Hard Drives

"f86sabre" (f86sabre) 01/25/2015 at 18:32 • Filed to: computerlopnik

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I posted a few days ago that I was having computer issues. I spent 3.5 hours online today with Microsoft Customer Support and they were unable to resolve my problem, Basically, my Windows 8 machine started running really slowly. It looks like the functionality that allows updates to load crapped itself. Also, MS Office has stopped working. After all the effort we put in they think I may either have corrupt files in the OS due to bad hard drive sectors or the I/O of the drive has an issue (error code 1117). So, do I get a new drive?

This desktop machine is only a couple of years old and has a 2 TB drive. Most of that is full of pictures music and ripped DVDs. I built it myself so I am not afraid of tearing into it.

Now, everyone raves about SSDs, but 750 Gig is about the largest you can get and those are damn expensive. I could get a smaller one for the OS and programs and retain the 2TB drive for media, or maybe I should get another large drive and transfer the data before it is too late.

I'm not really thrilled with the idea of rebuilding the machine. What do you guys think I should do?

Nibbles > f86sabre 01/25/2015 at 18:38

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Seagate's SeaTools can pinpoint many issues on most hdds, even if they're not Seagate brand. I'd run a solid check to ensure the problem is with the drive itself and not the SATA controller before spending cash. It does sound like OS level corruption though. Fun fact: Many times it is the RAM that causes data to be spit into the wrong location, not the HDD. Run a memtest too.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > f86sabre 01/25/2015 at 18:39

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4 TB Raid cluster.

I don't really know what that means...

JustWaitingForAMate > f86sabre 01/25/2015 at 18:42

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Transfer your data to another drive, and set up Google drive/drop box/one drive accounts for online backup.

The premise of an SSD is not to put all your data on the drive, but things that require quick loading, ie, your applications and your OS, so a 250gig drive is more then enough for that, with your data on a larger standard drive.

Windows 10 is also out soon too, might be another reason to do a rebuild.

f86sabre > JustWaitingForAMate 01/25/2015 at 18:58

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have the min requirements for Win 10 been released? We use Carbonite for backup, but I don't think it is intended for off site storage. I have Drive and Dropbox as well.

JustWaitingForAMate > f86sabre 01/25/2015 at 19:03

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Same specs as 8 :

Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster with support for PAE, NX, and SSE2

RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit)

Hard disk space: 16 GB (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)

Graphics card: Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver

tyvytrevyre > f86sabre 01/25/2015 at 19:05

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On top of HDD possibly being bad, check your RAM with UBCD. If it's the RAM and after replacing it, you still have issues, it can also be the motherboard (I've seen it on a computer where both RAM and motherboard were bad).

Run the RAM test overnight, as sometimes issues trigger a few hours after starting the computer (one of my computer had one defective RAM module and the issue only got triggered 4 or 5 hours after starting the computer; and it was expensive RAM back then).

f86sabre > Nibbles 01/25/2015 at 19:21

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Ran Seatools in quick test and got error DAAAC9AE1. It is a Barricuda and the tool is kind enough to have a warranty checker. It is still covered. Now I need to figure out how/where to backup all my shit.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > f86sabre 01/25/2015 at 19:41

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Best comedy ever? I think so.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > f86sabre 01/25/2015 at 19:45

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Just buy a handful of 2tb drives. They're cheap enough. Unless you're doing 4k video editing, a normal HDD will be fine for pretty much whatever you throw at it. I record up to 48 channels of 24 big 96 khz audio onto one for hours at a time with no hint of trouble. You will notice an improvement by having your OS/application drive as a SSD, however. I keep all of my files on large HDDs, but run my OS and such off of a 250gb SDD, and it's fast. It offers the best of both worlds. Since I'm not loading the SSD with data, it doesn't have to be large, and I can take advantage of how cheap HDD space is per gb.

Spoon II > f86sabre 01/25/2015 at 19:50

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I'd get a new drive just to be safe, but also, I'd turn off auto updating. I've had problems in the past where a half-baked update cause me major problems.

f86sabre > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie 01/25/2015 at 19:52

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think I may go that way. I ran Seatools on it and it came up with an error that it says is bad enough I should send it back. Luckily it is under warranty.

ttyymmnn > f86sabre 01/26/2015 at 16:23

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I can't advise you very much about MS, since I'm a Mac guy. But I recently lost my external backup drive, which had a crap ton of photos (not many family or air show photos, thankfully), and my entire iTunes library (iTunes downloads, plus about 300 personal CDs I ripped in one at a time). I replaced it with two 4TB drives set up as a RAID. That way, when one dies (and I say when , not if ) I will have time to replace it before the other one craps out. Good luck.

Great pictures. Need more Tracy/Hepburn, though.

f86sabre > ttyymmnn 01/26/2015 at 16:44

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I have a backup drive and Carbonite for pics and important docs. Kind of the same thing as a RAID, but with added fire protection.

ttyymmnn > f86sabre 01/26/2015 at 17:02

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My plan, in case of fire, is to yank the drives on my way out. Each kid gets to carry one!

deekster_caddy > f86sabre 01/30/2015 at 19:43

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I recommend this - SSD is fantastic for OS and apps. I can get by with a 256GB but have a 512 because work paid for it. Beyond that they are still really expensive. If you have a desktop, get a 128 or 256 SSD for primary and large spinning as internal secondary drive. Also, get a big external 3TB drive for backups if your 2TB drive is more than 50% used. If it's not backed up, consider it gone if something happens... and that can be a pain in the ass. I've seen quite a few hard drive failures and when the click comes your way, gone is gone.