Red light on my external hard drive

Thomas -  
 Thomas -
Hello,

I have an external hard drive, Gigapod II, that I've been using little lately (and thus often turned off). Before that, I was sure there was a green light when it was powered on.
However, lately the light has been red, which hasn't stopped me from backing up.
So my question is whether my hard drive is about to fail and whether I should consider buying another one. Indeed, this drive is quite old (>4 years) and I have no system information about its condition.

Thanks in advance

Thomas

Configuration: Windows 7 / Firefox 20.0

2 answers

antipolis a Posted messages 17152 Status Member 2 917
 
Hello.

1° - Check its integrity.
See here: https://protuts.net/verifier-integrite-disque-dur-chkdsk/

Warning, this operation can take a very long time (1 hour, 2 hours, or more).
Do not interrupt the process or you risk having serious issues upon restart.

Additionally, it is wise to back up the contents of the checked partition.
And especially an image of it if it supports the "System".

2° - Check the state of this disk with this: https://www.commentcamarche.net/telecharger/utilitaires/11625-hd-tune/

Click on the “+Health” tab.
You will see the SMART data displayed.
If there are any red displays, then there is a problem.

Click on the "Error Scan" tab.
Then on "Start".
"HDTune" will perform a check (no repair) of the condition of the disk surface.
If marked in red, then there is a problem.

Have a good day.
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Thomas
 
Hello and thank you for the response,

I ran chkdsk (which I was already familiar with) and it didn’t show anything special, and I’m considering moving on to the next option to ensure everything is working.

Best regards

Thomas
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