hardrive crashing

[JIM8EL]

Like others have said, copying a whole drive including operating system to another drive is not easy to do especially if you only have one computer. Windows does not like being moved and it is easy to not copy all the files.

Actually, it is quite easy to do. Virtually all retail boxed HD's come with disk imaging software and good instructions, either in the box or on the manufacturer's website. In addition, there are good freeware applications available if an OEM drive is purchased (Macrium Reflect is one). As far as Windows not liking it, while it is true that you can't just copy the os to another drive which would not copy the master boot record or put location specific files in their proper place, imaging(cloning) the drive is transparent to the operating system and windows won't squawk at all.

With that said, based on the kinds of questions the OP has asked, I would also suggest that he/she have this done by someone who is more capable. "Learning" on a system with valuable data that hasn't been backed up is not a prudent course of action.

OP if you decide to tackle this on your own and need any assistance, send me pm.

 

[RedFox88]

The reason i think it is going to crash is because it is sounding noiser than it ever has. Some programs are just shutting down and I know I am close to maxing out the memory on this machine. I am just assuming it is going to crash and want to take precautions BEFORE it does. This computer is almost 4 years old so in technology terms I think it is considered OLD. Maybe I am wrong.

Some people mistake the hard drive for the whole computer case. And most hard disk drives are rated at 100,000 hours of operation, which is about 10 years of continuous operation. Of course some fail before 100,000 hours.

Like someone else said, noise may very well be the case fans not the hard drive. If the CPU becomes too hot, that can cause things to not function properly. If your case interior is too hot, your whole computer may reboot automatically!

Best to have someone check it out before you pay someone $100 to add a new hard drive and move all your files over to it that may not even be the problem! You said you are no idea on computer hardware or anything like that so you should not be diagnosing your problem now should you? Take it to someone to check out your whole computer if you are concerned with its performance.

And 4 years is not "old technology" especially if all you use the computer for is web, email, and photos.

 

[Tom C11968]

I clone my drive and keep it for a backup so if the drive does crash all I have to do is swap it out. I install the new drive in the laptop, put the old drive in a external drive enclosure and plug it into a USB port. Just make sure you clone to the new drive.
Keep the old drive as a backup.

--
Tom
When my bones turn to dust,
and if my CD's didn't rust,
future generations will see my photos
and think that I was nuts.

 

[martialf]

Also recommand Acronis soft .I have used it for the same job No problem

 

[hotdog321]

What was cool that I downloaded Acronis for free with the hard drive purchase. I had an unopened $70 box of Acronis software I was able to return!

 

[Skipper494]

You should be posting in the PC forum. If you can't find the correct forum, it bodes ill (OOH, that's a lovely term!) for doing the job yourself.

I would ask around for a reliable local computer store, not one of the big stores. Your proprietory computer may be difficult to work on. Another alternative is an external, like I use for backup, a Fantom Green 1TB, and you can just plug it in, format it and copy and paste from one to the other.

 

[Andy Crowe]

Rather than installing an internal harddrive and setting up a cloned drive you might find it easier to get an external USB harddrive and take a regular backup of your important files. You could even leave that drive at work to protect your data against theft / fire etc.

 

[Roger99]

...but of course if the drive really is just about to fail then this will just speed it along.

But if it is just working and working and rattling and rattling and the whole system is running a lot more slowly than it should then yep, defrag the drive.

If the noise sounds grinding metalic in nature then replace it as soon as possible. You will need partition cloning software. I use one called partition magic which still goes really well for an old version but you can hunt around for a freeware option. There's lots of good stuff around.

Great thing about this is that if you clone the system you might find that all you have done is cloned your fragmentation as well and you will be back to square one but don't worry, you can never have too much drive space.

You could also research how S.M.A.R.T or Self Monitoring And Reporting Technology works in a hard drive if your system has it. With the right utility S/Ware you can get an idea of how well you drive really is.

Mine is about eight years old with the cheapest drives I could get at the time and it still goes well even with almost constant use but what you describe seems to be a common complaint. Defrag I say.

I give no warranties. :|

--

It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain an idea without necessarily accepting it. -Aristotle

The one serious conviction one should hold is that nothing should be taken too seriously.
...oh, and I see by the lack of responses that I am right yet again.