Is this catastrophic? I am receiving a message that my disk monitoring system has detected a problem...?

Question

yet when i do a check up, it says there are no current issues. i have no viruses; i have good spyware and virus protection, etc. If i bypass the message, my system runs fine.

the warning message reads: 'the disk monitoring system has detected that drive 0 on the primary EIDE controller is operating outside normal specifications... back up your data and replace your hard disk drive...' then, it gives me an option to continue, or run the set up utility.

is this a dire problem? is there any way i can easily correct it? how do i back up my data? is this necessary? (forgive me. i am a real spazz when it comes to this technical stuff. talk REEEAAL low tech to me!)

i think this might be the result of a software update or download that was interrupted while downloading. i think the next time i used the computer, the message appeared.

thanks SO MUCH for your help! i really need it!!!

Answer 1

You may consider buying an external drive and keep an updated backup ready. You can install a new internal drive, reload the image from the external backup and not lose anything.
Full backups are always a good idea. A two day old computer's hard drive can fail. You never know.

Answer 2

This is part of the S.M.A.R.T technology that most PC's built since 2000 have. It doesn't catch all hard drive failures before they happen, but when it gives you an error like that, you can be sure the drive is on its way out the door.

You should waste no time backing up your data. If you already have a CD or DVD burner, then look into a software program called Acronis TrueImage or Norton Ghost (I prefer Acronis for ease of use). Get either one which will help you make an exact image of your hard drive.

After backing it up, feel free to take your chances or just buy a new drive. They're pretty cheap these days usually found at less than 50¢ per gigabyte when you buy the larger ones.

Answer 3

It is probably a dire problem, and it has nothing to do with malware.

What it is, is your hard drive. And it is probably failing.

To back up your data, you need to have CD-R capability. Do you have that?

This means that you need to burn all of your personal stuff onto a CD before you replace your hard drive. It also means that you need to have your operating system restore disks handy.

I suggest--since you don't know much about computers--taking your computer to a professional. First, have them confirm what I've told you here. If it turns out I'm right, they will be able to back up your stuff and then replace the hard drive. Hard drives aren't all that expensive anymore, and the backup might cost you $80, depending.