Corrupt Hard Drive?

My computer never runs slow, but every time I look in certain hard drive directory, my computer runs really slow and seizes up. I think the problem might be hard drive related(I have had HD problems in the past unfortunately) :cry

The HD location is C:\Users\PPCorduan\Documents\Rockstar Games\GTA IV\User Music In which I have over a GB of music that I can play in the game GTA IV.


Anyway, if I do have a HD problem is there a way of getting something like that fixed?

Thanks MG! :major:major

 

Go ahead and run a chkdsk to rule out a corrupt file system.
Go to Computer then right click the C: drive and select Properties. Under the Tools tab select Error Checking and tick both boxes and click Check Now button. It will ask to schedule for next reboot say OK. Then reboot and let it check for errors. It will take quite a while depending on HD size for the surface scan (stage 4) to complete.

When it it is done see if you have the same problem with that folder. When you open that folder does it eventually stop freezing or how do you get out of the problem?

 

Just to clarify, the slowness occurs when viewing the files in windows explorer not in-game?

 

Yes windows explorer.


So I started the hard drive check you wanted me to, and it ran for a few minutes and got stuck at this screen, and is still at this same screen right now.
https://dl-web.dropbox.com/get/Photo%20Jan%2026%2C%203%2037%2041%20PM.jpg?w=32519250


I'M pretty sure I have some big HD problems now, wouldn't you say? :major:major

 

it sounds to me as if that drive might fail for good pretty soon

by the looks of the directory that you posted it's your main drive too

go get yourself another drive soon and replace it

 

I couldn't see your picture. What screen are you stuck at? Usually there are stages 1 to 5 in chkdsk, which ones have completed?

 

you need to be a drop box member to view that image. chkdsk can take hours to complete properly. leave it running over night.

 

It was at 13% and had just started the 4th stage, it also said something about trying to "replace bad clusters" in some iTunes folder.

I started it running early last night until a few hours ago(it is 7pm here) It was running for almost a full 24 hours(is that long enough?) and did not move past the 13%

Maybe there is some other program that can do a better job of fixing the bad sectors in the HD?

EDIT: If you want to view the picture you can sign up for dropbox here http://db.tt/I94wv3Hj

 

Go to Computer and right-click the C: drive and select Properties and on the Hadware tab what is the model number of the hard drive? (Really only need brand if that shows)

 

In the general tab it looks like TI105835W0O

And in the hardware tab the "disk drive" is named ST9500420AS

:major:major

 

I'm fairly sure that you have a Seagate HD. The second model number is definitely Seagate and the a google search always shows both numbers together.

So go ahead and get SeaTools. Run both the short and long generic tests. See what the results are.

I've been looking at SeaTools in another thread and if I understand the documentation correctly if the Windows version fails the Long test it will not attempt to fix errors. In that case you would need to download the DOS version and burn the ISO file to a blank CD using a program like imgburn and the "Write Image File to Disc" option. And then boot from the CD and run the long test again from that to see if will correct the errors. If you have a blank CD available you may want to just get the DOS version and save yourself some time by running hte long test once.

The other thing is you can try chkdsk again and just quit if it hangs for more than half hour. Sometimes subsequent runs are more successful than the first.

 

I ran Sea-tools on windows and the short one was clean but the long one failed.

So I ran DOS, ran long and and after finding over 90 errors it failed and then tried to fix the errors. Also the short one failed as-well with dos.

I found that I am still under warranty with this drive, but of course I would like to find how bad of shape this is in before I do anything.
Lol, I have replaced the HD on this same computer for the same problems. :-D

I'll run the checkdisk again, and just let it run through the night.

WOW, you guys have helped me so much already! The manufactures of my computer/Hard Drive would never give me this kind help. Kudos to you guys!

:major:major

 

90 errors is pretty bad. I think you want to replace the HD.

If you want to give SeaTools a workout to be absolutely sure go ahead and run the Long test in Windows and then the Long test in DOS one more time. If the DOS version still is unable to fix the errors then I think it is replacement time.

 

Id get your data off and RMA it now. If the drive is in bad shape now I suspect you are only delaying the inevitable.

If you have had two drives fail in the PC that is an indication that there is something else wrong here. It may be worth having a look at your PSU voltages and case temperatures. You shouldn't be cooking drives like that. Touch wood I have gone 20 years and the only time I have had disk problems was when I accidently severed the case fan power cable and started baking my HD

 

Just a question... what is the drive temperature? You can see this with Speed Fan or Everest Home Edition (under Computer, Sensor). Your drive may not be getting properly temperature regulated... you NEVER want a hard drive to go above 50C, though anything above 40C is going to significantly reduce its life. Adding a $10 case fan may be an easier solution than replacing hard drives every so often.

 

Re: Corrupt Hard Drive?: A bit more background story

Just FWI, I have a Toshiba laptop, and the last time I replaced the hard drive with Toshiba(I know my warranty is way over now.) I had taken off the HD protector(the Toshiba program) because I did not like that the laptop would freeze if you slightly bumped it. So ever since then I had endless problems, but was able to replace it.

Now however, I seem to remember not too long ago that the HD protector was off again(I did not turn it off this time) and it was at a time when I was moving it around allot. So I made sure I had no malware on here and now of course now I have HD problems again.

The HD Temp seemed to stay around 39-40 when I was running the SeaTools DOS. I am convinced that these laptop HDs are just super flimsy. I will try to be even more careful in future.

I will look into getting the HD replaced if all fails.

I'M so glad I still am under warranty with SeaGate, and hopefully I still will be if I get a new one.
I would not of even known about SeaGate if it was not for you guys, so thank you.

 

EDIT: The hard drive temp is actually around 32C, not the 39-40 as I said before.

So that does not look like it's a problem at all.....

 

Sorry for re-post, but my last reply was wrong.


At the start of the long test the temp was 32, then it went up to 41 after the test was over.

Also after the seconded time I ran the long test from DOS, it said it "PASSED After Repair"

So things look a bit better now right?

 

I find after the diagnostic runs and fixes errors, the drives tend to run pretty well for indefinite periods of time (years). I buy mostly Western Digital drives because I had bad luck with Maxtor (now Seagate) drives many years ago. I had three Maxtor drives fail, each in less than a year, and gave up on them. I'm sure their quality control is better now that Seagate owns them but I hold a grudge. It was not a temperature problem just bad drives. A WD drive ran in that same computer for probably 4-6 years with no problems.

I think if I were you I would run the Windows version of Seatools Long test just to make sure it now passes as well. And then go back and run chkdsk one more time to make sure it passes. If both those pass I would say if you have no problems getting into your ...\User Music folder you are good to go.

 

I left cskdsk running through the night(I know it ran all night long) and it finally finished. :-D
Is there a log file for cskdsk that I could post here?

The SeaGate long test for windows so far has failed, but I will run more long tests for DOS so it can fix the errors.
Anyway, things should be looking a bit better now.


I did have a question about my HD temp. Would it be a good idea to get one of those fans that you put under your laptop, to control the temperature?

:major:major

 

Back to my HD problems......

The both short tests pass, but both long tests continue to fail. How much do you think the long test ran from DOS can fix? Maybe the long test won't be able to fix this problem?

I still don't have any big problems with the computer being slow or freezing. But I suppose this problem can only get worse.

 

I am now on the SeaGate website trying to look at the warranty details for my HD, but I keep getting the error
"The following error occurred during processing: "{0}"." :confused

 

Status Update....

I have the warranty set up if I want to go through with it.
The cskdsk now will run through, but the long test on the SeaTools still fails. Would you still recommended going through with the warranty right now?

:major:major

 

I'd say if it can't pass the long test I would see if they will replace it under warranty.

 

If it doesnt pass they should replace it. When Seagate receive RMAd drives they run Seatools if it fails they replace, if it passes they return to sender

 

It's under warranty until 2014, so no rush.:-D

 

Another problem I am running into now is the music that is in that big folder plays in iTunes with skips and stuff, and then the music skips on my iPod as well. So I am 100% that the music problem was related to this Corrupt Hard Drive.


Also I found the log file for the dskcsk I just ran. Maybe it can help some more....

 

It looks like you still have data in bad sectors. Since you have run chkdsk a couple of times and are still getting data in bad sectors, I think you should bite the bullet and backup your HD and get it replaced. The HD is displaying symptoms of a failing drive with bad sectors occurring with increasing frequency. One day a sector holding an important OS file will be corrupt and then the PC just won't start.

If it were one time corruption (from something like an unexpected shutdown) then once the errors were fixed you would not expect to see chkdsk find anything wrong in subsequent runs.

 

So once a hard drive starts failing there is no way to stop it?

 

Not really. All hard drives get some bad sectors over time. When they start to fail the number of bad sectors increases faster. Eventually, part of an important operating system file gets randomly moved to a bad sector and the OS can't load.

All the diagnostic utilities do is find bad sectors, try to retrieve any data in the bad sectors and move it to a new sector and then mark the bad sector as unusable. If it is just a fluke then you are fine using the drive. If bad sectors keep recurring then the drive has problems and is not reliable enough to run an OS.

I usually replace my drive when I keep getting errors that the utility can't fix. I load the OS on the new HD drive. Then I use the utility to do a low-level format on the failing drive which tries to write to each sector and if any problems marks it bad. Then I create a new partition, format the partition then use the drive for data files that aren't critical but take up a lot of space. So I put things like music and video files on the drive. The failing drive works fine for storing files like that which are rarely used but I wouldn't trust wedding pictures or irreplaceable items to it.

***
I know it is a pain to backup files and replace a HD but you really should do it. I just had a HD fail the long test and was getting ready to pack it up for replacement since it was still in warranty and I had bought it retail and had a receipt (I usually don't bother but it was only a year old and I had saved the receipt) after trying both Windows version of the software and then the CD version several times it eventually passed. I ran the test two more times and still passed so I decided to put it off.
One week later chkdsk found a couple of files in bad sectors. Now, I know I should of just sent it off and be done with it. I'm not relying on that computer so it isn't critical but if I get one more set of errors in chkdsk next week I will send it off. I, personally, don't like to play games with HD like that. I would usually only think about running chkdsk about once in three months. I don't want to have to do it every week to be sure things aren't getting worse and I doubt you want to, so I would replace it.