Slow Boot-Up Time and HD Clicking Noise

[stevem326]

Is this the sign of a HD that's about to die?

My PC is 3.5 years-old and takes about 6-7 minutes to boot-up completely. It used to only take less than 1 minute. This is something that only started about two weeks ago. I reformatted my HD and reinstalled my entire system three months ago and haven't really changed anything in terms of hardware or software since then. The slow boot-up time issue has just started happening all by itself it seems.

Also, once or twice a day my HD will make a single clicking noise. I can't tell if it's my internal drive or my external Western Digital "My Book" drive. When I run the WD diagnostic tool on both drives they come back as being healthy. I also defrag once a week and have updated anti-virus and anti-spyware running.

Any ideas why it's slowing down so much during boot-up?

 

[techmanc]

well as a WD rep once to me their diagnostics are not a foolprooth method to be sure your drive not gonna fail. That noise might be a good indication that failure is emminent. I would back up the drive asap. You can try this utility wich is made by microsoft BootVis 1.3.37.0. d/l at http://www.softpedia.com/get/Tweak/System-Tweak/BootVis.shtml

 

[stevem326]

Originally posted by: techmanc
well as a WD rep once to me their diagnostics are not a foolprooth method to be sure your drive not gonna fail. That noise might be a good indication that failure is emminent. I would back up the drive asap. You can try this utility wich is made by microsoft BootVis 1.3.37.0. d/l at http://www.softpedia.com/get/Tweak/System-Tweak/BootVis.shtml

Thanks a lot for your reply. I back up my data every week so I'm good there. I'll try the BootVis utility as well. Thanks again!

 

[stevem326]

According to BootVis, it's taking my PC 28 seconds to boot-up (if I'm reading the results correctly). However, in reality, it's about 6 minutes before I can actually start opening applications, files, connect to the internet, etc.

 

[techmanc]

is the hard drive active all this time from looking at the hd light on your case? like it reading alot of files?

 

[stevem326]

Originally posted by: techmanc
is the hard drive active all this time from looking at the hd light on your case? like it reading alot of files?

Yes, it is definitely active...the light is flickering on and off and I can hear the HD making the sounds it normally makes during boot-up or when it's seeking/reading files. Other than the slow boot-up time and the click I hear once or twice a day, it's fine. No BSOD's, no lock-ups, shuts down fine....

 

[techmanc]

try running pc tool spyware doctor it has help me find alot of crap other programs missed. You can d/l and test for free but have to pay if you want any fixes
http://www.pctools.com/spyware-doctor/

 

[stevem326]

Originally posted by: techmanc
try running pc tool spyware doctor it has help me find alot of crap other programs missed. You can d/l and test for free but have to pay if you want any fixes
http://www.pctools.com/spyware-doctor/

Thanks, I may give that a try...I've heard good things about that particular software. Right now I use Spysweeper from Webroot and it's done a good job.