Is my HDD failing?

For the last few months I have been monitoring the health of the Toshiba 1TB HDD on my Dell Inspiron 22-3280 AIO and finding the number of bad sectors remapped has been increasing. The HDD is paired with Intel Optane 13GB memory module.

Today's screenshot of Hard Disk Sentinel:



The surface test with Mini tool Partition Wizard shows on bad block at the very end of the disk. ( Few days ago when I ran the Surface Test it showed atleast 4 or 5 bad blocks a little above the the last row.)



Is the HDD failing? And what is the way to go?

(Anyway to get prepared for the worst I have already got a Crucail 1TB SSD which was delivered day before yesterday and Crucial 16GB Kit (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 SODIMM is on the way.But I shudder at the very thought of opening the back panel of the 22"monitor and replace the components..
My system uses Device Encryption which encrypts all the drives inthe System Disk. Yesterday I decrypted the whole drive and it took 16hrs 21 minutes to complete it. The number of bad sectors reported as remapped by HD Sentinel before I started decryption was 29. After the 16 hour decryption it showed 46 sectors remapped . If I have to image or clone the disk, I will have to disable Optane in the Intel Optane Memory and Storage Management application after which the system running with only 4GB conventional RAM ( a Hynix 4GB DDR4 2400MHz) becomes painfully slow).

Hi, what does HDSentinel's commentary on the disk say? It looks as if it has a limited lifespan, but I'd guess HDS will probably say something like 'doesn't justify a warranty replacement' (yet)...

Assuming you use disk imaging periodically, Macrium Reflect's CRC check will alert you if there's a sector problem affecting your data.

Second opinion? When I have seen disk checking reporting an increase in errors in subsequent checks it has meant the drive or the interface was failing. I keep a USB drive dock on my workbench and check the drive connected to a different computer.

@dalchina,

Here is the picture for you to see.



And yes "At this point, warranty replacement is not yet possible" Yesterday Health at 71% - Good.: Today after the sharp increase from 29 bad sectors remapped to 46, Health - 54% Fair.

The bad sectors seem to be in the last unallocated space of 9MB which is used by Optane.

Since it is already 11PM here any further info only my tom morning.

@Berton,

This is a system disk in the all-in one ( inside the monitor case). It can be monitored only in situ which I do. Please see the HD Sentinel screenshot which shows the graph of bad sectors remapped starting from 21 Jun 22 (3) to 25th inst. (46) in my first post.

Rest tomorrow morning. Am going to listen to some music and hit the sack.

Till all the reserved sectors for remapping is full and then spills over, I presume I have time

jumanji said:

... But I shudder at the very thought of opening the back panel of the 22"monitor and replace the components. ...

I assume you know you can enter your Dell Service tag then go to the Dell Drivers & downloads section where you'll find a tab for documentation in which there will be a download link for the model's Service manual.
This will provide an illustrated guide to replacing components.
- It might contain omissions. Mine told me about removing twelve screws to take the back off but did not mention the existence of a plastic catch that also had to be released [by, in my case, slipping in some thin wooden strips then working them towards the centre until the latch clicked out].
- I have had to replace one part of my laptop [keyboard] for which I had to remove almost everything. I found getting two dozen bowls from the kitchen useful so that all the screws & bits from each step could be kept together so they were arranged ready for the re-assembly phase. Each bowl had a piece of paper identifying the relevant step in the procedure.

Standard link Inspiron 22-3280 Service Manual or, if you prefer, Link for online viewing
- I don't know if there are other language versions available. For that you'd need to follow through the drivers & downloads link I gave you above because that should default to your region.


Best of luck,
Denis

Thanks, just ensure you've got e.g. HDSentinel continuously monitoring it and set to report against an appropriate threshold.

Either you'll get due warning, or if really unlucky an eventual more catastrophic failure... I'm sure you're prepared either way.

(P.S. Macrium Reflect Free v8 will not be updated after early 2024).

dalchina said:

... Macrium Reflect Free will not be updated after ...

Yes.
The current v8.0.7167 version is the last planned feature, compatibility or bug fix update.
Its final security patch will be on 1st January 2024.
The info is shown in its update dialog & at Macrium Reflect Free Product - End Of Life



What a shame,
Denis

Martin, I hope you are correct. Denis