What to do with old Hard Disk !!!

[scott274]

So last month I had brought a new Seagate hard disk, prepared it and transferred all the data from my old Samsung hard disk (about 4 years old) to it. The reason for buying a new disk was, while working on my PC (old hard disk) sometimes I would hear a faint ticking noise and the the system used to freeze and then restart after a long time. Once restarted no hard disk used to be detected and I also used to get disk boot failure error on the second screen after restart. But after power off and on, the system used to start working again. This problem troubled me for almost more than a year. Most people I talked to advised me that the hard disk was going bad and so finally I brought a new disk.

Right now after transferring the all the data to the new drive I ran a hard disk diagnostic tool called "HUTIL" from the Samsung website on my old Samsung SP0802N disk. After completing the complete diagnostic test I got about 8 errors and the tool advised to run "ERASE HDD". I then ran the "Low Level Format" option in the tool. It gave me some error in the end but I think the process got completed. Here is a screenshot of current disk management in windows.

[URL]http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k292/abs724/Screencaps/DiskM4-3-2009-40119AM.jpg[/URL]

Then I ran the diagnostic test again in "HUTIL" as these were the results..
---
Test Loop Number 1/1
Read DMA : Testing...
Error: Sector error
Check M.C : Testing... Pass!
Check S.M.A.R.T : Testing...
Error: S.M.A.R.T Threshold Exceeded.
Spin Down/Up : Testing... Pass!
Simple Read/Write : Testing... Pass!
Simple Surface Scan : Testing... Pass!
Write Verify : Testing... Pass!
Average Seek Time : Testing... Pass!
Maximum Seek Time : Testing... Pass!
Random Surface Scan : Testing... Pass!
Read Surface Scan : Testing...
C:1039 H:0 S:962 Error: Ecc error
C:1040 H:0 S:797 Error: Ecc error
C:1580 H:0 S:1037 Error: Ecc error
C:7354 H:0 S: 965 Error: Ecc error
Error : This drive has some defects.
---

Thats two less read surface scan errors than last time I think.

The disk is no longer under warranty so no point contacting any service centers. Now although my old disk is not very healthy, it is still usable and I was thinking of using it as a single partition storage drive. Is there anything more I could do to the disk to remove those errors and make it more healthy. Or should I just prepare/NTFS-format the drive and start using it.

 

[Debdinno]

i am not sure wheather this can help but i used a very effective software called HDD REGENERATOR (free) which solved some unique problems of my Samsung harddisc, without affecting the data. After just the expiry of gurantee the harddisc failed and produced many bad sectors and became inaccessible. The harddisc was refused to be repaired by the Samsung company and my PC amc people could not solve it and told me to through away my disc.But HDD REGENERATOR solved it and put my disc in order. Try your luck.Its a free software. :dance:

 

[Sushubh]

https://youtube.com/watch?v=yd_O7-rqcHc

----------

https://youtube.com/watch?v=jGXh6RVTuq0

----------

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Aja7gcgRMJU

 

[popcorn]

lol that was a good one !

 

[Underclass Hero]

Secure Erase and post it on ebay

 

[sachins]

The ticking noise means your hard disk has crashed or more specifically known as a "head crash". It can happen even if you have zero bad sectors on the platters. It cannot be repaired by any software. You can try hirens boot cd but i can tell you it won't solve anything. If you have data that needs backing up from the drive then do it soon because it won't last more than 15 days considering you keep your computer running for more than 8hrs a day. In the end when the drive refuses to start and gives constant ticks then wrap it in paper and follow that with a plastic cover and place it in deep freezer for 12 hours. By that you should atleast get 20mins of hdd run time before it crashes completely.

 

[popcorn]

In the end when the drive refuses to start and gives constant ticks then wrap it in paper and follow that with a plastic cover and place it in deep freezer for 12 hours. By that you should atleast get 20mins of hdd run time before it crashes completely.

are you serious?

 

[amish]

yes, that works in many cases. harddisk gets a bit of life.. but make sure its moisture proof.

 

[Sushubh]

personally if data on my disk is so important i would get one of the online backup service. i have tested out a couple. 200 rupees a month for unlimited offsite storage is an excellent deal.