[CP5670]

I might be offline for a few days since it appears that my hard drive is dying. For the last few weeks I have been getting a variety of errors whenever I run any hard disk-intensive programs (which includes almost all games); it tends to lock up for a few seconds with the hard drive making some unusual clicking noises, and then gives a string of BSODs saying "Unable to read or write from drive C; data or files may be lost." It seems to be getting progressively worse, with this happening more frequently and with a greater number of programs every day. The computer sometimes recovers after a few of those errors but otherwise I have to reboot, after which it usually fails to detect the drive on startup and tells me to insert a boot disk, although just restarting it more times eventually works. There was a new error today when I restarted, something about a "SMART failure" being detected and advice to back up and replace the hard disk immediately. This thing probably isn't going to last much longer anyway, so I decided to do just that. This is the first time I have had such a problem; what is the reputation of IBM hard drives for long-term stability?

Anyway, does anyone know where outlook express stores its email data? I am almost done with the backups but can't seem to find these things.

[Grey Wolf]

SMART failure means your software is telling you your hard drive is screwed. And IBM has a fairly good reputation, with both their older drives and newer drives (which are technically Hitachi), but with two exceptions: The Desktar 60 and 75, IIRC. These have the nickname in enthusiast circles of "Deathstar".

[CP5670]

heh yeah, I have a Deskstar 75GB one.

I picked up a Seagate 120GB 7200rpm one earlier today, as it was the only ATA/100 that Best Buy had in stock and at $75 the price was pretty good. Now I just need to finish up with these backups...

[Grey Wolf]

I personally like my ancient Deskstar 8 and Deskstar 36GXP. I actually recently contemplated a RAID0 of Desktar 8s. 2 8GB ATA/33 hard drives, together nearly equalling my single 20GB ATA/66 drive

[WMCoolmon]

Originally posted by CP5670
Anyway, does anyone know where outlook express stores its email data? I am almost done with the backups but can't seem to find these things.

Tools -> Options, then Maintenance and click "Store Folder..."

[Whitelight]

"SMART FAILURE"
Yes there is an area on the drive that holds a program that is sapose to tell you the drive is failing before it fails HA...

I bought a seagate barracuda, 80gb HDD, that had this protection built into it, well it didn`t work in my case and after a few weeks of constant crashes the drive finally failed completely, giving me a OS can`t be found error.. I lost everything I had on that drive.. I did have a backup drive, but as it is only a 20gb HDD only a portion has been saved..

I have since replaced the 80 with a 40gb, another seagate drive with half the space, oh well didn`t have the money to get the drive I really wanted, but at least its up and running again..

[CP5670]

Sorry for bumping this, but it looks like my troubles with this aren't over; thought I might as well add to this thread instead of starting a new one.

I backed up everything and removed the old drive (and by this point it was making the most absurd computer noise I have ever heard, a continuous high pitched whine that was as loud as a car engine) but when I put in the new one, the computer frequently refused to detect the new drive at all, saying that no primary IDE master existed; it sometimes worked but more often did not. I ended up calling a technician over who eventually concluded that the IDE controller on the motherboard was also defective in addition to the drive, so I got a new one of those too (Asus A7N8X).

Everything was working fine for a few days until last night when the computer inexplicably locked up while I was in Word, and when I restarted it, it once again would not detect the hard drive. This time, I could not even load up the BIOS setup utility; it just froze up right when going into the IDE detection sequence. I borrowed another hard drive from a neighbor and that one worked perfectly fine, so it means that there is also something wrong with this new drive I got. I am sort of stumped here now; do you guys think I should just try buying another drive and seeing if that works? (this one can still be returned since I got it just a week ago)

These issues are really coming up at the worst time; I am currently working on a math project for one of these national competitions, the deadline is in a week and I still have a lot of stuff to do.

[Jonathan_S47]

Sounds like the bearings went out on your old drive there. It does sound like your new drive is defective. However I would suggest going out to your Motherboard manufacturers site to see if they have any flash updates for your BIOS. There is a possibility that your BIOS may not have been compatible with the larger disk size. If that is the case updating the BIOS should help. You may want to try that before getting a new drive.

[Grey Wolf]

I wouldn't think a new Asus A7N8X would have problems with hard drives that would require a BIOS flash. My only suggestion is: RMA the hard drive, and hope the one they replace it with works better.

[Whitelight]

Another choice you haven`t considered, an IDE controller card will help read larger drives, that is if your BIOS won`t except it.

[CP5670]

Thanks for the replies, everyone. I was also thinking it might be a BIOS issue, but it seemed to work perfectly fine for the four days before that lockup, although it was strangely quite slow at times. I checked the BIOS version on the included CD just to be sure though, and it is the same as the latest one on the website. I first thought it might be a heat related issue with that sudden freeze but eight hours should have been enough to cool it down, and anyway the computer has fairly good cooling with ten fans.

I think I will just return this and try getting a new one, as it doesn't look like I am going to be able to get this one to work again easily and I have a recent backup anyway. Are there any brands you would recommend? Ideally I am looking for an ATA/133 7200rpm drive in the 180-200GB range for around $200; there seem to be a couple of models that fit these specifications but the warranty periods are different and all the companies seem to have their own reputations for reliability.

[Grey Wolf]

Hmm.... Maxtor, Western Digital, and Seagate are normally reliable, AFAIK. I haven't bought a hard drive in a while though.

[Hellbender]

I've been running a Maxtor 120gb 7200 rpm since late June, no problems.  The 40gb back up is also Maxtor, has been running reliably for a year and a half.  The 20gb and 13gb in the spare comp are Maxtors, and are a couple of years old.  The only Maxtor I had problems with was a 4.6gb Bigfoot - actually caught fire, but the 6.2gb Bigfoot in the crash box still runs fine, and it's a '98 or '99 model.  I have had rotten luck with most other brands, but have had no experience with Western Digital.  I had four Fuji's that all died within a couple of weeks.  I got four months out of the Seagate I replaced in June.

Bottom line is my best experiences were with the Maxtors - they have always seemed alittle noisier and run warmer than other drives, but sounds like you have adequate cooling, and you don't mind motor whine lol.  

One thing does make a difference:  Make damn sure that you have adequate power supply - drives tend to screw up more if the voltage isn't within the proper range.  Put your extra case fans on a seperate power supply if you are not sure or if your main supply is just barely rated for the demand you are placing on it.  Realativly cheap insurance.  Same goes for new cables - and avoid sharp bends in them when you install them.

Hope that helps.

H

[Kosh]

I would recommend Western Digital, and stay away from IBMs. I used to work at a computer store and they stopped carrying IBMs because of the high failure rates. In addition to that, they also had a nasty habit of sending back bad RMA drives.