Hard drive health

[Knightmare]

For a while now, my computer has been making "noise." What kind, you ask? Well, I know they aren't the normal ones. I can't really describe the noise. I also can't pinpoint it.
Sometimes is sounds like a very soft, very high-pitched grinding. Maybe. It's just really hard to say.
I opened my case so I could pinpoint it, and that didn't work. For all I know, it could be a fan.

The question is this: Is there a program (hopefully free) that I can install that could check the state of my hard drive?

I've searched on download.com and other places, but didn't quite now what to ask for.

[JustADude]

Something to detect "bad sectors" might work, but it does sound like you might just be getting a squeaky fan.

[Pedersen]

Well, might be just a squeaky fan, but (having had too many hard drives die on me) I would be buying another hard drive about now, backing up the existing one to the new, and stopping the worry

[sms001]

The question is this: Is there a program (hopefully free) that I can install that could check the state of my hard drive?

With HD prices being what they are, I just regulate "suspicious" drives to less critical roles. That said, you might try searching for "S.M.A.R.T." and utility together. The one I used to use was actsmart? activesmart?, something along those lines. You might also try the support areas for your particular brand of hard drive... Maxtor has MaxBlast, Hitachi had DFT, etc.

[wolfie]

Unfortunately it's not free, but Spinrite is pretty good for catching sectors that are going bad.

[Shabo]

A simple chkdsk can tell you if your hd has bad sectors. You can run one in Windows without restarting by opening your command prompt (quickest way is start menu -> run -> type in "CMD" and click ok) then type in "chkdsk" and if it asks you if you want to run it on startup or not, you can decide. There are other ways to do it as well, but that's probably the fastest.

There are other utilities that you can download, but I just use chkdsk myself. It also helps repair problems if there are any that can be fixed.

[Der Cute]

Knightmare, can you describe in more detail the sounds?

When do they start - when computer is booting, during a big file transfer, during a hot game?

Have you opened the case and listened for the sound and tried to pinpoint it to a section of the chassis?

Click of Death is a term we use to describe an unhappy hd. You can HEAR it CLICK CLICK during seek times. Means its about ready to give up the ghost.

If you are concerned, purchase new drive and put your info on it.
Oh, btw, how old is this drive in question?

Cutenoob

[sms001]

Knightmare, can you describe in more detail the sounds?

Just a quick addendum to Cutenoob's excellent advice - a cardboard tube (Like from paper towels) or even a rolled up magazine can really help you zero in on something in a crowded case. As an added bonus, you will look like a complete dork kneeling next to an open, running, computer with a primitive stethoscope.