Hi

Looking for some advice and possibly firmware.

I'm using a HP ENVY 15 Notebook running Windows 10 (recently upgraded from Windows 8 ). The Harddrive is a HGST HTS541010A9E680

A few days ago I got the Blue Screen of Death with the Stop Code: ntfs_file_system alternating with Stop Code: fat_file_system.

I managed to back up files I hadn't already backed up and after trying a few different recovery options to no avail I ran a CHKDSK c:/f: After more than a day of checking the disk it came back with "An unspecified error occurred". I could see that a number of files were deleted but foolishly did not take note of these.

When I restarted, I was still getting the stop codes but now I was hearing intermittent clicking sounds coming from the HDD. I used my recovery disk and successfully rebooted my computer to the factory settings (Windows 8 ). I could now access and use my computer but I can still hear the intermittent clicking.

I read about the Click of Death and tried some suggested options including checking the connection to the motherboard and I even found a firmware update on the HP website. All to no avail.

Do you think the clicking is a result of the CHKDSK failure and deletion of important files or might the problem have been already there and is what caused the Blue Screen of Death in the first place?

I don't know much about harddrives so I don't know if I can just download any firmware for HTS541010A9E680 or try to find the original firmware? My Firmware is JA0OA7L0.
Is it normal with the Click of Death that you can still access and use the computer?

All my files are backed up and the computer is restored to factory so I have nothing to lose from replacing the HDD. So just want to try one more thing before that and that is to reinstall the firmware. Hope someone can help me out.

I actually just did a SMART scan and got this result. The Seek Error Rate (57) is the most striking issue but does this indicate a mechanical malfunction or otherwise?

The Reallocated Sectors Count and Current Pending Sectors Count are indicating that the drive has serious problems. Try cloning your drive with ddrescue or HDDSuperClone.

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A backup a day keeps DR away.

Reinstalling the FW isn't gonna help you (its not a FW problem)

Is this not just another way of backing up? I've already backed up my files and reinstalled Windows so just looking for a way to fix it the drive if possible. But probably not likely from the looks of it.

So is replacement my only option left? I'd kind of figured that.

Was thinking about replacing it with an SSHD, maybe the Seagate FireCuda. Any opinions or other suggestions are welcome.

Yes.

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A backup a day keeps DR away.

Thanks for the help. I've ordered a new SSHD drive as replacement.