What Does a SMART Predicted Failure Warning Mean on My Laptop?
My Windows 11 laptop, an HP Victus 16.1-inch gaming model purchased in 2022, recently started showing a storage health check failure along with a "SMART predicted failure" warning…
hard drive failure
Is my nearly full 10TB external hard drive failing?
I use a nearly full 10TB external hard drive to store video files. Over the past few days, it has occasionally disappeared from my PC until I unplugged…
Is my old 1TB USB drive failing?
I recently bought a gaming laptop and needed extra storage, so I connected an older 1TB USB drive. It has started behaving strangely: files refuse to delete, formatting…
Is My 1TB USB Drive Failing or Just Extremely Slow?
I recently bought a gaming laptop and needed extra storage, so I connected an older 1TB USB drive that had worked reliably in the past. Now files refuse…
My HDD started clicking and caused a VM crash—should I stop using it?
Today, while running a virtual machine, my Seagate 2TB hard drive began making repeated clicking sounds and the virtual machine crashed with a blue screen. The clicking happened…
My Seagate HDD Started Clicking and Caused a VM Crash—Is It Failing?
My Seagate 2TB hard drive began clicking repeatedly while I was using a virtual machine, and the virtual machine soon crashed with a blue screen. The clicking continued…
Laptop intermittently loses its boot drive after a CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED error
My HP laptop had its motherboard replaced a few months ago and was wiped with Windows 11 freshly installed. It worked for a while, but then suddenly crashed…
Is a 4TB Hard Drive With Reallocated Sectors Safe to Buy?
I'm considering buying a used 4TB Seagate BarraCuda for $50, but CrystalDiskInfo reports a Caution status because of reallocated sectors. Is that serious enough to avoid the drive,…
Linux Mint Won’t Boot After Installation and Reports Sector Read Errors
I installed Linux Mint last night, but after shutting down the computer it no longer boots into the system. For several hours I've been seeing different error screens…
PC froze and now only boots into BIOS or Automatic Repair—how can I recover it?
My PC froze unexpectedly, so I powered it off. Since then, it will not boot into Windows and only takes me to BIOS or Automatic Repair. System Restore…
PC freezes and now only boots into BIOS or Automatic Repair—how can I recover it?
My PC froze a couple of hours ago, so I shut it down, expecting a normal restart to fix the problem. Since then, it will not boot into…
Linux Mint Installation Fails to Boot and Reports Disk Read Errors
I installed Linux Mint last night, shut the computer down, and now it will not start Mint normally. For several hours I have been seeing different error screens…
Laptop Crashed and Now Reports That No Boot Drive Was Found
I was working in Microsoft Word with several browser windows open when the laptop froze while switching applications. The display then went black, followed by a brief message…
Windows 11 Installation Fails at 75% After BIOS Update
A friend's PC, built in 2022, had been experiencing random crashes, game errors, and other instability. We verified game files, completely reinstalled the graphics drivers, ran SFC and…
Can I Safely Keep Using This WD Blue Hard Drive?
I was given a WD Blue hard drive from an old desktop that apparently had not been powered on for more than seven years. It still works and…
Can a Small Bump Really Kill an External Hard Drive While It’s Running?
I have very limited desk space and short cables, so I usually keep my external mechanical hard drives near the edge of my desk beside my computer. During…
Can I recover photos and music from a failing Seagate external hard drive?
I have a Seagate STGX2000400 hard drive that stored old photos, music plugins, and songs I wrote. It began acting up after a failed game installation: File Explorer…
Can a Small Bump Kill an External Hard Drive While It’s Running?
I have very little desk space and short cables, so I usually keep my external hard drives near the edge of the desk beside my computer. During an…
How can I determine whether my old hard drive is causing my computer’s slowdowns?
My computer has become noticeably slower over the past week or two, especially when loading new areas or files. For example, an older game that used to load…
Is My 8TB Hard Drive Failing Despite a Healthy SMART Status?
I'm not very experienced with PC hardware, so I'm trying to figure out what's happening with my 8TB Seagate hard drive (ST8000VN004-2M2101). It used to work normally, but…