Bad HDD?

Question

Level 1

116 points

Bad HDD?

My 2007 intel dou core iMac is running VERY slow. I have run the DU from start up and it shows that the S.M.A.R.T. working and the drive is verified. I also ran the repair disk, found 1 prob and fixed it and ran repair permission. I ran the AHT from start up and it shows a "4mot" (I may not have that correct) but it relates to a HDD fan so I downloaded a SMC fan control and bumped up the speed of my HDD and processor fans. I went back to start up and reloaded OSX Mountain Lion from Internet. I also replaced my 2gb ram with Apple 4gb. I am doing this post on my iPad because trying to type on the iMac takes forever. The pin wheel of death is everywhere.

iMac, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2), 3 gb ram, 750gb hd

Posted on Oct 21, 2012 5:55 AM

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Answer 1

mende1

Level 10

93,538 points

Oct 21, 2012 6:08 AM in response to trouble me

The hard disk is damaged and you must take it to an Apple Store. Fan issues doesn't appear on Disk Utility, so Apple Hardware Test showed you the issue and the hard disk has to be replaced. Make a backup before

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Answer 2

BGreg

Level 6

17,552 points

Oct 21, 2012 6:15 AM in response to trouble me

The 4MOT AHT message means there is an issue with either the HDD fan or HDD itself. Does SMC fan control, or iStat Pro if you have it, indicate that the hard drive fan is not working properly?

Download SMART Utility which will give you more insight into the health of the hard drive.

See this FAQ on dealing with the pin wheel.

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Answer 3

trouble me Author

Level 1

116 points

Oct 21, 2012 6:16 AM in response to mende1

OK? The exact line from DU is " 4MOT/1/40000003:HDD " which according to Apple is the fan on the HDD.

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Answer 4

trouble me Author

Level 1

116 points

Oct 21, 2012 6:55 AM in response to BGreg

BGreg; The SMC fan control does not show that there is any problems with the fan. I downloaded the Smart Utility and it show, where the DU did not, that the "Overall SMART Status: FAILING". it has 54 pending Bad Sectors and removed 1 Bad Sector. Thanks for your help. Any sugestions on HDD? I have replaced it once with a WDC WD7501AALS-OOEAO. At least this time I have a Time Machine back up and will not have to try to recover info from a bad HDD.

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Answer 5

mende1

Level 10

93,538 points

Oct 21, 2012 6:57 AM in response to trouble me

SMART test failed. As I told, take it to an AASP or Apple Retail Store

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Answer 6

BGreg

Level 6

17,552 points

Oct 21, 2012 7:05 AM in response to trouble me

That WD Caviar Black hard drive should have a 5 year warranty on it, if you want to have WD replace it. Otherwise, I'd look at the reviews on Newegg.com to see what other users like. I wouldn't get a drive with less than a 3 year warranty on it, and some still have 5 year warranties (There's been an industry wide shortening of warranties in recent years).

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Answer 7

trouble me Author

Level 1

116 points

Oct 21, 2012 10:56 AM in response to BGreg

Thanks for the info on the drive. Running low on funds so a replacement would be great. I had it put in 2010.

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