replacing hard drive

[aruwin]

I got another question here.If I replace my hard drive with a new one,will all my data in my PC get deleted??

[fatbloke88]

if your old drive is still working you can clone it to your new drive with a program like true image

[aruwin]

if your old drive is still working you can clone it to your new drive with a program like true image

is it normal for a harddrive to make a 'fan-moving-sound-like' when I am running a programme on my computer?Like when I'm trying to encode a video?

[guns1inger]

Encoding video tends to read and write a lot of data to the HDD, so it is normal to hear the drive being accessed frequently. If you are working from a single HDD then you will be almost constantly accessing the drive and read and write to the same physical device.

Whether or not the sound yours is making is a good sound is hard to tell from this distance.

[aruwin]

Encoding video tends to read and write a lot of data to the HDD, so it is normal to hear the drive being accessed frequently. If you are working from a single HDD then you will be almost constantly accessing the drive and read and write to the same physical device.

Whether or not the sound yours is making is a good sound is hard to tell from this distance.

Yeah,hard to describe the sound but it sure sounds like a spinning fan.So,it's normal then.I'm just worried that my harddrive is wearing out cuz I always leave my PC on.I only switch it off for like 3 hours a day.I am constantly using my PC.Will my PC be burned out if I continue like this??

[redwudz]

I have one computer that has been running a couple of months, 24/7 without being shut down. I wouldn't worry too much about wearing it out. If you have only one hard drive, then a second drive would be helpful. The boot drive is also accessed quite a bit by the operating system. Having a second drive will likely make both drives last a little longer.

The most tell-tale noise from a hard drive that is starting to die is a clicking sound. Your computer probably also has S.M.A.R.T, which is a diagnostic program you can set to run from your BIOS. Most times, it will give some warning that the drive may be failing soon.

As mentioned, you can 'clone' your entire hard drive to a new drive. True Image is one program, and there are freeware programs to do it also. Often when you buy a new HDD, it will have cloning programs on the included discs. You can leave your old hard drive in place and just add the new one most times. Repartition and reformat the old drive and use it for backups or storage and it may last a few more years.

[Nelson37]

Well, the data will not be deleted, but it will not just magically appear on the new drive, either.

As mentioned, either clone the old drive, or add the new one and keep both.

What is actually the best procedure is to remove the old drive and put in the new one, install a new copy of Windows, install the programs you need, then re-attach the old drive, copy the data, then blank the old one. This removes all the crap accumulated over the years and often restores performance.

Windows has a tool under hard drive, properties, called error-checking, run this and then a defrag, this serves as a pretty good test of the health of the drive.

As far as leaving it on, I've got systems that have only been shut down once in the last 8 years, the start-up is actually the most stressful time for electronics. Exceptions to this would be a PC with a hi-performance video card, or one that is heavily overclocked. Overheating is what you need to avoid. A good surge protector is also important.

[jagabo]

If your drive is making unusual noises and it has data you don't want to lose -- get a new drive right away. Boxed retail drives come with cloning software. Clone the old drive to the new drive then make the new drive your boot drive.

[neomaine]

is it normal for a harddrive to make a 'fan-moving-sound-like' when I am running a programme on my computer?Like when I'm trying to encode a video?

Though encoding using one hard drive isn't a very optimum choice, I doubt the drive would only make this sound when you were encoding.

My hearing is still pretty good and from here it sounds like your CPU fan is starting to go.... Probably the taxing of the CPU during encoding is working it more than usual and the fan is kicking in.

I'd be even more likely to be correct if we're talking about a laptop here. Those little fans can go pretty quick some times. They're not really designed to run so hard.

[Constant Gardener]

is it normal for a harddrive to make a 'fan-moving-sound-like' when I am running a programme on my computer?Like when I'm trying to encode a video?

Quite normal. My CPU fan is virtually inaudible when idling, but revs up enthusiastically when video encoding, folding proteins, or playing games. If it gets louder than I like, I just remove the accumulated cat fur and dust.

[aruwin]

is it normal for a harddrive to make a 'fan-moving-sound-like' when I am running a programme on my computer?Like when I'm trying to encode a video?

Quite normal. My CPU fan is virtually inaudible when idling, but revs up enthusiastically when video encoding, folding proteins, or playing games. If it gets louder than I like, I just remove the accumulated cat fur and dust.

Mmmmm...what do you mean by removing the accumulated fur and dust??Do you mean that I have to clean in the drive?How?

[jagabo]

You need to clarify what you mean by "hard drive". Many people refer to the main computer case and everything inside it (as opposed to the monitor) as the hard drive. In actuality, the hard drive is only one component inside the case.

Case (left) and hard drive, approximately to scale:



The case typically contains at least two fans. One in the power supply and one on the CPU's heat sink. There are often more fans to blow air into and out of the case. The case and the heat sink often get full of dust.

Constant Gardener was talking about opening up the case and blowing out any dust that has accumulated inside.

The CPU fan is sometimes controlled by a temperature sensor so it spins faster when the CPU heats up (like when encoding video). The other fans are sometimes hooked up to heat sensors too.

[aruwin]

You need to clarify what you mean by "hard drive". Many people refer to the main computer case and everything inside it (as opposed to the monitor) as the hard drive. In actuality, the hard drive is only one component inside the case.

Case (left) and hard drive, approximately to scale:



The case typically contains at least two fans. One in the power supply and one on the CPU's heat sink. There are often more fans to blow air into and out of the case. The case and the heat sink often get full of dust.

Constant Gardener was talking about opening up the case and blowing out any dust that has accumulated inside.

The CPU fan is sometimes controlled by a temperature sensor so it spins faster when the CPU heats up (like when encoding video). The other fans are sometimes hooked up to heat sensors too.

Well,I was referring the harddrive as many ppl thought it was - the main computer case and everything inside it.I have never opened the case. How to detect that the hard drive is overheating before it gets totally burned out??

[ZippyP.]

How to detect that the hard drive is overheating before it gets totally burned out??

Random errors or shutdowns during encoding indicate overheating issues which can be caused by any number of bad components - CPU, ram, power supply or hard drive.

As suggested you need to run a diagnostic utility to pinpoint a problem, even then it's not foolproof. You might want to take it to a friend or someone who knows a little more about computers and can do some maintenance on it.

[Nelson37]

Hard drives rarely "totally burn out", they also rarely "overheat". Typically you either get significant warning of read or write failures, lost clusters, etc., either during normal usage or the diagnostics I mentioned, a SMART error from the BIOS, or what is more common nowadays is that one day you turn it on and it is just gone, poof.

Overheating is much more likely to affect other components in the box, which usually contains several fans, which accumulate dust and make noise. Hard drive error noises are rarely "fan-like", usually more like repeated click patterns or knocking noises, what I often describe as Woody Woodpecker sounds. Clicking sounds are normal, repeated patterns followed by an error msg are not.

And yes, many, many people describe the entire PC as the "hard drive". The drive itself is a sealed unit requiring little or no user maintenance, really there are only diagnostics related to its functionality. It either works or it doesn't, when it starts to have errors, copy important data and replace it.

[nmeter]

Clicking is never good. If you start having problems with OS being responsive then the drive is dying and you better backup ASAP.
Just came across that page with failed hard drive sounds: http://datacent.com/hard_drive_sounds.php Some of them are pretty funny.