Is this HD failing or is it something else?

[cosrocket]

My parents told me their PC keeps freezing so I came over to check it out. Yes, after a few minutes no matter what program I run it just freezes. I did boot into safe mode and ran Malwarebytes and a couple of other malware programs and they all found nothing. I then rebooted into normal Windows 7 and disabled the antivirus program thinking perhaps it might be the issue but it still freezes. I checked in msconfig and there are no programs in the startup that look suspicious. I also went into Uninstall Programs and there are no signs of any malware programs there.

 

So after all that I am thinking the hard drive must be failing. I tried to backup their document folder but it just froze during the backup process. The only thing I find strange is in safe mode it seems to work ok, but I've been told the hard drive can still be failing and function in safe mode but not in regular windows.

 

So what do you think? Does it sound like the hard drive is failing to you? I would appreciate your input.

[+Warwagon MVC]

One thing you could do is check the event viewer

 

Windows key + R eventvwr  ... and go under the system logs.

 

Look for NTFS errors / hard drive errors.

 

Sometimes they will show up sometimes not. I would recommend if you don't see any errors to do a error scan with hdtune pro

 

www.hdtunepro.com they have a 30 day free trial.

 

You can also use the smart data with that program too.

[cosrocket]

I'll try those. Just saw that it's freezing in Safe Mode too. I just tried backing up in Safe Mode and it just froze.

[cosrocket]

I looked in Event Viewer and there a ton of errors that say Service Control manager. What does that mean?? And dwould it have anything to do with the HD?

[+Warwagon MVC]

I looked in Event Viewer and there a ton of errors that say Service Control manager. What does that mean?? And dwould it have anything to do with the HD?

 

When you click it it gives you a more detailed error.

 

Does it talk about Windows Management Instrumentation?

 

Sometimes a malware infection deletes that service. When that service is missing i've seen it cause freezes.

 

If that is the case you can paste these commands in the command prompt one at a time

 

cd /d %windir%\system32\wbem
for %i in (*.dll) do regsvr32 -s %i
for %i in (*.exe) do %i /regserver

[xendrome]

Just run CrystalDiskInfo on it.

[Tha Bloo Monkee]

+1 for HD Tune.  Find HD Tune 2.54 (last version to be released as freeware) if you want a free version.

 

Do a full error scan, any red blocks = bad.

 

I would also do a memtest on it to test for potentially bad RAM.

[Romero]

1. Backup data immediately, using a Linux Live CD/USB if required.

2. Test full drive surface using latest version of drive manufacturer's free utility (example SeaTools for Seagate, Data Lifeguard Diagnostic or Drive Utilities for WD). These should show S.M.A.R.T. stats as well, uncluding reallocated sector count and so on (CrystalDiskInfo portable is also good for viewing just the stats). Remember to run the full/extended test and not the quick test. Depending on the size of the drive it might take hours.

3. If no errors test RAM (ideally one stick at a time for at least a few hours each) using MemTest86/MemTest86+ from a Live CD/USB.

4. If no errors reinstall OS.

5. If you still have issues it'll require taking a look at other hardware, including cables.

 

You might want to swap steps 3 and 4 if you find 4 simpler to do.

[T3X4S]

Stop wasting time with commands and what ifs, maybes, and hopes

Backup all the important stuff, wipe and reload - a new HDD is $50 considering I doubt your parents have a ton of data...

Think of the cost of time wasted looking for that needle in the haystack that says "here is the problem.... do this !"

 

[Stokkolm]

Stop wasting time with commands and what ifs, maybes, and hopes

Backup all the important stuff, wipe and reload - a new HDD is $50 considering I doubt your parents have a ton of data...

Think of the cost of time wasted looking for that needle in the haystack that says "here is the problem.... do this !"

 

It takes about 20 minutes to scan for SMART errors, it wouldn't hurt to do that.

[+Warwagon MVC]

Stop wasting time with commands and what ifs, maybes, and hopes

Backup all the important stuff, wipe and reload - a new HDD is $50 considering I doubt your parents have a ton of data...

Think of the cost of time wasted looking for that needle in the haystack that says "here is the problem.... do this !"

 

So you are saying, don't trouble shoot the issue, just buy a new hard drive and reinstall, fixed!

[T3X4S]

So you are saying, don't trouble shoot the issue, just buy a new hard drive and reinstall, fixed!

Well his error logs were pointing to Windows issues, or did I not read everything ?

If he can narrow down the problem, to a bad HDD or anything else - what is the next step ?

Lets say he runs all of these tests, and finds the problem to be some obscure Windows thing.

Then, to remove any doubt and not have to deal with the "wounded soldier" - you wipe and reload.

If its a bad HDD, he gets a new one, then either copies a messed up image or just install fresh OS

 

Ultimately, it will probably end up with a wipe and reload on the existing or new HDD - who cares what the needle in the haystack is - build a new haystack - its not a server or system critical machine.

 

Lets say he fixes the problem of the lock ups.... then he will probably have a cluttered, old, bloatware image - so.... nuke it and start fresh - save all that time -

There is a satisfaction to finding the error and fixing it - but in the big picture - nuke it and move forward - done.

At least thats the mood Im in today - tomorrow I will tell him to do a chkdsk/r then maybe a sfc -

[+Warwagon MVC]

Well his error logs were pointing to Windows issues, or did I not read everything ?

If he can narrow down the problem, to a bad HDD or anything else - what is the next step ?

Lets say he runs all of these tests, and finds the problem to be some obscure Windows thing.

Then, to remove any doubt and not have to deal with the "wounded soldier" - you wipe and reload.

If its a bad HDD, he gets a new one, then either copies a messed up image or just install fresh OS

 

Ultimately, it will probably end up with a wipe and reload on the existing or new HDD - who cares what the needle in the haystack is - build a new haystack - its not a server or system critical machine.

 

Lets say he fixes the problem of the lock ups.... then he will probably have a cluttered, old, bloatware image - so.... nuke it and start fresh - save all that time -

There is a satisfaction to finding the error and fixing it - but in the big picture - nuke it and move forward - done.

 

Unless of course he is missing that Core Windows service ... which i've seen cause freezes. Simple fix

[Tha Bloo Monkee]

Well his error logs were pointing to Windows issues, or did I not read everything ?

If he can narrow down the problem, to a bad HDD or anything else - what is the next step ?

Lets say he runs all of these tests, and finds the problem to be some obscure Windows thing.

Then, to remove any doubt and not have to deal with the "wounded soldier" - you wipe and reload.

If its a bad HDD, he gets a new one, then either copies a messed up image or just install fresh OS

 

Ultimately, it will probably end up with a wipe and reload on the existing or new HDD - who cares what the needle in the haystack is - build a new haystack - its not a server or system critical machine.

 

Lets say he fixes the problem of the lock ups.... then he will probably have a cluttered, old, bloatware image - so.... nuke it and start fresh - save all that time -

There is a satisfaction to finding the error and fixing it - but in the big picture - nuke it and move forward - done.

Horrible advice.

 

 

So you are saying, don't trouble shoot the issue, just buy a new hard drive and reinstall, fixed!

That's even assuming it's the hard drive that's failing   It could be something else.

 

OP: When you say it's freezing, what exactly do you mean?  A computer restarting or shutting down a few minutes after turning it on can be also be symptom of an overheating processor or graphics card.  If you suspect this, get a temperature monitoring program like HWMon and keep an eye on the temps.

[T3X4S]

Horrible advice.

 

 

That's even assuming it's the hard drive that's failing   It could be something else.

 

OP: When you say it's freezing, what exactly do you mean?  A computer restarting or shutting down a few minutes after turning it on can be also be symptom of an overheating processor or graphics card.  If you suspect this, get a temperature monitoring program like HWMon and keep an eye on the temps.

Well - we can wait to see what the end result is of whatever the OP decides - then we will see if it was "horrible advice" or not.

[Tha Bloo Monkee]

I didn't mean to say that everything you suggested you was horrible advice, but the "just buy a new hard drive" part is.

[cosrocket]

By freezing I mean that after between 2 to 5 minutes after the computer boots into Windows 7 the mouse just freezes and you can't do anything...can't Control-Alt-Delete, or use they keyboard and I have to hold down the power button to turn the PC off. I tried backing up the document folder several times but in the middle it just freezes and sits there with the status bar stuck.

 

I did try CrystalDiskInfo but it came up with a Caution message right away, but I changed a couple of the parameters and then it said Good but the problem still persists, so I don't know what that means.

 

How do I know if Service Control Manager is installed? When I enter services.msc, the services are showing normally, or would they not show at all if the Service Control manager was missing?

[Tha Bloo Monkee]

Take out the hard drive, place it into another PC and run HD Tune's error scan to start.  This will quickly tell you if the hard drive is physically at fault.

[+Warwagon MVC]

By freezing I mean that after between 2 to 5 minutes after the computer boots into Windows 7 the mouse just freezes and you can't do anything...can't Control-Alt-Delete, or use they keyboard and I have to hold down the power button to turn the PC off. I tried backing up the document folder several times but in the middle it just freezes and sits there with the status bar stuck.

 

I did try CrystalDiskInfo but it came up with a Caution message right away, but I changed a couple of the parameters and then it said Good but the problem still persists, so I don't know what that means.

 

How do I know if Service Control Manager is installed? When I enter services.msc, the services are showing normally, or would they not show at all if the Service Control manager was missing?

 

Given the sort of freeze you've described I don't think that service is your issue, but you could check anyway.

 

Press Windows key +R type services and press enter. Then alphabetize the list and go down to the bottom, if you see one called "Windows Management Instrumentation" You're good. if it's not there then not so good.