My PC is a Compaq SR5520AN running Windows Vista SP2. Over the last few hours i have had a warning message display advising me of a Hard Disk Failure. It advises drive ST3160815AS ATA Device has a "Hard disk failure which is imminent, please back up your hard disk and have it replaced"
Is this a common detection for these PC's? Or generally does it mean the hard disk is very likely to fail quite quickly?
Run www.HDSentinel.com and check what it says about your drive. No need to buy it, the (limited) evaluation never expires. I have not used the others, but this one gives you a lot of info.
Running a virus scanner? At work we have it set to scan every file every time it is accessed. Slows down the PC a lot and wears out the hard drive. Check that it is set to scan only once and/or only when writing.
At work I was told hard drives need to lay flat, not on their side. Don't know if this is true, but something to check.
Some Seagate drives were not very reliable. I think the 7200.10 was one of them but not sure right now. Search reviews and stuff before buying another drive.
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