Western Digital Black may have errors, but how can I check?

WD Internal Drives Desktop & Mobile Drives
1

Hard Drive:

Western Digital WD Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Purchased from newegg.com on January 31, 2010.

While the computer was in use, the computer shut off, and now upon restart it gets stuck. I get an error stating Windows Failed to Start, and I can either attempt to start normally, or repair windows.

Starting normally brings up the windows starting screen, but freezes, and looks similar to this (not my actual picture):


Starting the “repair windows” option quickly loads files, and gets stuck at this (again, not my picture):


I tried letting both options sit for about 12 hours each, to no avail, they are stuck. I then tried to load windows in Safe Mode, and got stuck at this driver, it’s AVG free antivirus, but I’m skeptical that it’s actually a problem with software, and instead a disk error. wondering if the computer got shut off during an AVG update, which caused a disk error maybe? idk… (This is my own image):

825×1105 241 KB


I also attempted to boot from the Windows 7 disk, in order to attempt to repair the installation or something, but, that loaded the windows files, and attempted to start windows and gets stuck at the windows starting screen (see first picture in this thread).

So, I may attempt to get an external case USB adapter so that I can attempt to get some things off the drive, but my question is this:

  • Could someone run me through some methods of checking the drive, knowing that I cannot load windows, and cannot get into the windows repair options. I’d like to know if the drive is dead so I can get a new one.
  • If the drive is not dead, how can I repair windows since all my options thus far have not worked? If there is a bad spot on the drive, is there a way to move files around on it with a disk checking tool in order to use a different area of the drive that isn’t dead?
  • What other options do I have, other tricks do I have, to get my computer running again?

Thanks ahead of time for any help I can get. I do have an old laptop that I can use in the meantime, but need the desktop on a more permanent basis.

Thanks!

2

Hi if you go to this site and download Data Lifeguard Diagnostic for Dos you can write the iso image to a blank cd boot from that cd and you will be able to run a test on the drive.  http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?groupid=613&lang=en

3

I had the same issue with a power off.

Removed the drive and used a usb dock to off load all my stuff, reinstalled the drive and used Data Life Guard to do a bit by bit wipe of the drive, installed windows again and moved my stuff back on it.

I make recovery images now…lol

4

Will I lose data on the drive using the Data Lifeguard Diagnostic tool?

5

Hi no just running the test will not remove any data.

6

So, I’ve downloaded the DOS tool, but it is a .exe file, not a .iso file. So just copying the .exe to a DVD-R doesn’t allow me to boot from that cd.

I’m going to try and find a floppy disc drive at work tomorrow, and go that route. Then I’ll have to install the floppy drive into my computer, and boot from floppy.

7

Scratch that… My old floppy drive won’t plug into my desktop (not the correct cable, newer desktop is all sata not ide…)

How do I get this to work on a DVD-R to boot into DOS? Do I need to use a cd-r instead?

8

Hi sorry it used to be iso hehe you can just create a bootable dvd or cd and add that file to it or even a bootable usb stick.

9

The extended test may cause some file issues so best to mount on another system and copy what you want to keep to be safe.

10

I ordered an external hard drive case to mount this hard drive in temporarily so I can take some files off of it (pictures and such), and then I’ll dig deeper. Case shows up tomorrow. Didn’t want to risk loosing too much data on it if I didn’t have too, and I’m not really pressed for time to get it fixed, so might as well do it right.

Will update sometime in the next day or two after I try some hard drive checks. I was thinking that I could do a disk check while it’s connected via USB to another computer as well? I might try it. Otherwise, plug it back in, somehow make a dos bootable usb drive or cd, boot into dos, and try the disk check that way.

That’s the plan at the moment. Hopefully I can figure something out.

11

So, I was able to connect the hard drive via usb to another computer, and get some stuff off of it that I felt I should.

After getting things off the drive, I left it connected to my laptop with USB, and downloaded the Data LifeGuard for Windows (not DOS).

Starting the quick check brings about a quick “PASS” status.

Starting the extended check the first time, after a minute or so, get’s stuck at the following sector:

1479×1105 733 KB

It seemed odd to be stuck, so after a couple hours, I ended the task, restarted the computer, and restarted the extended test. This time, it got stuck at the following sector:

1479×1105 415 KB

I restarted a third time, and it again got stuck at the same sector as the first obstacle…

Any recommendations? Other programs to do the disk check with? Am I doing something wrong?

I’m dreading calling Western Digital themselves, in fear of sitting on the phone for multiple hours, but I may have to resort to that soon. The drive does still have a 5-year limited warranty, so maybe that will help.

12

Hi you can try a copy of HD tune or Hard Disk Sentinel I prefer Hard Disk Sentinel it should give you a report on the drive.

13

I’ll try the hard disk sentinel tonight.

Can I get by with the trial version? Is there a period of days to use it, or a period of times to use it? Or should I get the standard version? Don’t really want to spend $23 if I’m only going to use it once.

14

Hi yes just give the trial version a go it should tell you any errors.

15

I ran the hard disk sentinel program, but was only allowed to do a quick test with the trial version.

Here is the report put out by the program (I deleted the data for the hard drives that are of no concern):

– General Information –

Application Information

Installed Version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hard Disk Sentinel 4.30 PRO
Registered To . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unregistered version, please register.
Current Date And Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 2/10/2013 7:03:58 PM
Health Calculation Method . . . . . . . . . . . : Analyse data field (default)

– Physical Disk Information - Disk: #2: WDC WD1001FALS-00E8B0 –

Hard Disk Summary

Hard Disk Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 2
Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : SAT Standard USB/ATA
Vendor Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : VID: 1BCF, PID: 0C31
Hard Disk Model ID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : WDC WD1001FALS-00E8B0
Firmware Revision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 05.00K05
Hard Disk Serial Number . . . . . . . . . . . . : WD-WMATV4108707
Total Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 953867 MB
Power State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Active
Logical Drive(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : E: [System Reserved] F: [Optimus Prime]
Current Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 31 °C
Power On Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 101 days, 2 hours
Estimated Remaining Lifetime . . . . . . . . . . : more than 1000 days
Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : #################### 100 % (Excellent)
Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : #################### 100 % (Excellent)

The hard disk status is PERFECT. Problematic or weak sectors were not found and there are no spin up or data transfer errors.
No actions needed.

ATA Information

Hard Disk Cylinders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 1938021
Hard Disk Heads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 16
Hard Disk Sectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 63
ATA Revision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : ATA8-ACS
Transport Version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : SATA Rev 2.5
Total Sectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 1953525168
Bytes Per Sector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 512
Buffer Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 32767 KB
Multiple Sectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 16
Error Correction Bytes . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 50
Unformatted Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 953870 MB
Maximum PIO Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 4
Maximum Multiword DMA Mode . . . . . . . . . . . : 2
Maximum UDMA Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 300 MB/s (6)
Active UDMA Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 300 MB/s (6)
Minimum Multiword DMA Transfer Time . . . . . . : 120 ns
Recommended Multiword DMA Transfer Time . . . . : 120 ns
Minimum PIO Transfer Time Without IORDY . . . . : 120 ns
Minimum PIO Transfer Time With IORDY . . . . . . : 120 ns
ATA Control Byte . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Valid
ATA Checksum Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Valid

Acoustic Management Configuration

Acoustic Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Acoustic Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Disabled
Current Acoustic Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Max performance and volume (FEh)
Recommended Acoustic Level . . . . . . . . . . . : Min performance and volume (80h)

ATA Features

Read Ahead Buffer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported, Enabled
DMA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Ultra DMA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
S.M.A.R.T. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Power Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Write Cache . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Host Protected Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Advanced Power Management . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
Extended Power Management . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
Power Up In Standby . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
48-Bit LBA Addressing . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Device Configuration Overlay . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
IORDY Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Read/Write DMA Queue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
NOP Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Trusted Computing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
64-Bit World Wide ID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 0150E04E1257EAB5
Streaming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
Media Card Pass Through . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
General Purpose Logging . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Error Logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
CFA Feature Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
CFast Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
Long Physical Sectors (1) . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
Long Logical Sectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
Write-Read-Verify . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
NV Cache Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
NV Cache Power Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
NV Cache Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
Free-fall Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
Free-fall Control Sensitivity . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
Nominal Media Rotation Rate . . . . . . . . . . : 7200 RPM

SSD Features

Data Set Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
TRIM Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
Deterministic Read After TRIM . . . . . . . . . : Not supported

S.M.A.R.T. Details

Off-line Data Collection Status . . . . . . . . : Successfully Completed
Self Test Execution Status . . . . . . . . . . . : Successfully Completed
Total Time To Complete Off-line Data Collection : 18000 seconds
Execute Off-line Immediate . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Abort/restart Off-line By Host . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
Off-line Read Scanning . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Short Self-test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Extended Self-test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Conveyance Self-test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Selective Self-Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Save Data Before/After Power Saving Mode . . . . : Supported
Enable/Disable Attribute Autosave . . . . . . . : Supported
Error Logging Capability . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Short Self-test Estimated Time . . . . . . . . . : 2 minutes
Extended Self-test Estimated Time . . . . . . . : 208 minutes
Conveyance Self-test Estimated Time . . . . . . : 5 minutes
Last Short Self-test Result . . . . . . . . . . : Never Started
Last Short Self-test Date . . . . . . . . . . . : Never Started
Last Extended Self-test Result . . . . . . . . . : Never Started
Last Extended Self-test Date . . . . . . . . . . : Never Started
Last Conveyance Self-test Result . . . . . . . . : Never Started
Last Conveyance Self-test Date . . . . . . . . . : Never Started

Security Mode

Security Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Security Erase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Security Erase Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 182 minutes
Security Enhanced Erase Feature . . . . . . . . : Supported
Security Enhanced Erase Time . . . . . . . . . . : 182 minutes
Security Enabled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : No
Security Locked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : No
Security Frozen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : No
Security Counter Expired . . . . . . . . . . . . : No
Security Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : High

Serial ATA Features

S-ATA Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
S-ATA I Signaling Speed (1.5 Gps) . . . . . . . : Supported
S-ATA II Signaling Speed (3 Gps) . . . . . . . . : Supported
S-ATA Gen3 Signaling Speed (6 Gps) . . . . . . . : Not supported
Receipt Of Power Management Requests From Host . : Not supported
PHY Event Counters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Non-Zero Buffer Offsets In DMA Setup FIS . . . . : Not supported
DMA Setup Auto-Activate Optimization . . . . . . : Supported, Disabled
Device Initiating Interface Power Management . . : Not supported
In-Order Data Delivery . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
Asynchronous Notification . . . . . . . . . . . : Not supported
Software Settings Preservation . . . . . . . . . : Supported, Enabled
Native Command Queuing (NCQ) . . . . . . . . . . : Supported
Queue Length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 32

Disk Information

Disk Family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Caviar Black
Form Factor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 3.5"
Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 1000 GB (1000 x 1,000,000,000 bytes)
Number Of Disks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 2
Number Of Heads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 4
Rotational Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 7200 RPM
Rotation Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 8.33 ms
Average Rotational Latency . . . . . . . . . . . : 4.17 ms
Disk Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Serial-ATA/300
Buffer-Host Max. Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 300 MB/seconds
Buffer Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 32768 KB
Drive Ready Time (Typical) . . . . . . . . . . . : 11 seconds
Average Seek Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : ? ms
Track To Track Seek Time . . . . . . . . . . . . : ? ms
Full Stroke Seek Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . : ? ms
Width . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 101.6 mm (4.0 inch)
Depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 147.0 mm (5.8 inch)
Height . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 25.4 mm (1.0 inch)
Weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 690 grams (1.5 pounds)
Acoustic (Idle) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 2.4 Bel
Acoustic (Min Performance And Volume) . . . . . : 2.9 Bel
Acoustic (Max Performance And Volume) . . . . . : 3.3 Bel
Required Power For Spinup . . . . . . . . . . . : 2,075 mA
Power Required (Seek) . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 8.4 W
Power Required (Idle) . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 7.8 W
Power Required (Standby) . . . . . . . . . . . . : 1.0 W
Manufacturer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Western Digital Corporation
Manufacturer Website . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : http://www.westerndigital.com/en/products

S.M.A.R.T.

No. Attribute Thre… Value Worst Data Status Flags
1 Raw Read Error Rate 51 200 200 000000000000 OK Self Preserving, Error-Rate, Performance, Statistica…
3 Spin Up Time 21 253 253 000000000947 OK Self Preserving, Performance, Statistical, Critical
4 Start/Stop Count 0 99 99 000000000433 OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Event Count, Statistical
5 Reallocated Sectors Co… 140 200 200 000000000000 OK Self Preserving, Event Count, Statistical, Critical
7 Seek Error Rate 0 200 200 000000000000 OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Error-Rate, Performance, Statistical
9 Power On Time Count 0 97 97 00000000097A OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Event Count, Statistical
10 Spin Retry Count 0 100 100 000000000000 OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Event Count, Statistical
11 Drive Calibration Retr… 0 100 100 000000000000 OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Event Count, Statistical
12 Drive Power Cycle Count 0 99 99 00000000042F OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Event Count, Statistical
192 Power off Retract Cycl… 0 200 200 000000000044 OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Event Count, Statistical
193 Load/Unload Cycle Count 0 200 200 0000000003EE OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Event Count, Statistical
194 Disk Temperature 0 119 100 00000000001F OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Statistical
196 Reallocation Event Count 0 200 200 000000000000 OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Event Count, Statistical
197 Current Pending Sector… 0 200 200 000000000000 OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Event Count, Statistical
198 Off-Line Uncorrectable… 0 200 200 000000000000 OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Event Count
199 Ultra ATA CRC Error Co… 0 200 200 000000000000 OK (Always passing) Self Preserving, Event Count, Statistical
200 Write Error Rate 0 200 200 000000000000 OK (Always passing) Error-Rate

Transfer Rate Information

Total Data Read . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 440 MB, 440 MB since installation (2/10/2013)
Total Data Write . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 0 MB, 0 MB since installation
Average Reads Per Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 440.00 MB
Average Writes Per Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 0.00 MB
Current Transfer Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 0 KB/s
Maximum Transfer Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 15356 KB/s
Current Read Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 0 KB/s
Current Write Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 0 KB/s
Current Disk Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 0 %

– Partition Information –

Logical Drive Total Space Free Space Free Space Used Space
E: System Reserved (Disk: #2) 0.1 GB 0.1 GB 62 % #######-------------
F: Optimus Prime (Disk: #2) 931.4 GB 735.2 GB 79 % ####----------------

16

So, assuming that the quick test is correct and I have no disk errors, how should I go about repairing windows?

17

After hunting around a bit, I started trying some random things.

As mentioned in the OP, I had safe mode lock up on some AVG driver. I connected via USB again, hunted down that driver, and deleted it (expecting to have to install AVG again at a later time). After deleting that driver, safe mode now locked up on classpnp.sys driver. Searching around about that driver had multiple things, ending up with hardware issues.

So, I just unplugged everything that wasn’t neccessary to run (WLAN card, video card, cd drive, usb stuff, etc.) The only thing still connected was a monitor on the onboard graphics, the hard drive, and all neccessary motherboard connections. WINDOWS STARTS!!!

So, now to step by step re-plugin things to see what hardware was the problem.

First attempt, CD drive. Windows starts up. I’ll leave it connected from hear on out.

Second attempt, USB attachment for the monitor that I’ve been using (has some usb hub on the side of the monitor). WINDOWS LOCKS UP!!!

Third attempt, plugged in a USB mouse that was plugged into the hub. Windows starts (seems to be a problem with that USB hub). I’ll leave the mouse plugged in to the back of the motherboard from now on.

Fourth attempt, connect WLAN card. Windows starts up.

Fifth attempt, connect video card, with monitor plugged into it. Windows starts up.

Sixth attempt, reconnect the USB hub on the monitor. Windows starts up…

Seventh attempt, plug mouse back into USB hub. WINDOWS LOCKS UP!!!

So, don’t use macally cheap mouse for an input device I guess. (similar to the one pictured below)

1197×630 66.3 KB

BUT, it was indeed a hardware issue, so that’s good to know, but NOT Western Digital. So happy, because I love this companies hard drives. Never had issues, and that statement holds true to today.

PROBLEM SOLVED, and the culprit has been found. Come to find out, the wife was using a different mouse, but the batteries died in the wireless mouse. This old cheap on was laying around, so she plugged it in. The 1-year-old hit the power button, shutting the computer off. Upon restart, this other mouse was in the system, causing the restart to hang, and me to pull out my hair… Solution, don’t have kids haha, just kidding. But really, keep batteries close by, and don’t use cheap stuff. Get what you pay for.

Thanks for all the help on here fellas. It’s great to know that my hard drive is flawless.