How do I test a failed hard drive?

When a hard drive fails, it can be a frustrating and potentially disastrous situation. Important files and data may be inaccessible, and you likely want to recover as much as possible. Before attempting data recovery, it’s essential to properly diagnose the hard drive failure through testing. This article provides a step-by-step guide on how to test a failed hard drive.

Symptoms of a Failed Hard Drive

There are several common symptoms that indicate hard drive failure:

  • The hard drive is not detected by the computer and does not show up in the BIOS
  • The hard drive makes unusual clicking or beeping noises
  • Files and data cannot be accessed or randomly disappear from the hard drive
  • The computer boots to a blue screen citing a disk read error
  • Certain sectors of the hard drive cannot be accessed and data cannot be read or written
  • The hard drive reports high SMART error counts
  • The hard drive takes much longer than normal to read and write data

If you are experiencing any of these issues, it’s quite likely you have a failed or failing hard drive.

Gather Information on the Drive

Before beginning testing, gather some key information about the potentially failed hard drive:

  • What is the brand, model and capacity of the hard drive?
  • What type of computer and operating system was it installed in?
  • Does the drive have any visible physical damage or make any audible noises?
  • When did problems with the drive first appear?
  • Have there been any power outages, surges or environmental factors that could have caused issues?

Recording these details will assist with troubleshooting and choosing the appropriate recovery methods later on.

Check Cabling and Connections

A simple wiring issue can sometimes masquerade as a full-on hard drive failure. Before running diagnostic tools, check the physical hard drive connections. For desktop computers, power down fully and remove the data and power cables from the back of the hard drive. Carefully reseat each cable, checking for any bent or broken pins. Ensure the connections are snug but not too tight.

For external hard drives, use a different USB cable and port if possible. Try connecting the external drive to another computer to isolate the issue. Proper cabling is essential for the drive to function.

Boot the Computer to BIOS

The BIOS (basic input/output system) controls communication between system hardware and operating system software. By booting into BIOS, you can check if the hard drive is being detected at the most basic level by the computer hardware.

To enter BIOS, power on the computer and press the BIOS access key, usually F2, F10 or Delete, during the initial boot stage. Once in BIOS, check if the hard drive is listed under the storage devices menu. If it’s missing from BIOS, that indicates the PC is not detecting the hard drive hardware at all.

Run the S.M.A.R.T. Test

S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) is a monitoring system included in hard drives to detect and report on various indicators of drive reliability and health. S.M.A.R.T. checks things like reallocated sectors, spin retry counts and temperature.

To run S.M.A.R.T., download and install a free tool like CrystalDiskInfo. Open the program, select your hard drive, then go to the Function menu and choose Advanced Features > Self Test. This will initiate a full scan of S.M.A.R.T. attributes to determine if any thresholds have been exceeded.

Perform a Short Drive Self Test

Most hard drives have built-in self-testing capabilities that put the drive through a diagnostic routine to identify problems. Running a short or quick self-test is a great initial step in determining hard drive health.

To start a self-test, download the hard drive manufacturer’s support tool, such as SeaTools for Seagate or Data Lifeguard for Western Digital drives. Install and open the tool, select your drive, then choose the option to perform a quick test. Let the test run to completion; most take 10-30 minutes to fully test the drive.

Conduct a Bad Sector Check

Bad sectors are areas on the hard drive platters that can no longer reliably store and retain data due to physical defects or corruption. Checking for bad sectors will help identify readable data and damaged areas.

Use a disk scanner like SeaTools, Data Lifeguard or Hard Disk Sentinel to perform a surface scan on your drive. This maps the disk surface and logs any problematic regions. Taking note of the locations of bad sectors can aid data recovery later on.

Diagnose Issues with Disk Diagnostic Tools

More advanced diagnostic software can provide additional insight into the health status and issues plaguing a potentially failed hard drive. Examples include:

  • Victoria – Provides detailed S.M.A.R.T. attribute reporting and drive fitness score.
  • MHDD – Tests read performance and identifies bad sectors.
  • Bootable tools like UBCD or Hirens BootCD which provide drive testing outside of the OS.

Run at least one of these tools to get an expert second opinion on your drive’s functionality and pinpoint where problems may lie.

Check for Electrical or Mechanical Issues

In some cases, hard drive problems stem from electrical shorts or physical issues internally within the drive. Signs of this include:

  • Loud clicking or grinding noises
  • The platters not spinning up
  • Smoke or burning smell from the drive
  • Obvious external damage to the drive casing

Electrical shorts can sometimes be temporarily resolved by freezing the hard drive for a few hours. But mechanical issues or burnt circuitry are difficult to repair without an expensive clean room disassembly.

Attempt Data Recovery Software

After thoroughly testing the drive, your next step is attempting to recover the data. Try data recovery software like:

  • Recuva – Restores deleted files and scans recoverable data.
  • R-Studio – Advanced recovery of partitions and data from damaged drives.
  • SpinRite – Repairs data at the physical level while testing drive integrity.

These tools can rescue data from drives with minor logical issues or formatting problems. But they are generally ineffective for mechanical failures.

Remove the Hard Drive for Further Diagnosis

At this stage, if basic testing has not revealed the exact failure cause, it’s best to physically extract the hard drive from the computer for closer inspection. This allows you to connect the bare drive to other systems for enhanced troubleshooting.

Carefully open your computer’s case and locate the hard drive bay. Remove any brackets or screws securing the drive in place. Detach the SATA and power connectors. Then slide the drive out from its bay. Avoid touching the PCB or any PCB components to prevent electrostatic discharge issues.

Use a SATA hard drive adapter or external enclosure to connect the extracted drive to a working computer. Run further diagnostics and recovery efforts on the drive in this more flexible setup.

Listen Closely for Mechanical Sounds

With the hard drive removed and connected via SATA adapter, power it on and listen closely to any noises the drive makes. Common sounds include:

  • Humming or whirring – Indicates normal operation of the spindle motor and platters.
  • Clicking – Suggests the read/write actuator arm is stuck or failing.
  • Scraping or grinding – Heads touching platters due to impact damage or failed actuators.
  • Beeping – Motor unable to spin up the drive due to mechanical issue or PCB fault.

Analyzing these sounds will provide insight on where the physical problem exists within the drive.

Assess External Damage

Closely inspect the external housing of the hard drive. Look for any signs of damage like:

  • Dents, cracks or holes in the drive casing
  • Burnt or charred PCB components
  • Detached or missing circuit board connections
  • Corroded or oxidized components or contacts

Physical damage frequently leads to electrical shorts and connection issues. A damaged PCB often necessitates specialist data recovery through drive rebuilding and chip swaps.

Observe Drive Spin Up

Connect the hard drive to an external power source and watch the disk platters through the PCB window as power is applied. The plates should begin spinning at a consistent rate. Noisy or erratic spinning may signify a motor or spindle issue.

If the platters do not spin up at all, the spindle motor is likely faulty. This can sometimes be remedied by swapping PCB boards with an identical hard drive model.

Conclusion

Thoroughly testing a failed or failing hard drive is crucial before attempting data recovery. By methodically working through various diagnostics and checking for common failure points, you gain a solid understanding of the drive’s condition. While time-consuming, this prevents wasted effort on advanced recovery from an unsalvageable drive. Your best chance of recovering data relies on pinpointing the failure trigger and any workarounds.