System Boot Failure??

[yh125d]

My bro's pc recently started having a system boot disk failure on startup. It only happens about 1 out of every 5 startups, but is resolved when reset. His HD is an old WD 40gb, about 5 years old from an old gateway system. Does this mean the HD is going bad?

 

[Markbnj]

Assuming you've checked things like the cable connections and cable integrity, I would definitely back up data and look for a replacement hard drive.

 

[Jiggz]

Either the HDD or the PSU is going bad. The safe way to do now is to back up data. Then try another HDD or PSU and see if the problem persists. If it persists with a new hdd the it could be the PSU or vice versa.

 

[Lord Evermore]

Sounds like the hard drive is sticking a bit, so the BIOS doesn't get a response within the specified amount of time because the disk isn't spinning up in time. When you reset it, it's already moving so it works. This isn't uncommon with old drives. About time to retire that thing anyway, he might be surprised by the speed of newer drives, and a 40GB drive is wicked cheap if that's all he needs. It doesn't necessarily mean the drive is on the virge of failure at any moment, just that the lubrication is going bad. If he was getting errors and crashes, it would indicate a real failure of the drive, bad sectors, and would be an immediate cause for concern.

Could also be the power supply. During boot the system uses a lot of power, and the hard drive draws a lot more than during normal operation so that it can spin the platters up quickly. The PSU may not be able to supply quite as much power as needed when everything is drawing at the same time. When you reset, most things are already spun up or partially so, and the load is less.

 

[yh125d]

His PSU is a nearly new FSP, so the old HD must finally be going down. It was a testament to WD quality, though, i figured it out that it is ~7 1/2 yr. old, has gone through about 25 re-formats, and it is just now beginning to hiccup. I'm definitely gonna recommend him another WD 😀

 

[Lord Evermore]

Number of formats doesn't mean anything. To a hard drive built after like 1992, it's just the same as normal disk access (any voice coil drive).

He got lucky with a quality drive though. Western Digital drives can't be said to be assuredly more reliable than any other brand. They all have failures, they all have drives that last forever in a sealed case covered with dust in a hot room. Recommend the best drive for his needs, not necessarily a particular brand based on quality of a drive from 7 years ago.

Consider noise levels preferred, drive size and performance level, etc. Noise is usually the biggest difference between brands, but performance difference between some models is significant.