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After I picked it up from the ground I heard what sounded like the HDD clicking, and then the operating system (Windows 7) started being very very sluggish.

After a few minutes of closing programs and then rebooting, it seems to be working 100% with no issues. What could have happened to cause it to do that? Are there any free hardware diagnostic tools I could run?

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  • How did it drop, was it on a hard surface, approx distance to drop. Was it wet there. Try checking for dead pixels on the screen, there are lot of apps for that.
    – Firee
    Feb 5, 2014 at 12:36
  • @Firee What does dead pixels have to do with Windows 7 being sluggish?
    – Zero3
    Feb 5, 2014 at 16:49
  • Its to do with any effect the impact had on the screen.
    – Firee
    Feb 5, 2014 at 18:27

2 Answers 2

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HDTune will let you view the SMART data, but if it is working 100% with no issues, then there maybe nothing to find.

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  • Yeah. Just curious about what actually caused it to bomb out in the first place. First time I've ever dropped it. Thanks for the tip :)
    – notAnonymousAnymore
    Feb 5, 2014 at 11:12
  • Just because S.M.A.R.T says there isn't a problem doesn't mean there isn't a problem. S.M.A.R.T only contains data the HDD tracks, if there is a mechanical problem, HDTune won't be able to detect it by the S.M.A.R.T data.
    – Ramhound
    Feb 5, 2014 at 12:52
  • @Ramhound You are incorrect. Many S.M.A.R.T. values are directly affected by various mechanical problems.
    – Zero3
    Feb 5, 2014 at 16:47
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To answer your first question, your hard drive was clicking because it was trying to diagnose itself since it was spinning when dropped. It was most likely a precautionary measure by the hardware. I do know that HP has something called DriveGuard. If it realizes motion, it will bring the drive heads to rest position to prevent damage and the hard drive light will go orange. So your hard drive seems to be fine now and that's good news!

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  • This is a very accurate answer. In novice terms, the HDD was busy doing stuff, and I/O operations within Windows was left to wait.
    – Ramhound
    Feb 5, 2014 at 12:51
  • I would certainly suspect hard drive damage if the disk starts making a clicking noise after a drop. I think it is quite risky to assume that it is just caused by internal disk diagnosis.
    – Zero3
    Feb 5, 2014 at 16:59
  • Are you sure? When I tap my notebook's palmrest with my fingernails with some force, a notification will popup saying "Shock detected", but I don't hear any clicking.
    – A G
    Feb 6, 2014 at 11:11

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