Scorpio Black HDD - Is it dieing?

I'm currently using a 320GB Scorpio Black in my laptop and recently I have been having problems. The HDD is 1.5 years old but the problem started after I got my laptop repaired (motherboard was replaced) so I thought it was maybe a problem with the SATA connection or something. However, after looking around on forums I think my HDD is failing. What happens is that sometimes Windows will freeze and then crash resulting in the following BSoD.



It usually happens shortly after Windows boots. After the BSoD it also shows a black screen saying boot disc failure and to insert bootable media or something. After a force restart Windows boots normally. This maybe happens once a week.

Using HD Tune I did some benchmarks and I got the following results







As you can see I have a warning for Ultra DMA CRC Error Count. Has anyone had this error before? Would this be the cause of the problem? Should I RMA or is there something else I should do? Thanks

 

Strangely, my second HDD is reporting the same error even though I just bought it 2 weeks ago.



Interface communication errors = 2? Does that mean the 2 SATA connections in my laptop are faulty?

I saw this thread and the guy says that the error will always remain even with a different HDD because it remains in the SMART log. This may be why it's saying there's an error for the 2nd HDD? I'm confused because I've tried another HDD as well as an SSD in my laptop after I got my laptop back and neither of them had this problem. This is why I think it's my Scorpio Black HDD BUT this happened after I got my laptop back from being repaired so what if it's a faulty SATA connection?

Ultra DMA CRC Error Count - Overclock.net - Overclocking.net

 

The blue-screen, and the fact that your reboot gives an error message of "boot disc failure and to insert bootable media" means that it is highly likely that either your HDD is failing, or the SATA controller on the motherboard is failing.

The only way to determine what is causing the problem is to try another HDD in it for a week or two, and see if you get the same problems. If yes, you need to replace the motherboard. If no, then your original WD Scorpio hard drive is dying.

In either case, back up whatever critical data you can't afford to lose right now. When a hard drive dies, it usually just dies without warning, taking any non-backed-up data with it. Consider the fact that you have some kind of indicator that a hard drive is failing to be a blessing.

 

I strongly believe the hard drive's SATA connection is failing. I installed the hard drive in my other laptop and from the first boot, Windows crashed and came up with the following screen. I'm going to RMA the hard drive. Lucky it came with 5 years warranty.

 

I agree with you - it looks like your hard drive is dying. Time to RMA it.