Mojo_66
Carpal \'Tunnel
Reged: 25/05/2006
Posts: 3133
Loc: Lancs
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Generally isn't a good thing is it? It clicks on start up and occasionally when I open programs. How long do they usually last for after this happens?
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/mojo_black/
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Donkey
enthusiast
Reged: 31/05/2007
Posts: 201
Loc: Northants
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Ummm i think i would be Backing up my hard drive cause that puppy sounds like she's giving notice 
How Long's a piece of string 
Not come across one that click's Yet...
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Ian_A
Avocadopearaphobe
Reged: 02/09/2002
Posts: 7343
Loc: Horwich UK
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Quote:
Generally isn't a good thing is it? It clicks on start up and occasionally when I open programs. How long do they usually last for after this happens?
10
9
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6 .... 
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Ian A
Anyway... what fun is photography without the occasional smutty comment?
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beejaybee
Marvin
Reged: 18/07/2007
Posts: 4239
Loc: Really Here In Name Only
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Quote:
It clicks on start up and occasionally when I open programs. How long do they usually last for after this happens?
What does "smart" say?
Depends on what's causing the problem (a misreading sector causing a drive electronics reset) ... probably it's been there since new, just that you've started to use the faulty sector recently. Might last "forever", might break tomorrow, just like any bit of solid state electronics.
If the fault is electronics going bad, it's probably dead already, so you're not reading this.
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mjc7uk
Am I banned yet?
Reged: 08/07/2006
Posts: 2683
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I'd advise that you to obtain a new hard drive and made a copy or created new O/S with it and transfer all your important stuff soon.
In meantime start making data recovery too...eg onto CD/DVD etc.
Have fun!
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The Nikonboy is back...
We can't stand about here doing nothing. People will think we're workmen. - Spike Milligan.
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Mojo_66
Carpal \'Tunnel
Reged: 25/05/2006
Posts: 3133
Loc: Lancs
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Still working for now.... Sounds like an epic undertaking. I've got most of my digi photos on an external, the rest I'm not too bothered about. Time to get the CDs out!
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/mojo_black/
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LargeFormat
old hand
Reged: 24/10/2006
Posts: 972
Loc: Buckinghamshire and Cumbria
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Quote:
Sounds like an epic undertaking.
Not really too hard. You can save a disk image, perhaps onto your external drive if there is enough room and then copy onto the new hard drive. I use Norton Ghost but there are plenty of free ones on magazine covers or by the manufacturers of hard disks.
You'll find further advice on other threads.
If you wait for the disk to fail you will have to reinstate the OS and programs plus all those contacts etc. No bad thing in itself as it will tidy up your computer. If you are using Outlook for emails all the data is held in a single .pst file. Location varies between XP and Vista but you can save that as a lump rather than archiving the Inbox/Sent/Contacts which cleans them from the display.
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Mark_Norton
Reged: 29/06/2002
Posts: 1125
Loc: London, UK
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Norton Ghost is excellent because it allows a full backup of the disk to be taken without having to reboot into DOS. I use Version 12 to backup my server and clients to a RAID 5 NAS box every night. Full backups on the first of the month, incrementals at 2am each morning.
If your disk is clicking, it is on the way out and you should be replacing it. Not next week, not next month, just as soon as you possibly can and when you have done that, you should be backing up every night.
Like death and taxes, hard disk failure is one of life's certainties. You will lose data, it's only a question of when.
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Mark
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FujiSigmaNolta
veteran
Reged: 21/06/2005
Posts: 1299
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They tend to not last long. In fact, if it is clicking and still working you are lucky and you should backup as much as you can somewhere else.
Probably one service I can recommend from PCWorld, is the data recovery from a failed drive and particularly clicking and "dead" ones (not seen or recognised by the PC). They use a recovery machine provided by IBAS UK a company specilising in data recovery which works with the law. They do forensic recovery (from failed, damaged and drives broken to pieces,etc) and PCWorld has some of their more basic equipment on loan. At the moment, for a failed HDD that clicks there is PCWorld for £99.99 or if they can't do it IBAS themselves can, they can do magic with those but at a real high price, £700. It all depends on how important the data is to you.
A clicking hardrive is mechanically damaged in most cases and that tends to require a specialist to open it and put it all back together (which is what IBAS does I think).
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Regards,
FujiSigmaNolta
My Flickr mess
My Blog
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Mojo_66
Carpal \'Tunnel
Reged: 25/05/2006
Posts: 3133
Loc: Lancs
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Cheers for the advice, I've been putting all the important stuff on the external over the last few days so hopefully when it does go I shouldn't lose anything too important. Fingers crossed it's holding out for now but it is very slow... Shooting film makes back ups so much easier
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/mojo_black/
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