Hardware Diagnostics Tool Test

[Holly]

My HP computer is 5 months old and just failed 4 tests :Random Seek Test Error Code HD 535-5W
Funnel Seek Test Error Code HD 535-3W
Surface Scan Test Error Code HD535-2W
Surface Scan Test Error Code HD 535-2W

It has always passed the tests and seems to be working fine. HP is sending me a new hard drive. But what do you think caused the problem. I believe the test is yours as it is marked PC Doctor.

[fwilson]

Holly,

These tests show the drive is going bad, which is why HP is sending you a new one.  As to what caused this it's anyones guess.  It is probably a defect that was there from day one and is starting to show itself.

-Fred

[Holly]

Thanks ! I thought that it was probably defective from day one. HP is requiring I return the hard drive that is defective, but I am a little concerned about sending it to them as it has my personal information on it. I don't want to spend money on an erase device and the HP rep said to use a magnet on it, but I've heard that doesn't always remove the personal data. The rep said they want it back so they can fix it and put it in a refurbished computer. Can they really fix it? Now I'm told I will be getting a refurbished hard drive. So I could be getting a hard drive that might not be clean of all of someone else's files. I'm going to ask my nephew for his advice too, as he is pretty computer knowledgeable and set up my computer for me and has said he will put the new??? hard drive in. Do you know how much a brand new hard drive for the HP Slimline 3700y PC should cost as I am tempted to buy a brand new drive if it isn't too expensive. The drive will probably not have the Windows Vista Home Premium on it, but I do have recovery discs made by my nephew when my computer was brand new. Also I have a feeling I could be getting a replacement hard drive that will do the same thing in another 5 or 6 months and then my warranty will be up or nearly up. I am even considering buying a new computer and ditching this one. If so, it will be another brand.

[fwilson]

Holly,

Electronics and especially electronics with moving parts like hard drives go bad sometimes.  HP makes high quality units using high quality parts but, stuff happens.  I wouldn’t let this experience make you run out and replace a 4 month old system.

After you take the drive out, have your nephew erase it for you, he can plug it into another computer or download a bootable drive erase utility.

-Fred

[auntykris67]

I have an HP a6330f desktop computer.  When the hardward diagnostic tool recently ran, I got a surface scan error code hd535-2w.  What does this mean? 

When I look at the tool manager it shows status healthy(active, primary partition) for my external hard drive.  I've never seen this before.

[fwilson]

auntykris67,

These codes are specified by HP and are meaningfull to their support staff.  It is showing that the drive has detected errors during a surface scan and is going bad.

There are many reasons this could happen ranging from getting bumped to a defect that took time to manifest.  The good news is it was caught before you lost any data.

Windows disk manager will show everything is OK right up to the time it is not and too late.  Running PC-Doctor on a regular basis can save you a lot of grief.

-Fred