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2 Posts
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60799
February 27th, 2014 20:00
Hard drive failure: Targeted Read Test FAILED, SMART Short Self test FAILED
Suddenly I get this popup from My Dell saying that my computer failed two important tests and that hard drive failure is imminent. It scared me so much I almost fell out of my computer chair, so I came here for help...my computer is a 2012 Dell Inspiron 15R 5520 and the error codes are:
I've seen other topics on this, but just in case, I wanted to make this one. I'm really worried that all my files will be lost because I don't have anywhere to back them up to. I've tried cloud, but my connection isn't good enough and it's just really slow and sometimes just won't work. Also, sometimes, when I press my ear to the laptop, I can hear a soft grinding noise, which I assumed was the failing hard drive. I don't think I've heard that noise before, but it could have been there ever since I bought the laptop. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
UPDATE: I ran CHKDSK and it only took a few seconds for it to determine that my hard disk is fine, although My Dell seems to think otherwise. What should I trust?
shesagordie
10 Elder
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46K Posts
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February 27th, 2014 20:00
4590X
You need to replace the failed hard drive, followed by reinstalling windows.
If there's a Dell warranty in effect, contact Dell's Technical Support for the replacement drive, no warranty, you need to buy a Notebook SATA, 9.5MM x 2.5" hard drive.
Regards to recovering the data files and folders,you can try attaching the failed hard drive to another working system using an USB adaptor similar to THIS and see if you can transfer the files and folders.
Any applications and programs need to be reinstalled from their discs, or downloaded from the publisher's website.
Bev.
Wldgtstang
24 Posts
0
March 29th, 2015 14:00
No, this does not always mean the hard drive is failing. I see a lot of dumb answers here and it makes me think that they are plants to get you to buy a hard drive or maybe a new computer. Depending on your chip-set you need to download and install Rapid storage technology driver for that series of chipset. I went to the Intel download site and was able to get the driver. I saved it so I could keep it on a flash drive and I then installed it. After it installed the computer restarted. I ran the Dell Support center and the issue was fixed. So the moral of this story it anyone can type some nonsense but do your research first.
seacity1
11 Posts
0
June 8th, 2015 17:00
My computer froze in IE yesterday & I could not get Task Manager to come up. Had to do a hard reset & after that computer hung at the Dell Logo. After repeat tries I got a message that my HD was in "imminent" danger of failure. I pressed enter & the system then booted normally. I ran diagnostics both in & out of Win 8.1 & in both cases I got a message that the drive had failed the Smart Test. I have not had any problems or heard any noises. After yesterday's incident it seems to be running fine. I have Intel Rapid Storage Technology installed & have never had a warning or error reported. The status icon continues to have a green check mark indicating a positive status. When I ran the test again today this is what it reported. There was an error code of WHD16-9DG. I have not been able to find out what that means. All other tests passed.
I got several estimates today to get the drive replaced. Even with the exact same drive the cost was approx. $350. Best Buy Geek Squad wanted $415. This included $90 for running the same diagnostics I have already run & only includes installation of the OS with the original media (which Dell does not provide. Do to the location of the drive this is not an easy do it yourself project. Naturally, if it is truly failing I have to replace it but the cost of repair is almost as much as a new computer! I am however, puzzled by the conflicting "Ok" report from the Intel App. Also there is no way my computer was on for that many hours. It is shut down every night.
seacity1
11 Posts
0
June 8th, 2015 19:00
I just went to Seagate's website & DL there diagnostic tools which are much more comprehensive. You might want to see if your HD manufacturer have something similar. Due to time I just did the short generic tests & the HD passed all of them. "Short Generic" will run on both internal and external drives. It has three segments: outer scan, inner scan and random read. If a bad segment is found the test will stop & the failure reported. On thing of interest is that Seagate said there is nothing found to be wrong with many of the drives that are returned under warranty. They also own Maxtor so this program can also test those drives.
I also checked Microsoft's Disk Management tool & it reports all sectors as healthy. Now I do not know what to think. I am going to run the long test's tomorrow which also has the option to attempt to try & repair any bad sectors. Another thing that probably should be done is to run CHKDSK from the command line. I have backed everything up but do not want to run out & spend several hundreds dollars until I feel I have thoroughly investigated the situation.