# My hard drive is dying? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 24, 2003, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hard-drive-is-dying/220880 "2003-12-24T18:11:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hard-drive-is-dying/220880/1 "2003-12-24T18:11:19Z")
I’m posting this from a public terminal in the local library. My home’s PC’s hard drive suddenly started making a loud humming noise, much the same as when an electrical motor’s bearings start going bad. Is this the case? Can I squirt some WD-40 in there to smooth things out without harming anything? If my hard drive is a gonner, can I salvage data to upload into a new hard drive later? ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hard-drive-is-dying/220880/2 "2003-12-24T18:13:55Z")
> [@](#): > > Is this the case? Can I squirt some WD-40 in there to smooth things out without harming anything? If my hard drive is a gonner, can I salvage data to upload into a new hard drive later? Probably. No, the drive is sealed and opening it up would destroy it. Most likely, will it still boot? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hard-drive-is-dying/220880/3 "2003-12-24T18:16:17Z")
It sure sounds like the drive could be on the way out. I would purchase a new drive, connect it to the system as a slave drive, and then copy your data from the old HD to the new one. Then install your new drive in place of the old one and run your OS install CD (this assuming your mainboard will allow you to boot from a CD-ROM drive.) ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hard-drive-is-dying/220880/4 "2003-12-24T18:38:31Z")
I’d do what **QED** said (and I did, just recently), but before I do that, I’d back up anything I truly couldn’t live without. You never know when it’ll fail. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hard-drive-is-dying/220880/5 "2003-12-24T20:01:58Z")
Back it up or get the data off of it IMMEDIATELY. The last drive I had that did something similar booted up and ran four more times before the drive went poof. Many years ago I had one scream for a couple of months before it finally went but you never know. ---
**Author:** ![autobulb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@autobulb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/autobulb)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2003, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hard-drive-is-dying/220880/6 "2003-12-25T06:22:37Z")
Dont forget to RMA it if your warranty has not yet expired. ---
**Author:** ![Rex\_Fenestrarum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rex_fenestrarum/32/7265_2.png) [@Rex\_Fenestrarum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rex_Fenestrarum)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2003, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hard-drive-is-dying/220880/7 "2003-12-25T07:11:35Z")
I agree with QED, but in “reverse order”. I’d disconnect the dying drive and install the new one as a master drive, then install your OS on it. After everything is up and running, re-connect the old drive and copy the data to the new drive. ---
**Author:** ![PhilAlex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/839c29/32.png) [@PhilAlex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhilAlex)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2003, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hard-drive-is-dying/220880/8 "2003-12-25T14:44:49Z")
There’s a web page with, get this MP3’s of dying hard drives. Darned if I can find it, tho. ---
**Author:** ![PhilAlex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/839c29/32.png) [@PhilAlex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhilAlex)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2003, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hard-drive-is-dying/220880/9 "2003-12-25T14:46:59Z")
[http://www.head-crash.org/hddcrsh\_us.htm](http://www.head-crash.org/hddcrsh_us.htm) Bingo. ---
**Author:** ![Running\_with\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Running\_with\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Running_with_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2003, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hard-drive-is-dying/220880/10 "2003-12-25T16:39:24Z")
If you no longer have the original software (including OS) install CDs from your PC, I’d recommend investing in a partition copy program like [Norton Ghost](http://www.symantec.com/sabu/ghost/ghost_personal/); this will allow you to copy your entire system onto the new drive. You just install your new drive as master, old drive as slave, boot the CD and run through the install. Don’t forget which drive is which. Presto, old system on new disk. Otherwise you’re going to have to reinstall **everything**. Depending on the age of your drive, it may have a three year warranty. I believe the drive manufacturers dropped down from three years to one (except for high-end drives) sometime in the last year or so. Check the date of manufacture on the drive (or, if you still have it, your receipt), then you can contact the manufacturer and find out if it’s still covered. If the drive was part of a prebuilt system (i.e. like a Dell or Compaq, er, HP) the warranty coverage is generally through that vendor rather than the drive manufacturer. ---
**Author:** ![Running\_with\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Running\_with\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Running_with_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2003, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hard-drive-is-dying/220880/11 "2003-12-25T16:48:14Z")
If you decide to go with **Ghost** , no need to buy it directly from Norton, there are plenty of discounters online who sell it for less. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2004, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hard-drive-is-dying/220880/12 "2004-01-05T18:02:31Z")
Just got a new computer yesterday…after a while trying to get the cable modem working, I…have…RETURNED!!! 😃 😃 😃 😃 😃 😃 😃 😃 😃 😃 😃 😃 😃 😃 😃 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2004, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hard-drive-is-dying/220880/13 "2004-01-05T20:54:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Running with Scissors \* > **If you no longer have the original software (including OS) install CDs from your PC, I’d recommend investing in a partition copy program like [Norton Ghost](http://www.symantec.com/sabu/ghost/ghost_personal/); this will allow you to copy your entire system onto the new drive. You just install your new drive as master, old drive as slave, boot the CD and run through the install. Don’t forget which drive is which. Presto, old system on new disk. Otherwise you’re going to have to reinstall everything.** Well, how peachy!, I come in to ask just that question; my HD is doing the swan´s song and I was wondering if there was a way to “clone” the HD so I wouldn´t have to reinstall the gazillion programs I have in there, not to speak of the ones I have missed the installation CD, (including the OP ☹ ) Now, I checked that Ghost, and I find just one little problem, at this particuar moment I´m well beyond the red line, I have already alocated my budget expenditures and I rather not fork $ 70 on the program if there are other ways of “cloning” my HD, are there other ways? ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-hard-drive-is-dying/220880/14 "2004-01-08T15:55:23Z")
Update: Ive managed to start my old PC and download the wanted programs and files onto 3.5 floppies. I’m going to see if I can find someone to burn them onto a CD to upload into the new PC, since it has no 3.5 floppy drive. Question is, will my old Microsoft Works program interfere with my new Microsoft Word program?