Is my HDD bad?


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lbeck

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I have an old HDD scavanged from a retired computer. I have saved data to it. recently it stopped working. "Disk Manaagement" sees the HDD but saus that it is "not initialied." Attemps to initialize returns the statement "to store data on this partition you must format it first". Using DISKPART I get to the point of assigning a drive letter and I get the return "assigning or removing drive letters on rhe current boot or pagefile volume is not allowed".

I apparently can reformat the HDD but lose the data that it contains. How can I determine if the HDD actually is bad beyond revival?
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Device name CyberPowerPC
    CPU
    13th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-13400F 2.50 GHz
    Memory
    32.0 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Gforce RTX 4060
    Hard Drives
    2 TB ADATA Legend 800 Gold SSD and several HDDs
    PSU
    650W
    Browser
    Chrome
    Other Info
    Windows 11 23H2 Build 22631.3737
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Home 22H2 19045.4123
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer_Desktop
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4790 CPU @ 3.60GHz 3.60 GHz
    Memory
    32.0 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Gforce GTX 745
    Sound Card
    ONN24
    Hard Drives
    Many
    Mouse
    Acer wired USB
    Keyboard
    JLAB supports 2 computers/monitors
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Only what W10 installed
    Other Info
    64-bit operating system, x64-based processor
lbeck said:
I have an old HDD scavanged from a retired computer. I have saved data to it. recently it stopped working. "Disk Manaagement" sees the HDD but saus that it is "not initialied." Attemps to initialize returns the statement "to store data on this partition you must format it first". Using DISKPART I get to the point of assigning a drive letter and I get the return "assigning or removing drive letters on rhe current boot or pagefile volume is not allowed".

I apparently can reformat the HDD but lose the data that it contains. How can I determine if the HDD actually is bad beyond revival?
Click to expand...
In simple terms using old hdds is like russian roulette. There are tools to recover data but it is pot luck.

If drive is over five years old, personally I would scrap it. Failure rates of hdds significantly increase in older drives.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro + Win11 Canary VM.
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Zenbook 14
    CPU
    I9 13th gen i9-13900H 2.60 GHZ
    Motherboard
    Yep, Laptop has one.
    Memory
    16 GB soldered
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated Intel Iris XE
    Sound Card
    Realtek built in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop OLED screen
    Screen Resolution
    2880x1800 touchscreen
    Hard Drives
    1 TB NVME SSD (only weakness is only one slot)
    PSU
    Internal + 65W thunderbolt USB4 charger
    Case
    Yep, got one
    Cooling
    Stella Artois (UK pint cans - 568 ml) - extra cost.
    Keyboard
    Built in UK keybd
    Mouse
    Bluetooth , wireless dongled, wired
    Internet Speed
    900 mbs (ethernet), wifi 6 typical 350-450 mb/s both up and down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    TPM 2.0, 2xUSB4 thunderbolt, 1xUsb3 (usb a), 1xUsb-c, hdmi out, 3.5 mm audio out/in combo, ASUS backlit trackpad (inc. switchable number pad)

    Macrium Reflect Home V8
    Office 365 Family (6 users each 1TB onedrive space)
    Hyper-V (a vm runs almost as fast as my older laptop)
lbeck said:
I have an old HDD scavanged from a retired computer. I have saved data to it. recently it stopped working. "Disk Manaagement" sees the HDD but saus that it is "not initialied." Attemps to initialize returns the statement "to store data on this partition you must format it first". Using DISKPART I get to the point of assigning a drive letter and I get the return "assigning or removing drive letters on rhe current boot or pagefile volume is not allowed".

I apparently can reformat the HDD but lose the data that it contains. How can I determine if the HDD actually is bad beyond revival?
Click to expand...
You could test it. Hardware analysis testing (HP has this built in) or disk check and probably some other ways as well. But it sounds to me like it's unreliable. New ones are quite cheap now.

You could try backing up all the data and then reformatting it and see if it does it again - would that be possible?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion 14-ce3514sa
    CPU
    Core i5
    Memory
    16gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 evo plus 2TB
    Cooling
    Could be better
    Internet Speed
    200mbps Starlink
    Browser
    Firefox
    Other Info
    Originally installed with a 500gb H10 Optane ssd
There are firms that specialize in data recovery if you really need the data. But it's not cheap and there are no guarantees they can recover the part you really need.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP
    CPU
    Intel Ultra 7 155H
    Memory
    16gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Arc integrated
    Hard Drives
    SSD
Sorry I wasn't sure if he couldn't access the data at all or not. Could that be possible by taking it out and putting it an external enclosure and plugging it into another computer?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion 14-ce3514sa
    CPU
    Core i5
    Memory
    16gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 evo plus 2TB
    Cooling
    Could be better
    Internet Speed
    200mbps Starlink
    Browser
    Firefox
    Other Info
    Originally installed with a 500gb H10 Optane ssd
Note my tagline...
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2, Build 26100.4351, Experience Pack 1000.26100.107.0
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Home Brew
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 14500
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte B760M G P WIFI
    Memory
    64GB DDR4
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce RTX 4060
    Sound Card
    Chipset Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG 45" Ultragear, Acer 24" 1080p
    Screen Resolution
    5120x1440, 1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Crucial P310 2TB 2280 PCIe Gen4 3D NAND NVMe M.2 SSD (O/S)
    Silicon Power 2TB US75 Nvme PCIe Gen4 M.2 2280 SSD (backup)
    Crucial BX500 2TB 3D NAND (2nd backup)
    External off-line backup Drives: 2 NVMe 4TB drives in external enclosures
    PSU
    Thermaltake Toughpower GF3 750W
    Case
    LIAN LI LANCOOL 216 E-ATX PC Case
    Cooling
    Lots of fans!
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Comfort Curve 2000
    Mouse
    Logitech G305
    Internet Speed
    Verizon FiOS 1GB
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Malware Bytes & Windows Security
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2, Build 26100.4351 Experience Pack 1000.26100.107.0
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Home Brew
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 14400
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte B760M DS3H AX
    Memory
    32GB DDR5
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel 700 Embedded GPU
    Sound Card
    Realtek Embedded
    Monitor(s) Displays
    27" HP 1080p
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Crucial P310 2TB 2280 PCIe Gen4 eD NAND PCIe SSD
    Samsung EVO 990 2TB NVMe Gen4 SSD
    Samsung 2TB SATA SSD
    PSU
    Thermaltake Smart BM3 650W
    Case
    Okinos Micro ATX Case
    Cooling
    Fans
    Mouse
    Logitech G305
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Comfort Curve 2000
    Internet Speed
    Verizon FiOS 1GB
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Malware Bytes & Windows Security
Hazel123 said:
Sorry I wasn't sure if he couldn't access the data at all or not. Could that be possible by taking it out and putting it an external enclosure and plugging it into another computer?
Click to expand...
Based on your description of how it's currently behaving, I doubt putting it in an external enclosure will allow you access to the data.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
Thanks for the quick replies.

The HDD is (was) a spare anyway. I'll try to recover some files but likely will simply purchase another HDD
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Device name CyberPowerPC
    CPU
    13th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-13400F 2.50 GHz
    Memory
    32.0 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Gforce RTX 4060
    Hard Drives
    2 TB ADATA Legend 800 Gold SSD and several HDDs
    PSU
    650W
    Browser
    Chrome
    Other Info
    Windows 11 23H2 Build 22631.3737
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Home 22H2 19045.4123
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer_Desktop
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4790 CPU @ 3.60GHz 3.60 GHz
    Memory
    32.0 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Gforce GTX 745
    Sound Card
    ONN24
    Hard Drives
    Many
    Mouse
    Acer wired USB
    Keyboard
    JLAB supports 2 computers/monitors
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Only what W10 installed
    Other Info
    64-bit operating system, x64-based processor
The advice to retire an old hard disk is solid advice. An 8-10 year old hard disk is on the downward curve of it's lifespan. If data is important enough to put on the drive, it's probably important enough to put it on a new drive. :-)
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2, Build 26100.4351, Experience Pack 1000.26100.107.0
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Home Brew
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 14500
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte B760M G P WIFI
    Memory
    64GB DDR4
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce RTX 4060
    Sound Card
    Chipset Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG 45" Ultragear, Acer 24" 1080p
    Screen Resolution
    5120x1440, 1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Crucial P310 2TB 2280 PCIe Gen4 3D NAND NVMe M.2 SSD (O/S)
    Silicon Power 2TB US75 Nvme PCIe Gen4 M.2 2280 SSD (backup)
    Crucial BX500 2TB 3D NAND (2nd backup)
    External off-line backup Drives: 2 NVMe 4TB drives in external enclosures
    PSU
    Thermaltake Toughpower GF3 750W
    Case
    LIAN LI LANCOOL 216 E-ATX PC Case
    Cooling
    Lots of fans!
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Comfort Curve 2000
    Mouse
    Logitech G305
    Internet Speed
    Verizon FiOS 1GB
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Malware Bytes & Windows Security
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2, Build 26100.4351 Experience Pack 1000.26100.107.0
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Home Brew
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 14400
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte B760M DS3H AX
    Memory
    32GB DDR5
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel 700 Embedded GPU
    Sound Card
    Realtek Embedded
    Monitor(s) Displays
    27" HP 1080p
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Crucial P310 2TB 2280 PCIe Gen4 eD NAND PCIe SSD
    Samsung EVO 990 2TB NVMe Gen4 SSD
    Samsung 2TB SATA SSD
    PSU
    Thermaltake Smart BM3 650W
    Case
    Okinos Micro ATX Case
    Cooling
    Fans
    Mouse
    Logitech G305
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Comfort Curve 2000
    Internet Speed
    Verizon FiOS 1GB
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Malware Bytes & Windows Security
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