When will my HDD die?

[Xyf]

Hey there,
My current HDD is a Samsung HD161HJ. I got it for about 3 years. About 1 year ago when I start up my computer it started showing "SMART command failed" at the POST screen. No biggie , I disabled the SMART feature and carried on. About 2 weeks ago , after returning from a trip, that I brought my computer with , at power on it started to make a long screech. I got a bit scared and turned the power off, and back on after a bit. Computer powered on normally , and HDD didn't seem to have any problems. But now , it makes that sound almost every time I start my computer in the morning ( after 8 or so hours of being off), but only if it was off for a long period of time.
I backed up whatever data I had so there is no problem of lost data, but I'm thinking that it will eventually fail on me. Am I right in thinking that? Anyone care to guesstimate when that will happen ?

[fzabkar]

The usual reason for a SMART failure is an excessive number of bad sectors.

Try a comprehensive SMART diagnostic. Look for reallocated, pending, or uncorrectable sectors.

HD Sentinel (DOS / Windows / Linux):
http://www.hdsentinel.com/

HDDScan for Windows:
http://hddscan.com/

See this article for SMART info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.M.A.R.T.

[lcoughey]

Your drive will most definitely fail at that very moment when you realize that your most critical document is not backed up and you need access to it right away.

[BlackST]

"screech" = a sort of hiss that fades when the drive has reached target speed ?

[Xyf]

No , it sounds more like the beep sound the computer makes when booting , only higher pitched , longer and a bit distorted. It usually goes on for 2 3 seconds then it does short beeps. I can't tell if the disk is spinning up/ has spined up or not at all , didn't put my ear to it to actually check it up. I am going to try and record the sound if I can and also listen if its spined up or not, but the thing is it didn't made the sound the last 2 days. Weird..

[BlackST]

Can you tell me if the motor is Nidec or JVC and connected with flat cable or a pcb to motor contact ?

[Xyf]

Its a Nidec , connected with the contacts on the pcb.

[BlackST]