Resolved Hard drive problem?

After running Dell support pc hardware diagnostics, it said 'Smart short self test' timed out; have had two (2) occasions where have had computer freeze up or lock up and mouse moving erractically and could do nothing with computer. Have run adaware, eset, malaware , windows defender and no viruses or malicious item showed up. Is hard drive possibly failing or what might be the problem?

 

Hi, I found this on Google:http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3514/p/19356889/19790321.aspx

I hope it helps. It would help others to help you if you could fill out your "System" on User CP. Make sure you scroll to bottom and Save. Cheers Neil.

What OS are you using?

 

If I remember correctly S.M.A.R.T. is a firmware diag tool for harddrives when they fireup. The controller board on the drive does a "System Check" of the drive. If this fails it could be a hardware problem with the drive however it could be just data on the drive that has forced the reading heads to go to a place they shouldn't be. You can use the CHKDSK command (say yes when it asks to start on next boot) or scandisk on older versions of windows. Windows 2000 and up open command prompt type CHKDSK c: /r this will run a repair on your c drive. Change drive letter as needed. Note that this can take a long while if the drive is large I have seen drives take upwards of 2 hours.