Okay for the last 4-5 days my computer is making a very weird noise. It sounds kinda gravely and has a clicking noise when it is trying to load something. Then last night it froze up so I turned it off for a few minutes. When I turned it back on, it said "a problem has been detected with your hard drive, please consult the troubleshooting section of your users manual." I just kept turning it off and on and after about 30 minutes it came back up and worked fine. Today it did the same thing again, but this time it took 4 hours to come back. I kept getting the same message as above, then it would tell me to press enter to continue. When I pressed enter it said "primary master hard disk error." I just kept turning it off and on like last time, and it came back up after 4 hours like I said. My question is this, is there some kind of diagnostics test I can run while it is up to see what the problem is? I use windows xp, and I'm new at the computer so please give me detailed instructions!
2006-06-22 15:58:05 · 5 answers · asked by twirlersmom 3 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Desktops
What do you mean "back it up" ? How do I do that?
2006-06-22 16:19:52 · update #1
Since I got it back up earlier this evening, the noise is gone and it is running faster than it has in weeks! Any chance it is something else besides the hard drive? I don't mind having to replace it if that is the problem, but like I said, it's running great.
2006-06-22 16:27:20 · update #2
No need to run a diagnostic, you need a new hard drive. The bearing inside might have gone bad, you could have a wiring problem, a physical shock could have caused the disx it to bump up against the case and damage it....but you need a new hard drive.
2006-06-22 16:02:47 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
you should save all your important files to a cd , floppy or another harddrive like a usb drive, your drive could be going out.
You can also download teh diagnostic software fron the manufacturers website to test it, it could be tha tit need a good scandisk or checkdisk depending on your operating system. If you just have one bad sector, it will mark it, try to move the data and windows will not use it anymore for storage,
try that before you get a new one
2006-06-22 16:55:39 · answer #2 · answered by butchell 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hi, The hard disk on your computer has failed and the head is unable to read the platters (discs), that is why you are getting clicking noise as it tries to read. You have very little time to backup the data, backup the critical data first and then all of it if you want.Replace the hard disc as soon as possible.
2006-06-22 16:15:37 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Replace the Hard Disk ASAP or you might loose all your data.
2006-06-22 18:54:55 · answer #4 · answered by Pankaj Ahuja 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you should replace you hdd, even if its back to normal. its better to be sure than sorry
2006-06-22 17:59:16 · answer #5 · answered by jeegie312 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋