1TB hard drive dead

I was wondering if the harddrive i bought with my machine is covered by dell or should i go to the manufacturer to get a replacement? i also want to keep the old drive as i might have private data in it.

also is it stilll possible to retrive my data? kept most of my pictures from my college life in it too

 

If you got the failed HDD with the system, then it will be covered within your laptop warranty period. If you use your warranty option then they will ask for the drive back in exchange for the new one though you could try convince dell by using data security as an excuse.

Regarding getting information out, that depends on what has failed. If its a Master Boot Record failure or some other software failure, something can be done. If its a hardware failure, there are some ways to get the info out but you will need someone who knows what they are doing.

You could try these. TAKE CARE WHEN DOING THIS and CHECK FOR MORE INFO BEFORE ATTEMPTING.
Option 1: Connect it as a second HDD to another system and see if you can see any info.
Option 2: When connected to a system as a secondary drive, use a software that reads the raw file data. There are some software, don't know which one. I once had a HDD whose MBR failed and had to use a software to read 1TB worth of files off the drive and copy them out.

I would still suggest checking with a professional once.

 

upon doing the system check/ fn+power button from a shutdown/off state it was able to detect the drive and now everything is working again. any how should i be worried this might happen again? is it an early symptom my drive can die anytime soon? should i still ask for a replacement?

 

I don't know what the cause of the problem is but the first thing you should do is backup all your stuff ASAP just incase something happens. Also there are some good free software that can backup folders you select at preset times automatically. I use a Seagate 1TB portable external hdd and a software called Seagate Manager. Little old software but like it a lot for the way it backsup.

Now regarding your drive, once you have backed up, I would suggest you do a Disk Check.
Next install SeaTools for Windows (Not sure if it can check your hdd but it should) and run it. Once its open, select the HDD you need to test and run:
SMART test
Short Drive Self Test
Short Generic Test
Long Generic Test

If all these don't show a problem then your drive is most likely fine and I would suggest you to check the HDD to motherboard wire (ONLY if you know how to do so) once just as a last resort.

If one of these SeaTools tests fails, run it again to confirm it. If it still shows up, your HDD might have a problem and might fail in the future (near future).

Always keep a backup copy of all your important stuff for a stormy day.

Hope this helps

 

Just be aware that using Seagate tools on non-Seagate drive is not recommended (it may or may not create some issues, depending on various details). In adition to backup you may also consider doing full disk image, which allows to fast cloning to a new disk, if your current one fails. There are many free tools, Google it.

 

so i passed all the test. TBH i was hoping for it to fail so that i would have a diagnosis. now, i do not know what the problem is rofl. Thank you for the information btw. I hope someone can give me answers regarding this matter

 

If it passed all the tests, it is mostly likely fine or the problem is not hdd related. Either way, I would suggest you not worry about it unless you see it again (hoping that you are going to be backing up your stuff) or see if dell has anything to say about it.