Is my hard drive failing?

[RenJ]

Pretty much what it says on the label. I've looked over the general results of google for what the identifying sounds of a failing hard drive is, but I realize being terribly deaf makes things a little trickier. The only thing I can really say compare are the sort-of clicking sounds.

I've got a (slightly poor quality) sound recording of it, if anyone with a good enough ear. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/51105727/Computernoise.m4a

My laptop is a G46VW Asus, and I've had it since January 2014, bought it refurbished from Newegg. I think my hard drive is a ST750LM022 HN-M750MBB.

I know a typical response might be 'take it to be looked at' but I can't really afford $100 for a diagnostic right now. I just want to know what to expect. This is my only computer and I can't foresee being able to buy a replacement anytime soon.

 

[ajhockey3]

Download a tool such as seagates "Seatools" and do a test to see if your hard drive is bad. Don't go get a diagnostic. A new hard drive would cost less then $100. That laptop probably still has warrenty on the hard drive

 

[D_Know_WD]

Hi there RenJ,

We can't really be sure whether the HDD is failing with this recording. Other components could make similar noises as well(like fans).
Though, you really need to back up the data stored on it as soon as possible.
After that, you can just test the drive and see whether there is something wrong with it: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/282651-32-best-diagnostic-testing-utility

Cheers,
D_Know_WD