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I have an old computer with three IDE (PATA) hard drives. Sometimes (I still don't know what's causing it) some of them suddenly clicks, creaks and squeaks, system hangs for a second and then continues to run normally (when computer boots the sound is similar but happens only once). I already tried to use only one HDD. It doesn't happen often but I'm worried about losing data. Could it be because of my HDDs are old (maybe they should rest already)? What should I do?

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    worry about data. find somebody that can make an image / do it yourself, quick. But carefully. Don't overuse the drive. It could be on its last legs re clicking.
    – barlop
    Jan 10, 2014 at 11:14
  • All the behavior you describe, indicates the hardware is failing, replace the drives as quickly as possible. If you are worried about data you should have backups.
    – Ramhound
    Jan 10, 2014 at 13:10

2 Answers 2

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If you are concerned about the data on this drive DO NOT continue to use the drive. The longer you use a failing drive the worse and more unreliable it becomes.

I think a good place to start with is a drive test. There are a variety of bootable disk utilities to test the health of Hard Drives and often times there will be built in diagnostics as well you can use. One simple but effective tool I like to use is Drive Fitness Test. This will tool will essentially go through the drive checking for bad sectors as well as performing a number of other checks in the process.

If DFT reports that the drive is failing (diagnostics in red box) you should try to backup your data immediately.

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  • i did what you said and heard one of those noises again while performing advanced test. strange but drive fitnes test shown me green screen with disposition code 0x00 (i was expecting red however). could the problem be with IDE controller on m/b? Jan 11, 2014 at 7:37
  • From the sound of the problem, it doesn't sound like the IDE controller would be an issue. The drive may just be showing its age if it making strange sounds. Best advice I can give for now would be to back everything up, continue using the drive and just carefully monitor the drive going forward.
    – jmreicha
    Jan 12, 2014 at 18:26
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Hanging can be an issue of the clogged operating system.

Also, if some strange clicks/sounds of an HDD appear, this is a bad sign. I commend you to check its S.M.A.R.T. status at first.

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  • i used wmic command with diskdrive get status parameter which shown OK. CrystalDiskInfo also shown good condition for all of three drives. Jan 10, 2014 at 12:37
  • If you value your data, move it to a new good HDD and keep using the old one for unimportant tasks.
    – Valerianis
    Jan 10, 2014 at 12:40
  • yes i will but what could possibly cause such an issue? it happens rarely and is spontaneous. Jan 10, 2014 at 12:48
  • I believe it can be an issue of head's positioning.
    – Valerianis
    Jan 10, 2014 at 13:02

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