HDD problem.. high latency and usage on specific files only

[lyndonguitar]

Yesterday while doing some stuff on the computer I noticed a problem, one of my HDDs seems to be behaving unusual, I noticed it when I tried patching Star Citizen and it isn't moving, I checked task manager and it showed a 100% disk usage on that drive, with abnormally high latencies(reaching 10000ms+)

I tried doing other tasks and they seem to load very slow or didn't load at all, to the point that my System would often lock up, I tried closing the Star Citizen Launcher and after a few minutes everything went back to normal. this happens everytime and it is repeatable.

I could say my HDD is still kinda working fine as I can still view and use the files in it(movies, games) and I could copy files into and out of it with normal read/write speeds(small/big files).. The only exception being the star citizen folder, when I try to copy or cut that one into another drive, the HDD goes nuts again with 100% usage and high latency..

I tried deleting star citizen and reinstalling it, also on the same drive and directory, and the problem still persists

What does this mean? was the star citizen placed on a bad sector of the HDD(and coincedentally, placed it again there upon reinstall?)

Will my HDD die soon? I don't hear any sounds from it and windows and s.m.a.r.t. doesn't detect any problems

EDIT: I completely deleted the whole star citizen folder, I will see if it goes nuts again, tried copying a 3gb file in and out of it again, nothing unusual

 

[micropage7]

could be bad sector, btw have you tried to copy any files about 3gb to it too, does it act the same

 

[RCoon]

could be bad sector,

This, probably a large or multiple large bad sectors that have been reallocated. Run CrystalDiskInfo and check the smart data. If you disk health is orange you should think about backing up, and check that the reallocated sector count isn't too high. (Over 200 is high)

 

[eidairaman1]

Run chkdsk with specific command switches from a command prompt then run a disk cleanup, run ccleaner, defrag that drive.

 

[TRWOV]

I would backup all the data to a new HDD and run Seagate or WD Tools (assuming yours is a Sea or WD drive). I've repaired some HDDs with those tools but you're bound to lose some capacity. Use the DOS tools as the Windows tools don't have the required tests for fixing drives (something about low level access and other stuff).

With Seagate tools use the Long generic and then Zero fill. Long generic will find bad sectors and zero fill will mark them as unusable to the controller.
With WD tools use the Extended test. Zero fill isn't necessary according to WD but I zero them for peace of mind.

Still, I wouldn't trust any of those refitted drives with important data. I always use them as external backup (to keep usage to a minimum), a steam library, a boinc drive, or for data I don't mind losing.

 

[lyndonguitar]

Ok the HDD finally died, undetectable by windows and even bios, after unplugging the sata and plugging it in with some restarts, sometimes it will detect the hdd but after few mins it would die it.

I did some of the things you mentioned to me and it's weird that they are reporting no problems

unfortunately I wasn't able to back it all up as the copy times became very slow, It contained all my movie files, so rip movies, but I've watched them all anyways so I don't care.

My users folder was IN there though, so booting windows without it got me some funky results, (no background, desktop shortcuts), I fixed it anyway

EDIT: The HDD seems to be functioning again after turning/unplugging it off for a few mins, it will work for a while, I could copy some files but then after few mins it will get crazy again. overheating problems?

EDIT2: turned the pc off for a few hours and turned it back on, surprisingly the HDD worked again and i was able to copy everything i needed, it is still working atm

EDIT3: It seems that the longer I turn off the PC(or unplug the HDD power), the longer it takes before breaking down again.. but I already bought a replacement and shelved the old HDD for backup/emergency use, it wasn't fully dead when I did.

just putting it up here for others