Is your hard drive dying? Pisten to these and find out.

[Sebastian]

Hitachi Support site >>

At the above link you will find WAV file recordings of typical hard drive deaths and their descriptions. The head failures are my favorite, because that's how all of my drives have died.

[Asylum Steve]

The head failures are my favorite, because that's how all of my drives have died...

I have to admit, from a diagnostic point of view, these files are probably useful. Otherwise, to me it's a bit like listening to car crashes.

Gives me the willies...

[ken1953]

Sad thing is...I've heard a couple of these...(shivers)...sends chills up my spine...especially since I don't have a backup right now!!!
Ken

[Sebastian]

I have to admit, from a diagnostic point of view, these files are probably useful. Otherwise, to me it's a bit like listening to car crashes.

Gives me the willies...

You want to know what gives me the willies? This brings back terror from my childhood:

The sound indicating imminent death in the underwater levels of Sonic the Hedgehog.

My friend sent it to me a few weeks ago, I wanted to curl up in a corner and cry.

Get some air, get some air, GET SOME AIR!!

[Asylum Steve]

You want to know what gives me the willies? This brings back terror from my childhood: The sound indicating imminent death in the underwater levels of Sonic the Hedgehog.

Yeah, getting off the subject, but what the heck. One could probably write a thesis at this point on the various death scenes and sequences in vid games.

In Diablo, there were no "leadup" sounds as you fought, only the ever emptying life orb as you took damage. Once it ran out, the screen would go instantly to a static YOU HAVE DIED (in large letters) screen. The accomanying music was a loud and somehwhat startling "funeral dirge" chord. Believe me, it had the intended effect...

But I've also played games like Thief that have sequences like what you describe. If you keep Garrett underwater too long he starts "gurggling" in a very panicy way and then runs out of air and dies. Kinda creepy...

[Sebastian]

Kinda creepy...

Got that right. I just gor Mario Golf for my Gamecube, and on the greens it plays the theme from the underground fire levels of the original Mario Bros. I get so nervous...

[SmartWombat]

Sadly I recognise slow_spindle_motor and head_stuck_to_platter instantly, and head_damage_4.
Head_damage_3 isn't diagnostic of head damage, I've had a drive with a bad servo track do that - but it took a 15000 Gauss magnet to do it. (yes 1.5Tesla !)
Head_damage_2 sounds more like the had carriage than the flying head itself.
Hwad_damage_1 is intesting if it's on power-up, because it's either hitting the stop or unloading the head - very scary.

8 years tech support nearly 15 years ago and I can still remember those - the sort of stick in the mind. Nothing like the sound of a 3-phase mains powered mainframe disk head crash though - we could see the smoke and the bits of metal flying about while it powered down. Yes of course we crowded round for a look, safety from fpying parts wasn't a concern 0 this was a crash !!