5.3 Troubleshooting Hard Drives

Question 1

Disk failure symptioms

Answer 1

• Read/write failure
• “Cannot read from the source disk”
• Slow performance
• Constant LED activity
• Retry…retry…retry
• Loud clicking noise
• The click of death

Question 2

Troubleshooting disk failures

Answer 2

• Get a backup
• First thing - a bad drive is bad
• Check for loose or damaged cables
• Check for overheating
• Especially if problems occur after startup
• Check power supply
• Especially if new devices were added
• Run hard drive diagnostics
• From the drive or computer manufacturer
• Preferably on a known-good computer

Question 3

Boot failure symptoms

Answer 3

• Drive not recognized
• Lights (or no lights)
• Beeps
• Error messages
• Operating system not found
• The drive is there
• Windows is not

Question 4

Troubleshooting boot failures

Answer 4

• Check your cables
• Physical problem
• Check boot sequence in BIOS
• Check for removable disks (especially USB)
• Check for disabled storage interfaces
• For new installation, check hardware configuration
• Data and power cables
• Try different SATA interfaces
• Try the drive in a different computer

Question 5

RAID not found

Answer 5

Missing or faulty RAID controller

Question 6

RAID stops working

Answer 6

• Each RAID is different

* Don’t start pulling drives until you check the console!

Question 7

Crash screens

Answer 7

• Windows Stop Error,
• Apple spinning wait cursor - A very serious issue
• May indicate a storage device issue
• Diagnostics needed for drive and motherboard

Question 8

S.M.A.R.T

Answer 8

• Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology
• Use third-party utilities
• Avoid hardware failure
• Look for warning signs
• Schedule disk checks
• Built-in to most drive arrays
• Warning signs
• Replace a drive