|
There are isolated problems with current patches, but they are well-known and documented on this site. |
Today I ran a preboot system assessment on my Dell Inspiron 3847 and every test passed but the hard drive unfortunately. I don’t if the hard drive is failing or if the cause could be system errors. Any suggestions on the next steps I should take?
FYI A few days ago I ran a system refresh on this system.
If the computer boots, I would suggest two types of backup IMMEDIATELY.
If you haven’t made a Rescue Disk and Restore Disks, do so now.
Data backup: Copy ALL the files under your User ID off on to an external HDD. You don’t say what Win you have, but I use Karen’s Replicator (free) that works on Win7/8.1, not on Win10. EaseUS Todo is free backup s/w that will work on all versions of Win and allows file/folder backup. – be sure you make a Rescue Disk if you use it.
Then make an Image of the HDD. EaseUS Todo or Macrium are two free imaging programs. Rescue disk a must here.
Once you have backups, you can try repairs – start with something simple like chkdsk /f. But you will be prepared for a HDD replacement if in fact the HDD is going bad.
I believe the hard disk test reported that it was failing the “Smart” self test. I do not think that type of failure is repairable, other than replacing the hard disk ASAP.
If the system still boots up, and he can install a backup program, “Hopper15” should be able to use the Easeus Free version to make a full System backup of his system drive. Trying to copy off ALL the files in his user area would be a waste of time, as all of those will be included in a full Easeus system backup. The full system backup is one of the main choices on the main menu of the backup program.
The Easeus installation can be used to make a bootable USB drive (or a CD, or both) for restoring the full system backup to ‘bare metal’ new drive, as long as the O.P. can figure out how to get his system to boot from a USB thumb drive.
He will of course need a large enough external USB hard disk to do the back up onto.
Hopefully Hopper15 can post more info on his system, or can figure out how to change the boot order to a USB thumb drive. That can sometimes be the hardest part, since if his system had a UEFI BIOS, that can be a pain to get into to make the changes.
Copying the files from the Usre’s ID is not a waste of time. They are immediately available/usable on any PC at any time if he has to continue doing his business while his PC is in repair. They are not so easily available if they are in an image.
And if the drive is failing/fails, you may not be able to get the whole image off. But the data is irreplaceable.
If the computer boots, I would suggest two types of backup IMMEDIATELY. If you haven’t made a Rescue Disk and Restore Disks, do so now. Data backup: Copy ALL the files under your User ID off on to an external HDD. You don’t say what Win you have, but I use Karen’s Replicator (free) that works on Win7/8.1, not on Win10. EaseUS Todo is free backup s/w that will work on all versions of Win and allows file/folder backup. – be sure you make a Rescue Disk if you use it. Then make an Image of the HDD. EaseUS Todo or Macrium are two free imaging programs. Rescue disk a must here. Once you have backups, you can try repairs – start with something simple like chkdsk /f. But you will be prepared for a HDD replacement if in fact the HDD is going bad.
I just bought a Seagate Expansion External Drive today. Speaking of Seagate I ran some tests and the smart check passed but short drive self test failed on my pc. I also ran the Surface Test on EaseUS and no bad sectors were found.
BTW I’m using a Win 8.1 Version 6.3.9600(build9600)
Easeus backup can also make a backup of his user area, and on any other system with a copy of Easeus installed on it…all files (EG: Documents, Pictures, etc) can be accessed with Windows Explorer just like they were ‘copied’ off. Plus it doesn’t have problems with some obscure folders that just ‘copying’ can’t copy.
I’ve used it to access files from ‘another’ (EG: not the main user) user area on client systems that could not be accessed from Windows with the clients’ hard disk connected as a 2nd drive. Windows would not/could not change some sub-directories ownership, so the only way to pull a bunch of pictures off was to make a backup of that users’ area, then access the sub-folder/files using the Easeus file browser that is integrated into Windows Explorer.
In my earlier post, I forgot to add that Easeus can be used to copy from the failing hard disk (if it’s still working well enough, no major read failures), directly to a new hard disk. But I’d do a full system back up first, then try the direct transfer. The program has a “Clone” function. It works in ‘older’ free versions (that I use regularly for normal backups), and I see it is still in the latest version (10.6x as of last week).
I use some other disk cloning software, but it does not do backups, just does straight ‘cloning’, so won’t inject that into the discussion.
If the computer boots, I would suggest two types of backup IMMEDIATELY. If you haven’t made a Rescue Disk and Restore Disks, do so now. Data backup: Copy ALL the files under your User ID off on to an external HDD. You don’t say what Win you have, but I use Karen’s Replicator (free) that works on Win7/8.1, not on Win10. EaseUS Todo is free backup s/w that will work on all versions of Win and allows file/folder backup. – be sure you make a Rescue Disk if you use it. Then make an Image of the HDD. EaseUS Todo or Macrium are two free imaging programs. Rescue disk a must here. Once you have backups, you can try repairs – start with something simple like chkdsk /f. But you will be prepared for a HDD replacement if in fact the HDD is going bad.
Ok I made Rescue Disk and Restore Disks and I copied all my important files and documents to my external drive yesterday. Today I ran chkdsk /f and which scanned and repaired the drive. Anything else I should do?
I’m aware I’m probably just delaying the inevitable though and I will soon take this PC in to my local repair shop for a HDD replacement.
ST2000DM001-1ER164
Agreed. I just had one final question. The ST2000DM001-1ER164 HD that I’m currently using. Are these from Seagate?
When I Google your HD part number, it comes back as a 2 TB drive made by Seagate.
If it came in a new Dell system (at the time of purchase), it’s probably an “OEM” hard disk. It might have had some warranty from Dell, but if the serial number is checked for warranty status on the Seagate website, it will probably show it is an OEM drive and has no warranty direct from Seagate. If the Dell is out of warranty, you will just have to buy a new SATA drive of some brand, either another Seagate or some other brand, which will usually have a longer term warranty, perhaps 2 to 3 years.
PKCano’s advice to get the drive replaced as soon as possible before it fails is 100% correct. If you can not do the swap/replacement yourself, you should definitely get the system to a repair shop to get the drive replaced, as the tech there should be able to do the direct transfer to another hard disk, as long as it’s still working well enough. If you wait for it to fail, it gets LOTS more complicated, takes longer ($$$), and is a pain for the tech.
You will of course have to get a drive big enough to hold what ever programs and data you have on your current drive (XXX gigabytes??), plus extra room for new stuff, so getting a solid state drive might be out of the question, cost wise, as BIG SSD’s get expensive fast compared to big spinning drives.
Just don’t wait too long to get the drive replace, the tech will thank you (ask me how I know…I do this fairly often for my clients).
Good luck!
Have you run the disk diagnostics program from Seagate? That will tell you if the disk is OK.
https://www.seagate.com/gb/en/support/downloads/seatools/
Cheers, Paul
When I Google your HD part number, it comes back as a 2 TB drive made by Seagate. If it came in a new Dell system (at the time of purchase), it’s probably an “OEM” hard disk. It might have had some warranty from Dell, but if the serial number is checked for warranty status on the Seagate website, it will probably show it is an OEM drive and has no warranty direct from Seagate. If the Dell is out of warranty, you will just have to buy a new SATA drive of some brand, either another Seagate or some other brand, which will usually have a longer term warranty, perhaps 2 to 3 years. PKCano’s advice to get the drive replaced as soon as possible before it fails is 100% correct. If you can not do the swap/replacement yourself, you should definitely get the system to a repair shop to get the drive replaced, as the tech there should be able to do the direct transfer to another hard disk, as long as it’s still working well enough. If you wait for it to fail, it gets LOTS more complicated, takes longer ($$$), and is a pain for the tech. You will of course have to get a drive big enough to hold what ever programs and data you have on your current drive (XXX gigabytes??), plus extra room for new stuff, so getting a solid state drive might be out of the question, cost wise, as BIG SSD’s get expensive fast compared to big spinning drives. Just don’t wait too long to get the drive replace, the tech will thank you (ask me how I know…I do this fairly often for my clients). Good luck!
If you don’t mind me asking what city did you work in?
Sorry that I forgot to give you guys an update. I got the hard drive replaced about 4 months ago. The new SSD was about 150 (very inexpensive like PKCano said) and I took into (San Francisco)a local repair shop got the new drive inserted and Win 8.1 reinstalled. All is well now. 
Donations from Plus members keep this site going. You can identify the people who support AskWoody by the Plus badge on their avatars.
AskWoody Plus members not only get access to all of the contents of this site -- including Susan Bradley's frequently updated Patch Watch listing -- they also receive weekly AskWoody Plus Newsletters (formerly Windows Secrets Newsletter) and AskWoody Plus Alerts, emails when there are important breaking developments.
Notifications
