Monday, July 9, 2012

7-9-12 Windows Detected a Hard Disk Problem


"Back up your files immediately to prevent information loss, and then contact the computer manufacturer to determine if you need to repair or replace the disk. . .

Because a disk failure will cause you to lost all programs, file and documents on the disk, you should back up your important information immediately. Try not to use your computer until you have repaired or replaced the hard disk."

Nothing like a pop-up on a Sunday afternoon to get your heart racing.

I'd been closing out some work when it first appeared and, because I work remotely in multiple systems, incorrectly thought it was alerting me about a different computer, not my own. I clicked "Ask me again later" and moved on. It popped up another couple of times; I did the same.

Then, I closed out the remote systems, and it appeared again.

My first thought was, this is a malware problem. I checked and for some reason Avast hadn't automatically updated that morning, so I manually pushed it, at which point it told me I needed to restart.

On restart, the DOS alert told me I had a hard drive issue.

Now, I'm worried.

This computer is 20 months old. And in 20 months, have I backed up any of my media?

Pbbhhhtt. Of course not.

And, you know, I take a few pictures from time to time. . . throw together a video here or there. . .

Thus began a feverish import of 100+ GB of data onto the external, with this reminder popping up every 15 minutes. I am still wary of clicking "start the backup process" out of the pop-up, so I do it myself, folder to folder.

I ran a full system scan overnight and there is no infection detected.

So I may be sitting at the bedside of a dying patient. I'll ask my IT guys at work today to see if there is anything they can do, short of a heart transplant, but be advised. Steer clear of Toshiba MK6465GSX. Twenty months is crap for a hard drive life.







0 comments:

Post a Comment