Read/write failure
“Cannot read from the source disk” is common error message that will appear when there are read failures from the hard drive.
Slow performance
The performance may be slow when reading or writing to the hard drive. There might be constant LED activity
Loud clicking noise
You might hear the hard drive make clicking noises as it tries to access data.
Read/write failures, slow performance, and loud clicking noises from the hard drive are indicators of disk failure. If you notice any of these symptoms make sure to make a back up of all the data on the drive if the hard drive should fail. Next, check for any loose or damaged cables inside of your computer. Check to make sure that overheating is not occurring, especially if you notice the symptoms occur after startup. Check the power supply to see if it is producing enough voltage to power your hard drive. This is especially true if you just added new components to your computer, which may be drawing additional power from the power supply. Run hard drive diagnostics. The hard drive manufacturer should offer diagnostic tests for your specific hard drive model.
Failure to boot
If a hard drive has failed, or is failing, you computer may fail to boot up. You may see lights (or no lights), hear beep errors, or see on screen error messages. One error message may be that the operating system is not found, which means the hard drive is there but there was no operating system found on the drive.
Check your cables to the drive, especially if this is anew hard drive installation. Check the data and power cables. Try different SATA interfaces.
Next check the boot sequence in BIOS. See if there are any removable media in your boot devices (for example a DVD in the DVD-ROM drive). The BIOS may be looking for the operating system on removable media, such as USB.
Check for any disabled storage interfaces in the BIOS. Make sure the hard drive you want to boot from is enabled.
Try the drive in a different computer to narrow down what the issue is.
Drive not recognized
OS not found
RAID not found
If you get a “RAID not found” error, this may indicate a missing or faulty RAID controller.
RAID stops working
Check the RAID console to see if you can determine which drive is having an issue.
RAID Type | Failure Condition |
RAID 0 | Single drive failure breaks the array with data loss. |
RAID 1 | Array works as long as one drive is operational |
RAID 5 | All drives, but one need to be operational |
RAID 10 | Can lose all but one from each set of mirrors |
Proprietary crash screens (BSOD/pin wheel)
BSOD stands for Blue Screen of Death, which is the Windows stop screen. On Mac OS, you may see a spinning pin wheel, which is the Apple spinning wait cursors. These crash screens may indicate a har drive issue. Run diagnostics on your hard drive and motherboard.
S.M.A.R.T. errors
S.M.A.R.T. Stands for Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology. S.M.A.R.T. Metrics are being performed on each of your hard drives.