If too lazy to open and take out your hdd, use this software http://crystalmark.info/software/CrystalDi...fo/index-e.html
It does not work if your HDD is configured under hardware RAID mode(will not work on the same SATA controller) though.

Let me share my experience with WD, i had 2 Black 320GB, 1 500 GB, the trio was very durable but noisy, lasted me for 5 year i eventually sold them off while there was no single bad sectors or SMART error.
The nightmare started afteri bought WD Green 1 TB, Black 2TB and AV-GP 3TB, i have 5 of them all went RMA just over 12 months of usage, all have bad sectors.
the Latest one is AV-GP 3TB, just rma-ed a few weeks ago.
Now using Toshiba 3TB RAID0

Those WD hard disk dont die, problems like firmware problem(Seagate), clicks of death, or head crash; They are indeed durable, it's probably high density platter caused the high amount of bad sector developed in short time. the WD green was the most terrible drive i've had, the drives was filled with bad sectors.

My Black 2TB and AVGP only have small amount of bad sector i think, or some other problem i wasn't sure, cause the transfer rate dropped significantly out of the blue.
That's the sign of hard disk with bad sectors begin to appear.

The hole is for the HDD breathing, to maintain the same air pressure with atmosphere iirc. just don't mess with your hdd sticker ect.
http://www.howtogeek.com/127433/what-is-th...on-hard-drives/

WD? i bought 2x 1TB Green, 2x 2TB for data backup, four HDDs also fail @ bad sectors, at the same time, my 5th drive also fail, all of them Made in Thailand.Get something else other than WD

No need to Buy the black one, they are much more expensive, performance difference is hardly noticeable, and longer warranty means nothing if the drive failed within 12months of usage. Buy green or AV-GP, buy 4 of them and run RAID 5 or 10
OH, and dont buy WD, too much fail. lol

This post has been edited by 1024kbps: Dec 29 2013, 03:56 PM

1. If mobo support AHCI, UEFI is optional
2. OS is Vista, or newer
3. 64bit OS, optional, but 64bit + EFI is require for support booting from GPT.
IF mobo too old, like from 2008 or older, you may have trouble using the 3TB drive, you can always email the mobo maker, before buying the 3TB hard disk.

for reference
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GUID_Partition_Table
http://knowledge.seagate.com/articles/en_US/FAQ/218619en
http://www.pcworld.com/article/235088/ever...ard_drives.html

Yeah, Originally was called EFI but no ppl using this name anymore , newer version now is called UEFI
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unified_Exten...mware_Interface

Your data has to be cached to get near SSD speed, for example new video you've just created wont get speed boost.
you have to access the file repeatedly, for example, you are editing it, the firmware inside SSHD will cache the file to SSD.
But the speed wont near pure SSD either, it's lagging behind the SATA 3GB/s speed http://techreport.com/review/25425/seagate...rive-reviewed/7

If you want pure SSD speed, get a SSD.

Kingston, Plextor are good choice, used two Kingston SSD and M5pro, neither of them had problem on me.
Intel, Samsung are popular choice among lyn forumer, so it's safe to say they are reliable too.
Mainstream SSD are suffice for normal user, but if you have spare cash you can always opt for performance SSD(Or RAID0 two cheap SSD), but the difference is mostly minimal because we dont do read and write operation every minutes.

Btw i work at Singapore so i don't know about SSD market on Malaysia

It's in final stage of his life, backups the data inside and RMA if possible, then let it rest in peace.

Before buying, check the manufacture date, the newer the better i think, any older than 2012 you can probably skip it, just in case you still have a choice
I have 2 2002FAEX (iirc), both also suffer from bad sectors, not much but i RMA-ed both anyway.
been running for one years until now, no problem whatsoever.

btw there is no good and reliable HDD, there is no sign to know when your hdd is gonna kaput. remember to backup regularly, never stores your important documents or pictures with precious moments on single hdd or storage, make multiple copies, store on online cloud storage service. if not you gonna regret million times later

Just get another HDD and start back up your data, SMART info is just for prediction, you wont know what will happen on a few days later.
HDD life are unpredictable. There is no error-free HDD, five years warranty does not mean the HDD is durable.

Backup now before it's too late, you can never know whether if it can survive on next boot or not.
send for repair, hard drive is not something that normal ppl can repair... unless you are very experienced.

Return it to the shop you bought?
If it's not working, http://www.seagate.com/sg/en/support/warra...ty-faqs-master/
Seagate accept samsung drive. but i'm not sure bout malaysia one.

Avoid Green, i had 2 of them, both got tons of bad sectors before i RMA it.
They're for storage use only cause it has high latency.
The Black and AVGP one didnt escape the fate of RMA either.
I sold off most of them, except the Black 2TB.

Now i only use 2x 3TB Toshiba drives on Raid 0, bought them not long ago, only stores non-critical data

When you noticed your drive take longer than usual when just copy/read.
it's Time to check the SMART data and Even viewer for disk error.
IT's the initial symptom of bad sector starting to develop.

+ Avoid shitgate at all cost.

This post has been edited by 1024kbps: Jul 8 2014, 01:41 PM

More than 6 months for Thoshiba if i recall correctly. Damn scared to store anythings important on them, gotta buy 2 more backup drive

WD Green and AVGP started to develop problem after one years.
While Black one after two years.

Green one was the most serious, bad sector occupied more than 75% of the drive.
AVGP and Black only have tiny bits of bad sector. but WD honor the warranty and replaced them.

Never, they're too expensive. i rather buy 2x green 4TB which is still cheaper.
or go for cheaper brand like Hitachi or Toshiba.

RMA is a small matter, backing up data from an almost dead hard drive is real pain in the butt.

WD Passport warranty is 3 years i think, the rest i don't know, well for me, i dont really care how complicated the external hdd is,
Just back it up regularly if the data is important, and it will save you from spending thousand Ringgit on data recovery service when it died.
buying 2 or 3 external HDD for backup is certainly cheaper than data recovery service.

Windows backup utility isnt very hard to use.

SSHD for backup? you're wasting your money if getting it as the SSD part wont be useful for backup.
Get some WE purple/red drive for back up.

Of course, they have to collect until certain amount of HDD before they send it.
Nobody got so much free time just to RMA that one freaking HDD for someone