First, let us look at what a hard drive exactly is.  A hard drive is a piece of hardware that contains a certain amount of "platters" that are stacked together. Electromagnetic read and write heads appear directly above and below each hard drive platter.

 

While the platters spin, the drive heads move inward and outward, to the center and back to near the edge, to have access to the physical surface of each platter. In other words, a hard drive consists of physical parts, electromagnetic energy and circuits; thus creating friction that will eventually cause it to die. Yes, ALL hard drives will eventually fail - the question is WHEN?

Here are some important signs to look for:  

 

One of the most “telltale” ways of noticing a hard drive dying, is when you hear noises from the drive area of the computer. Any noises of rubbing (make sure the rubbing isn’t from a PC fan, or disc drive) is an indication that there is a mechanical problem within the drive, that can eventually spell total data loss.

 

Clicking sounds also indicate a mechanical problem with a hard drive, and many hard drives that have developed a “clicking” sound, have already failed prior to the noticeable clicking taking place (failed meaning inaccessible while within a computer).

Grinding noises also are an indication that a hard drive is failing or has failed, since in many cases the arm that contains the heads of the drive, is making physical contact with the platter, thus creating friction and damaging the read surface of the drive that contains the data.

 

 It is important to remember that many hard drives can make a slight noise that many may think is grinding, but everyday "normal" hard drive operation does not sound like grinding, or even scrubbing and clicking.

The best thing that you can do for your computer right NOW, is to start recognizing how your hard drive sounds "normally" so you can identify any abnormal noises and then act accordingly!

Another answer to the is my hard drive dying question is; data that is deleted or disappears without you knowing is a definite sign.

When a hard drive is failing it can cause read and write errors, which result in data being deleted and/or corrupted.

 

In most cases, malware such as viruses and spyware could be the culprit when data is deleted or corrupt, but if a computer has been confirmed as "clean" with no infections, the hard drive could be failing.

 

 

Another huge sign of a hard drive dying; which is definitely pretty obvious, is the drive can't be identified at all. For instance, when booting your computer, the POST (Power On Self Test) screen which appears immediately after powering on, reads "No Hard Disk Found", or similar error. 

 

  That scenario is an indication that either your hard drive is not connected properly, has the wrong "jumper" settings or configuration settings, or that the drive has failed and cannot be detected by the BIOS. 

 

Another scenario is; the computer boots up just fine - past the POST screen. Suddenly, a black screen appears and a blinking cursor, instead of the "Windows" logo.  No matter what you do; trying to find the "safe mode" menu, attempting to use the "recovery" feature by pressing F10 etc, nothing works to stop the black screen and blinking cursor issue.

 

Either your hard drive has physically failed in this case, or it needs to be reformatted due to partition table corruption, or deleted partitions, or a corrupt MBR (master boot record), to name a few.

A PC that crashes randomly that is not due to issues such as: overheating, malware, software incompatibilities, or a bad power supply or motherboard; you could have a dying hard drive. When the flow of data I/O of a hard disk is interrupted, this can often result in a "crash" otherwise seen as a blue screen, a computer shut down, a restart etc.

 

A HUGE sign that your hard drive is on its way out, is if your computer is running and suddenly shuts off, especially after a power surge. To simplify it, many drives have "internal programming" which will cause a drive to shut the computer down for no "logical" reason. These same drives fail completely shortly after, so if your computer has experienced this scenario, it is best to check it out to be safe.

 

If your disk isn't failing and it does work correctly, your computer crashing frequently or randomly can actually cause your drive to become corrupted due to improper shutdowns, among other things. A computer that powers down or restarts randomly should always be inspected by a professional technician or consultant, to troubleshoot the problem BEFORE data loss or corruption takes place. Always remember, your data is priceless!

A hard disk that seems to take "it's slow time" loading, accessing data, saving data etc, could be failing (or running in the *incorrect mode).

Hard drives have speed measurements that are measured in RPMs or Rotations Per Minute.

 

Older hard drives (and many current laptop hard drives) have a speed of 5,400 KB/s, while newer drives run at 7,200 RPM; and many higher performance drives running at 10,000+ RPM.  The seek/access time in another measurement for hard drive speed, and it is measured in "nanoseconds". 

 

  You will find that all hard drives have a certain access time that you must wait while retrieving data, and as more data is saved (and fragmented) on a drive, you may find longer access times.  B UT...

A computer that takes "forever" to load a file such as a spreadsheet, images, programs to name a few, should be checked to ensure drive integrity (correct operation). 

 

 If you are finding your computer is beyond slow and everything you click seems to take "minutes" to load, first ensure there is no virus infections etc, then look toyour hard drive as the culprit.

 

 

Stay tuned for the next article, to learn what FREE software you can use to test your drive(s) and how to fix problems when you suspect your hard drive is dying!