, my new question is: Could this be a MOBO issue that I have on my hands? Can a Hard drive mess with the BIOS in this fashion?

I just don't want to go buy a new OS and hard drive combo if it is a faulty MOBO. If it is in fact a MOBO, I would just buy a new computer anyways.

 
Solution
geofelt
Since system restore fixed the problem t, at least for the moment, I suspect a software issue.

I would start with a 240gb ssd. Samsung EVO would be my pick.
Install windows 7 or 8 on it. Disconnect the hard drive first, otherwise, windows will put a hidden recovery partition on it, complicating matters later.
Then reattach your hard drive. Apps will need to be reinstalled.

If reinstalling apps is an issue, Samsung offers a clone utility that will clone your hard drive to one of their ssd's.
If that works properly, then you could try upgrading in place with a windows 7 upgrade edition.
Windows 8 might upgrade from vista, but I don't know about that.
You can run a windows upgrade advisor to identify what may or may not need...
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geofelt

geofelt

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I really think it is time to update.

1. I will never again build without a ssd for the "C" drive. It makes everything you do much quicker.
120gb is minimum, it will hold the os and a handful of games. If you can go 240gb, you may never need a hard drive.
I don't.
I would defer on the hard drive unless you need to store large files such as video's.
It is easy to add a hard drive later.
Samsung EVO is a good choice.
Intel is OK too.

2. Vista was really OK, but windows 7 and 8 are supported better.

3. Your amd 6 core might be ok for multithreaded apps, but in general, a intel cpu is more satisfying.
If you are going to change to intel, you have a wide spectrum of options depending on your needs.

4. Your hard drive may/may not be readable.
It is out of warranty.

I suggest a new build based on a ssd.
Try to recover your files from the hard drive.
Samsung should have a diagnostic app to check the drive out.
Often a reformat and reinitializing of blocks will reset a hard drive .
 
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Sam Byer

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So would you say that this is ultimately a HDD problem and NOT a MOBO issue? I am not really concerned with my processor or a new system at this point as of yet because I don't have the money for it. Would you have any good suggestions for SSD/HDD combo? (240gb SSD and 1TB HDD) Also, do you know if windows 8.1 is directly upgradeable to windows 10?
 
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geofelt

geofelt

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Oct 9, 2006
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Since system restore fixed the problem t, at least for the moment, I suspect a software issue.

I would start with a 240gb ssd. Samsung EVO would be my pick.
Install windows 7 or 8 on it. Disconnect the hard drive first, otherwise, windows will put a hidden recovery partition on it, complicating matters later.
Then reattach your hard drive. Apps will need to be reinstalled.

If reinstalling apps is an issue, Samsung offers a clone utility that will clone your hard drive to one of their ssd's.
If that works properly, then you could try upgrading in place with a windows 7 upgrade edition.
Windows 8 might upgrade from vista, but I don't know about that.
You can run a windows upgrade advisor to identify what may or may not need attention.


My understanding is that windows 10 will allow a direct upgrade to 10.
I am on 7. I tried 8, and had a problem with the metro interface. The free classic app helped a bunch, but I saw no reason to jump to 8.
 
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Solution
Solandri

Solandri

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I would vote for a motherboard problem, since you're having problems with the motherboard detecting USB and two SATA ports. It seems highly unlikely you've experienced a coincidental triple failure.

My first inclination would be to reset the BIOS to its default or safe settings (check for a BIOS update while you're at it). After that, check the CMOS battery. I've seen funny things happen when its voltage gets low. After that, check the voltages coming from the PSU. After that, give the motherboard a proper burial by sending it out on the water aboard a rowboat, light it aflame with a burning arrow, and buy a new system. 6 years is a pretty good run for a computer.
 
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Sam Byer

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When I run a speedfan test using S.M.A.R.T. I see this for results on my current drive: Results
Would you say that these results come back that it truly may be something else as Solandri suspects? You both have good points and have no clue with what I am dealing with.
 
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Sam Byer

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I don't believe that this is a CMOS battery issue in how my clock and other saved information on the MOBO seems to be working fine. As far as BIOS update, the Asus website currently lists my MOBO driver update as most recent. I have not yet checked my voltages from my PSU. Just curious, what would the PSU have to do with not being able to boot past bios?

Adding to that, last night I kept my computer in "sleep" mode and it seems to work wonderfully that way. I have not tried to restart it out of fear that it won't boot. Like I asked in my original post: Is it possible that a hard drive may prevent the BIOS from booting?
 
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Solandri

Solandri

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I just mentioned it because I've seen weirdness when the battery was low, but still had enough juice to keep the clock running.

Just curious, what would the PSU have to do with not being able to boot past bios?
Click to expand...
If the HDD is not getting the required 5V or 12V, communication between it and the motherboard may be spotty when the motherboard queries it for size and config info. In particular, HDDs generate a power consumption spike of about 30-50 Watts when they're spinning up. If your PSU is having trouble getting power to the HDD and this spinup happens to coincide with when the motherboard tries to detect it, all the power may be going to spinning up the drive causing the HDD electronics to basically suffer a brownout, causing it not to be detected. (Or in the case of your second pic, your optical drive not to be detected because it's not getting enough power to be "on").

Like I asked in my original post: Is it possible that a hard drive may prevent the BIOS from booting?
Click to expand...
Yes it can. I've seen it a lot with a flaky cable, or if the drive is in the early stages of dying. But your pics also indicate a problem with detecting USB and the optical drive. It's highly unlikely that all three of these began simultaneously experiencing problems (not impossible - it can happen if you suffer something like a power surge). So the problem is more likely some other single cause.
 
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Sam Byer

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PSU in my system. I was not under the impression that this was a cheap PSU, but that is entirely subjective.
 
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Solandri

Solandri

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Rather than guess that the PSU is the culprit, I was implying you should buy a $20 multimeter and physically measure the voltages as the PC is booting up. Particularly the power connector for the optical drive since that one seems to be consistently holding up the detection. Just put the meter in DC voltage mode, with a 1-20 Volt range.

Black is ground
Black and orange should be 3.3V
Black and red should be 5V
Black and yellow should be 12V

Some deviation from those values is normal, but I'd start worrying if it's off by about 10% or more.
 
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Sam Byer

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Would results like that be possibly different than what the BIOS is telling me or HWinfo?
 
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