Comments for What does it mean if you get a warning that your hard drive is about to fail?

Comment from doug on 2009-07-08

2009-07-09T01:54:15Z

Concerning moving all the info from a Hard disk to a new one because of a hard drive warning... Every new hard drive I have ever purchased has included software to do this... am I just lucky?

]]>

A comment on: What does it mean if you get a warning that your hard drive is about to fail?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Rick Lewis on 2009-07-07

2009-07-07T18:16:44Z

I know it's a little contradictory, but the link in the above article titled "Your hard disk is more likely to fail than you think." references a past "Ask Leo" article in which the error reporting in SMART drives has been proven to be unreliable.

]]>

A comment on: What does it mean if you get a warning that your hard drive is about to fail?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Jack on 2009-07-07

2009-07-07T17:30:54Z

How does one activate SMART?

]]>

A comment on: What does it mean if you get a warning that your hard drive is about to fail?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Rick Lewis on 2009-07-07

2009-07-07T16:22:24Z

I thought for sure that Leo would touch on something that I've seen myself: Spam, brought to pre-installed from the computer manufacturer.

When I booted up my new desktop, I received a message that my hard drive would "imminently" fail. Wanting to know what was going on, I clicked on the link and soon realized I had been duped by "manufacturer spam", wanting me to purchase an extended warranty. This was a name brand computer, so I know this practice must be widespread.

Also, even with up to date security software installed, it's easier than you may think for malware to infect your computer, give you a bogus message about your hard drive having errors and ask for your cc info to "protect" this from happening to you.

Like they used to say on the "X-Files",.....trust no one.....well.....except for maybe Leo.

]]>

A comment on: What does it mean if you get a warning that your hard drive is about to fail?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Gigi on 2009-07-07

2009-07-07T16:04:19Z

First of all what you do with a pc has absolutely nothing to do with a hard disk failure.
Also the fact that you bought it recently is immaterial (unless you're truly unlucky and got a junker). For a HD to fail all it needs is just a small mechanical shock: maybe some nights ago you left the chair a little to abruptly and gave a passing hit to the pc table.
To really test a hd you need a real HD tester (McAfee - which is an useless junk - and Microsoft are not one). I use HD Tune , it's free and very reliable. If it says that your HD is dying then your only option is to change the HD. Luckily you already have done the backup so all you have to do is to contact the seller of your pc.

]]>

A comment on: What does it mean if you get a warning that your hard drive is about to fail?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.

Comment from Eli Coten on 2009-07-04

2009-07-04T19:15:47Z

I recently stumbled across a freeware program that could be useful in this scenario and it's called CloneZilla.

]]>

A comment on: What does it mean if you get a warning that your hard drive is about to fail?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.