Signs my IBM drive is failing?

[YoDaddyAlex]

Well I just got back from a weekend long trip, my computer was on the whole time. Now, whenever I open a program that takes up a lot of CPU power, I hear my computer working in what seems like beats of 3. For example, I open up a program, and my computer freezes while I hear "beep beep beep" like the sound you hear when the hard drive is working. It never made the sound in a beat before. Does this mean my hard drive is giving out?

I have an IBM Deskstar 60gig.

 

[camieabz]

It's certainly not a healthy sign. I suggest you make the necessary back-ups and download the IBM DFT utility from their site.

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[YoDaddyAlex]

I have to go out and get a floppy to use the utility... for some reason I'm all out!

Anyway, what type of hard drive would you recommend? I plan on getting something that is 100 gigs or larger. Any recommendations for a good quality drive? Thanks

 

[DOOM]

In my experience and from what I've heard, the Western Digitals are nice. 8M cache...

As for your IBM, maybe it is overheating. Do you have another hard drive that is sitting on top of it? That could be cooking it a little too hot. Try installing an intake fan in front of your HDD cage, if possible.

-DOOM

 

[lhgpoobaa]

Definatly pick up a floppy and use that program!
I would also backup your data quicky too, better safe than sorry.

Regarding drives, The higest performance units around are either the W.D. 'JB' series or the new Maxtor Diamondmax9 line, both with 8Mb cache, both available in varying sizes, and both very fast.

<b><i>The Very Hungry Caterpillar</i> - George W. Bush's favorite childhood book.
Note: This book was first published a year after Mr Bush graduated from College.</b>

 

[camieabz]

Any hard drive with a 3-year warranty. Western Digital's JBs with 8MB cache are one of these. Nice drives.

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[SRT10]

The problem may not be the drive. Just because it is starting to take up a large percentage of the processor doesn't automatically mean its the drive. In regards to IBM drives, they have one of the best records of reliability. While no drive is impervious to failure, the IBM has one of the lowest. I fix computers as well as two of my brothers, one of which is a hardware engineer and one is a sofware engineer working for the same firm. From my experience, their experience and the experience of some other people in this field, IBM has one of the lowest occurances of failure and Western Digital and Maxtor have one of the highest. I am not here to contradict what has already been said, because both these companies have fast drives. But keep in mind that fast isn't always best. You can be as fast as you want, like the guy who strapped a rocket engine to a car in an attempt to set the world land speed record and ended up going airborne and into a sheer cliff at over 300 mph. Needless to say he died and picking up the pieces wasn't even attempted. Although the guy was having the time of his life for about 10 seconds and was the fastest thing on wheels, it didn't last. In my opinion, I would recomend staying away from Western Digital and Maxtor. In response to what your computer is doing, it is possible that the processor or the RAM is the problem. Often times the overheat beeps you hear is the processor not other components. I don't know what your system setup is, but if you have a friend with a similar computer, try swapping the processor and or the RAM and see what it does. If you have Norton System Doctor, look at the sensor reading for Ram usage and CPU usage. Also run system maintenence such as optimizing your disk, checking for errors and viruses, doing a check disk for disk faults. Go through all the maintenence there to see if Norton detects where the problem may be. There are also a few programs out there, usually by the manufacturer of your board, that will track CPU temperature and case temperature. See if you can get your hands on one so you have a better idea of what your system is doing. Don't just start replacing things. You can spend a lot of money that way and not fix anything. Also, open up your computer case and make sure that the board is free of dust. This can cause a board to overheat. If it has a lot of dust, go to the store and buy a can of compressed air/freon from a computer store and a very soft light bristled brush and give your board and other components a good cleaning. Good luck.

"You only fail if you fail to try"<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by srt10 on 01/14/03 09:18 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[dhlucke]

Go to storagereview.com, register, and check out their reliability database. Here are some sample reliability ratings:

IBM 60GXP: <b>6%</b>
IBM 75GXP: <b>8%</b>
WD 1200JB: 71%
WD 205Bx: 97%
WD 400Bx: 73%

Those are some samples of drives I've used at least. IBM is pisspoor. I wouldn't recommend them to anyone. Not for a while.

Here's some others:

IBM 120GXP: 63%
DiamondMax D740X: 38%
DiamondMax D540X: 40%

<font color=red>
<A HREF="http://kevan.org/brain.cgi?dhlucke" target="_new">Forum Assassin</A></font color=red>

 

[SRT10]

In the long run, IBM has been one of the best companies in terms of reliability. WD has not. While it is possible and hopeful, that their quality is getting better, I tend to stick with the ones that have a record. Compare it if you will the Honda Accord and the Ford Taurus. Which one would you choose. The Accord for the most part has been very successful quality wise. There have been a few bumpy spots but they take care of it because that image of quality is what helps them survive. The Taurus on the other hand is not known for its quality. Although the quality of the Taurus has improved, the Accord still has a better overall reccord. Anyway, despite what the forum says about the drives, I have had a lot of drives in my time and the IBMs have always performed flawlessly. I cannot say the same for WD, or Maxtor and a few others.

"You only fail if you fail to try"

 

[lhgpoobaa]

LOL. Stop talking about cars.

Its not so much the manufacter rather the generation or species of it.
IBM once made uber good drives, and were renowned for their stability. i.e. my 16GP i gave to a friend is still going strong 6 years on. Then along came the 75GXP and to a lesser extent the 60GXP that killed thier reputation.
(And eventually their profitability)
Maxtor W.D. and the other's have all had lemons in their product line-ups.


<b><i>The Very Hungry Caterpillar</i> - George W. Bush's favorite childhood book.
Note: This book was first published a year after Mr Bush graduated from College.</b>

 

[dhlucke]

That's your opinion, and we're all here to give ours. Maybe in a couple years I'll go for IBM again, but so far I am not convinced with either the 120gxp or 180gxp. They're possibly better than the previous 2 generations, but they still are definitely not on par with WD right now.

I brought storage review into this since it is a collection of thousands of hard drives from all the major manufacturers. It doesn't take long to see that IBM is way behind the curve and has been for a couple years at least.

If anything shocked me, it was the relatively low scores for the maxtor drives. I thought they were doing better.

<font color=red>
<A HREF="http://kevan.org/brain.cgi?dhlucke" target="_new">Forum Assassin</A></font color=red>

 

[Scotty35]

Before anything backup, transfer, image and burn all your important data immediately, this should be done anyway as a matter of procedure IMO on a regular basis.

Definitely use the Dft (drive function test) from IBM, and then if it's a bad test result get a new drive or alternatively get the new drive, partition it up however you want using Partition magic vers’: 7 or 8 then transfer all the data you want to it.
I would recommend a 10Gb operating system/boot partition then a programs partition of around 15Gb and the rest as a mass storage partition, this way the programs and data are safe from a re-install or format of the operating system drive partition, the partition sizes can be changed at a later time using Partition Magic which as mentioned above is dead easy to use.

I would recommend the Western Digital WD1200JB (120Gb) drives or even the WD800JB (80Gb)which is the best bang for your buck, after 6 months or more of using the 120Gb HDD 24/7 I bought a further three WD 120gb drives to setup in a raid 0+1 array. So far not even a glitch with any of them, I also have a WD300AB 30Gb 7200rpm drive that must be around 3.5 years in service and I must say this drive has given me exceptional reliability considering the treatment I have given it.lol.
It is now working happily in its third PC system but it is a caviar drive according to the serial number submitted to Western Digital, the other very important features of the "JB" series drives is the 3 year warranty and the 8MB cache which may or may not help much depending on how the drive is used.

IBM unfortunately have a damaged reputation mainly due to the GXP debarkle on the Deskstar (deathstar) models, however the problems stop there as the SCSI and some other drive types do not suffer the same dilemma.

Good luck.



<A HREF="http://forums.btvillarin.com/viewtopic.php?t=326" target="_new"> Scotty's Toys</A>

 

[Lamoni]

Compare it if you will the Honda Accord and the Ford Taurus.

I think it is funny how cars are brought up so much. But I thought I'd say that when shopping for cars (used ones at least), it is much better to compare each year. You would see a big difference between a '96 Taurus and a '99 Taurus. Honda's are way overpriced IMO. I would rather buy a Taurus for half the price (I own one) and use the $7,000 I saved on something else.

Going back to the topic of Hard drives. It is nice to look at manufacturers past record, but when you buy the latest drives you really never know. So you either settle on an older slower hard drive and base your decision on the HD's record or you pick a new Hard drive, buy it, and cross your fingers. Warranties offer some peace of mind, but I would much rather have a HD with no warranty that quits after 3 years than a HD with a 10 year warranty that I had to replace every year. But, you just never know.

All you can do is hope. I went with a Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 myself. My fingers are crossed that it will work well for me.

Just keep critical things backed up so a Hard drive crash is only annoying and doesn't jeopardize your job or research.

 

[tua]

It will die soon just like mine. Sorry