Are These SMART Errors a Sign That My Nine-Year-Old HDD Is Dying?
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MellowCedar47
I've recently noticed my computer slowing down or briefly hanging during everyday tasks like opening browser tabs, gaming, and using voice chat. The hard drive is around nine years old, and Windows is installed on it. These problems only started about two weeks ago but have become increasingly frustrating. CrystalDiskInfo reports a caution status with these SMART values: Reallocated Sectors Count: 0x4E (78), Current Pending Sector Count: 0x242 (578), and Uncorrectable Sector Count: 0x242 (578). How urgent is it to replace the drive, and should I move Windows and back up my data immediately?
Answers
Don't wait for complete failure. Copy your important data first, then replace the HDD. Since the operating system is on it, installing Windows fresh on another drive is also a reasonable option if cloning seems risky.
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Yes, replace it as soon as possible. The age is less important than the SMART data: the drive has already remapped bad sectors, while hundreds of sectors are pending or currently unreadable. The slowdowns may be Windows repeatedly retrying failed reads, which can make the whole system appear to freeze. Back up anything important immediately, avoid unnecessary benchmarks or stress tests, and move or clone the operating system to another drive if you can. A drive in this condition can deteriorate quickly without warning.
MellowCedar47: Understood. I have another drive available, so I’m moving Windows over immediately and will back up the important files as soon as possible. I’ll replace the failing drive shortly.
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CrystalDiskInfo can display raw SMART values in hexadecimal, which can make them look confusing. You can switch the raw-value setting to decimal under Function > Advanced Features > Raw Values. In this case, though, either display format still indicates a serious problem—the converted values are roughly 78 reallocated sectors and 578 pending and uncorrectable sectors.
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MellowCedar47: That makes sense. I’ve done a fresh Windows installation on another drive and am gradually copying over the files I need.