how to tell it's time to replace hard drive?

[ahwei]

My hard drive is a 10GB Maxtor model that I've had since '98. I rarely defrag until last year. It has been giving me CRC errors on downloads that I do not have with my other computers. But defrag takes care of that problem most of the time. Then last week my Win XP died on me. The computer got through the XP user logon screen/menu and hung right before it went through the boot-up process. All I got was the entirely blue screen and the hourglass mouse cursor. Ctrl-Alt-Del didn't bring up the task manager either. It seemed to me that the HD was the culprit... normally I get the hourglass for a while, then HD led flashes, HD noises follow, and then I'm in. This time, I got the eternal hourglass no matter how many times I tried. The HD seemed to quit responding to XP's calls.
Anyhow, I did a clean install of Win2K and the HD is still usable now. However, I am leaving the US soon and my girlfriend will become the only user of the computer. Let's just say, she is not a technical person. is this HD showing 'signs'? should I start looking for a new HD?

 

[Peter]

That sounds more like a dead RAM stick or a dying cooling fan.

If that's an IDE hard disk, you should have a look at what the SMART report (retrieved by BIOS at bootup) says, this is there to give an early warning about a HDD that is about to fail.

regards, Peter

 

[KGB]

I would replace the HD anyway.
The 3-year warranty on modern HDs is a good approximation on the life-span you can expect.
I've had HDs fail within 1-2 months of the 3-year warranty period.
I regularly replace mine after 2.5 years.

With the prices so low, you can't buy better peace-of-mind.

 

[WarSong]

Download the PowerMax diagnostic utility off of Maxtor's website. These utilities are pretty accurate and can tell you if anything is wrong with the drive. Maxtor will require that you run it anyways before they issue you an RMA.

The 3-year warranty on modern HDs is a good approximation on the life-span you can expect.

I'm not sure if I agree with that statement. I have a few drives from 1995 that keep on chuggin'

edit: corrected typos

 

[WarSong]

That sounds more like a dead RAM stick

You can test the memory with a free diagnostic called DocMemory. It's pretty good for software. It's not 100% accurate but it has helped me troubleshoot a few odd problems in the past. It's a good place to start if you think you have memory issues.

or a dying cooling fan.

Also, if the fan is still working properly, make sure you are using thermal grease (or at least a pad) to ensure proper heat transfer.