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Is my hard drive failing?

G

Graeme4

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 27, 2005
13
0
Southampton, UK
I ran Techtool Pro on my hard drive the other day and the SMART self-checks said that the drive was failing. I know this isn't good, but I don't know how bad!

The offending items were (for the technically adept):

192 Power Off Retract Count
Normal: 39, Worst: 39, Threshold: 50, Status: Failing!

193 Load/Unload Cycle Count
Normal: 39, Worst: 39, Threshold: 50, Status: Failing!

I just want to know if my drive is on the way out and I need to get it replaced or if it's just a minor, ignorable, problem.

I tried Hitachi but they couldn't help because they said it was an OEM drive so Apple would have to support it. I tried Apple discussions but no-one really seemed to know. Also, I ran DiskWarrior SMART self-check which said that everything was OK.

Can anyone help? Thank you.
 
Best bet is to back everything up now.

I'm not sure about the information it gave you, but I've seen programs say a drive was okay when it was actually going downhill.

SMART isn't always real, well, smart :). Your best bet is to treat it as a failing drive with little life left in it.
 
Thanks wxboss. All the important stuff is already backed up and I also have a Powerbook, so it won't be a disaster if it goes down. It's just knowing!

The thing is, to have the drive replaced and the data transferred is around 1/5 of the cost of a new iMac. So I'd rather put the money towards that. I'm a little hard up at the moment, so I can't do it right now (which would be the ideal).
 
Graeme4 said:
Thanks wxboss. All the important stuff is already backed up and I also have a Powerbook, so it won't be a disaster if it goes down. It's just knowing!

The thing is, to have the drive replaced and the data transferred is around 1/5 of the cost of a new iMac. So I'd rather put the money towards that. I'm a little hard up at the moment, so I can't do it right now (which would be the ideal).
Click to expand...


20% of a new iMac equals £180. What sort of hard drive have you got in there that would cost that :confused:
 
While we're on the topic of failing hdd's does a clicking sound when the computer wakes up from sleep indicate a damaged hard drive?
 
AlBDamned said:
20% of a new iMac equals £180. What sort of hard drive have you got in there that would cost that :confused:
Click to expand...

It's just a Hitachi 80Gb. To replace and fit is £135 + VAT = £158.62. Plus data transfer at £50 (probably plus VAT, but I'll leave that off for now) = £208.62
 
Graeme4 said:
It's just a Hitachi 80Gb. To replace and fit is £135 + VAT = £158.62. Plus data transfer at £50 (probably plus VAT, but I'll leave that off for now) = £208.62
Click to expand...

What computer is this HDD in? If it's in a desktop I think with access to two computers you can replace that drive and transfer the data yourself for about £40. To replace the HDD in a desktop, even a G3 iMac, takes about 10 minutes., Data transfer on that would be about 30 minutes to an hour depending on cable.

If it's in a laptop then replacement is more tricky, but there's certainly more cause for doing it yourself than paying £200.
 
AlBDamned said:
What computer is this HDD in? Data transfer on that would be about 30 minutes to an hour depending on cable.
Click to expand...

It's in a Flat-Panel iMac G4 which is a bit tricky to replace parts in :eek: (hence me getting it fitted) although not impossible. I'm also having a bit of trouble tracking down a replacement drive (Hitachi HDS722580VLAT20). Anyone know anywhere in the UK?

How (basically) would the data transfer be done? I have a Firewire 800 cable.

TIA.
 
wxboss said:
Best bet is to back everything up now.
Click to expand...
And continue to back up your data on a daily basis.

I just had another HD fail. I had a full back up from about 1 week ago. Luckily I was able to get some important files off of the hard drive before it went South.
 
Ah right, the G4 iMac - the desktop with all the accessibility of a laptop! Never fear though, plenty of people have done this swap but it will take longer than average.

Have a look at xlr8yourmac For some good case studies on this very thing.

Buying the new HDD itself shouldn't be a problem, just tap in that model number into google. One came up straight away for £28 on eBay (new).

You could even get a much bigger drive.

As for the data swap, you can use SuperDuper or carbon copy cloner and back up to a partition on your PowerBook or another computer if available (if you're lacking space be a little ruthless with what you want to save and maybe burn the really critical stuff).

With a little bit of work you could get your iMac G4 working and it shouldn't cost you more than £40-50.
 
Graeme4 said:
It's just a Hitachi 80Gb. To replace and fit is £135 + VAT = £158.62. Plus data transfer at £50 (probably plus VAT, but I'll leave that off for now) = £208.62
Click to expand...
Err... we sell 80 Gb IDE drives for CAN$78 -- which is like GBP40
Perhaps look to an independent dealer for this, not an Apple Store.
 
AlBDamned said:
With a little bit of work you could get your iMac G4 working and it shouldn't cost you more than £40-50.
Click to expand...

Thanks for all that, AIBDamned. Very helpful. I hadn't heard of Carbon Copy Cloner.

Maybe I'll give it a go!
 
Graeme4 said:
Thanks for all that, AIBDamned. Very helpful. I hadn't heard of Carbon Copy Cloner.

Maybe I'll give it a go!
Click to expand...

No worries. At the moment, the only one I've used is super duper (well worth buying the full version for smart updates and so on), as have many on here and it works flawlessly, particularly over a fast firewire connection.

Not used Carbon copy cloner yet but it also gets plenty of recommendation on here so worth relaying.

Taking apart the iMac could be a good experience if you hadn't considered it before. It's amazing how fast you can pick stuff up by just having a go and if this saves you £160 then it'll be worth it IMO.
 
AlBDamned said:
Taking apart the iMac could be a good experience if you hadn't considered it before. It's amazing how fast you can pick stuff up by just having a go and if this saves you £160 then it'll be worth it IMO.
Click to expand...

Yes. I used to take my PC apart all the time (!) so I'm game for that kind of thing. The iMac just looks more of a challenge!
 
AlBDamned said:
Ah right, the G4 iMac - the desktop with all the accessibility of a laptop! Never fear though, plenty of people have done this swap but it will take longer than average.
Click to expand...

I did it! Tried Carbon Copy Cloner but it kept stalling so I got SuperDuper! which worked like a dream and couldn't have been easier. Bought a Western Digital 160Mb HD at Dabs.com for £49. Used the xlr8yourmac article on installing (bit fiddly but OK). And it works.

Thanks.
 
I had this happen in my Powerbook about a year ago...I replaced the stock 60 gig drive with a 100 gig one...perhaps you should do the same? I've seen 160 gig hard drives for less than 80 gig ones these days.
 
MacFan25863 said:
I had this happen in my Powerbook about a year ago...I replaced the stock 60 gig drive with a 100 gig one...perhaps you should do the same? I've seen 160 gig hard drives for less than 80 gig ones these days.
Click to expand...

That's what I did. I upgraded from an 80Gb to a 160Gb.
 
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