Vaio HDD problems.

Hi, I've had some problems with my Sony Vaoi VGN-NR21M laptop over the past few days, theres a kind of clicking/scratching noise coming from it and it has frozen twice in the last 2 days, the only way to bring it back was to turn it off manually and reboot. I've just run the HD tune programme and these are the results, (its a 200gb, Fujitsu MHY2200BH HDD);


HD Tune Pro: FUJITSU MHY2200BH Health

ID Current Worst ThresholdData Status
(01) Raw Read Error Rate 100 100 46 18057 ok
(02) Throughput Performance 100 100 30 47120384 ok
(03) Spin Up Time 100 100 25 1 ok
(04) Start/Stop Count 99 99 0 2490 ok
(05) Reallocated Sector Count 100 100 24 0 ok
(07) Seek Error Rate 100 100 47 2432 ok
(08) Seek Time Performance 100 100 19 0 ok
(09) Power On Hours Count 96 96 0 2471 ok
(0A) Spin Retry Count 100 100 20 0 ok
(0C) Power Cycle Count 100 100 0 2212 ok
(C0) Unsafe Shutdown Count 100 100 0 18 ok
(C1) Load Cycle Count 100 100 0 5841 ok
(C2) Temperature 100 100 0 655395 ok
(C3) Hardware ECC Recovered 100 100 0 1 ok
(C4) Reallocated Event Count 100 100 0 445251584 warning
(C5) Current Pending Sector 100 100 0 1 warning
(C6) Offline Uncorrectable 100 100 0 1 ok
(C7) Ultra DMA CRC Error Count 200 253 0 0 ok
(C8) Write Error Rate 100 100 60 25722 ok
(CB) Run Out Cancel 100 100 0 -79886189 ok
(F0) Head Flying Hours 200 200 0 0 ok

Health Status : warning


There's a warning on both the reallocated event count and the current pending sector. Is this very bad and my days with the drive are numbered or will it be ok for another while? I've had the laptop for about 3 years now and have never had any other problems with it. If you could let me know on this thread that'd be great, and thanks for any help, I'm a little clueless when it comes to this much detail on a HDD.

 

From the sound of it, that is a HDD on its last legs... whenever you can, get the data backed up onto an external device. Any Windows backup will be on the same drive (normally) so will be lost if the drive dies physically. What I'd do is (and in no way am I saying this is the best way, but just what I'd do):

1. Get an external drive and copy any files I want saved over to it.
2. Install a cloning programme like Acronis True Image or Paragon Backup & Restore and follow the instructions to create an image of your laptop, as well as a bootable disk or USB pendrive.
3. Go get a replacement HDD, or SSD if you want to make the jump to that technology.
4. Replace the drive with the new one and restore the image previously created.

Many folk would just take the opportunity to install a clean OS onto the new disk, and with Win7 I have found driver support to be very good, so you may want to go that route. Also, Step 1 above may be redundant but I usually back up the important bits of personal data regularly - documents, photos, music and movies are the usual ones. In this situation, I'd do that first in case any of the other steps fail and leaves you with a 2.5" coaster...

 

Forgot to add - HDD prices are skyrocketing due to the flooding in Thailand. If you don't want to pay the extortionist prices, the hard drive will probably last a while longer so you may get away with running it as it is, just remember that it could fail at any time, so make sure you back it up externally.

My previous post is a bit doom and gloom, but I was thinking in terms of if a laptop I used for work was in that state, I'd want the data backed up externally *just in case*, so that if it died at any given moment, the important stuff I was working on was safe elsewhere. On the other hand, if it was a machine I was using for casual web stuff, etc. I'd be a lot less worried, as there will be far less on it that I'd worry about losing, though all documents, photos, music and movies would still be copied externally.