HDTune - "ultra dma crc error count" - 53 counts!

Ouch. isn't this really bad?

what do I need to do?

Replace the sata cable connecting my laptop SATA drive?

I know I've thrashed my default Vostro's 5400RPM rubbishy drive for 3 years, and I'm going to replace it with an SSD (as I think it's dying), but is this a cable issue too? windows has screeched down to a grinding halt.

I have two identical drives in the vostro and the other drive doesn't have any "ultra dma crc error count" instances (or any errors).

Thanks for your help!!

 

The only way to test cable vs HDD is to replace with a known good working hard drive.

 

05 and C5 are definitely bad. Backup your data now and replace that drive.

 

thanks. backing it up right now.

btw will i be able to conveniently clone this drive to my new SSD (with clonezilla etc) or because there's bad/unstable sectors, do I have to completely do system re-install and manually copy files over? thanks for the knowledge

 

I recommend clean install for SSD so you can make sure it is aligned correctly.

As stated above, not a good idea to keep on using that drive.

 

I now have ordered a luxurious and forwards-compatible Crucial C300 to replace it, but ohhhhh i don't think i can do a full re-install of windows!

I'd rather wait until I upgrade to windows 8 in 18 months.

that'll be ok, right? how much does this alignment thing really matter?

I AM a power user but not a freak about system perfection and really don't have time for full install and re-installing all my programs and restoring settings to exactly what they were .

that takes like 2 days for me.

 

If an SSD isn't properly aligned it can do extra writes into adjacent cells and cause excessive writes the way I understand how it works. With bad sectors, and given your drive is failing and data corruption is possible it is best for a fresh install.

 

Temperature also looks like an issue. 50C? That's way too hot. What's going on with the notebook itself?

 

save yourself a bunch of headaches and just do a fresh install on the SSD (it will also prevent a lot of unnecessary wear that will... well, wear your drive out faster)

besides, it takes maybe 20 minutes to install Win 7 on a SSD, 5 minutes for drivers, and whatever programs you have after that.

 

gulp...there's my saturday gone then.....ok will do fresh install...what I AM particular about is ALLL my program settings in my daily programs...down to the last autocorrect entry in word (or autocomplete entry in outlook) :|..oh and my heavily modded hosts file..it's gonna take ages.

well i dunno about temperature but it tends to get pretty hot as a laptop in general. not the best cooling case design I think....it's a pretty old model by now..

thx for the help

 

You can save and restore the Office settings with the Assistent in Microsoft Office Tools.

 

And that is why I stress the importance of backups/imaged backups.

The original Vostro 1500/1700 has a good cooling system. The CPU/GPU have their own seperate heatpipes and oddly enough the GPU gets cooled first. It is a rebranded Inspiron 1520/1720.

 

I just registered here because my HDD also says high values at Ultra dma error and such, but at Status it says OK.
Are you sure that Ultra dma crc error is that bad? HDTune says that my HDD got over 34 millions of these errors, but I never had any problems with my hdd. What also is very bad is your air flow temperature, which is over 800 million degrees What I also wonder is how an HDD can show so many errors (also the pending sector ones are bad) after 25779 minutes of runtime? Hdtune says that my hdd runned 161679 minutes and I have no errors at all (only the 34 million ultra dma errors).

It also says 892million write error rate. I think these values can't be taken serious or can they? I have never noticed any broken data. Did you run chkdsk yet?

 

I just noticed the temperature of 50C. That's too hot for an HDD. Make sure your fans are functioning properly and compress air spray out the vents.

 

There isn't much airflow in any laptop for drives. More often than not I see failing drives shoot way up in temperature. A good drive should be 29-34C ~23C ambient.