Is this possible?

[Superman]

My friend just ordered some new parts for his PC. Among them, he got a new video card, a sound card, a processor and some other stuff. He did not replace his hard drive. He was still using an older hard drive. Now, he claims that his hard drive exploded. He was in the middle of a download, and it starting making a 'whizzzzzz' noise. After that, he said his PC froze and then shut down. After this, the tower starting smoking and a loud "CRACK" came from it. It's now toast.

Could that have actually happened or was he making it up?

[Hyperion]

It can. It sounds like the drive suffered a catastrophic headcrash and something shorted out, probably the spindle motor. The odds of such a thing happening are astronomically low, but it can happen if the right circumstances are prevalent.

[GrandMasterTerwynn]

My friend just ordered some new parts for his PC. Among them, he got a new video card, a sound card, a processor and some other stuff. He did not replace his hard drive. He was still using an older hard drive. Now, he claims that his hard drive exploded. He was in the middle of a download, and it starting making a 'whizzzzzz' noise. After that, he said his PC froze and then shut down. After this, the tower starting smoking and a loud "CRACK" came from it. It's now toast.

Could that have actually happened or was he making it up?

That sounds like the classic symptoms of a hard drive crashing and dying, yes. And some hard discs, when their internal components are on their last legs and about to seize up produce a lot of heat. And if there was a lot of dust inside the case, then you could see some smoke. So no, it isn't likely he made it up. Though the bit about his hard-drive actually exploding is probably a bit of hyperbole.

[Sarevok]

It is entirely possible. Hard drives spin very fast. Even old models cam exceed 5000 rpm. So an old drive could catastrophicaly fail if something goes wrong.

[Hyperion]

It is entirely possible. Hard drives spin very fast. Even old models cam exceed 5000 rpm. So an old drive could catastrophicaly fail if something goes wrong.

I have seen the result of a catastrophic head crash first hand when I was testing a drive a friend gave me. Literally just *CRACK!* followed by a grinding and rattle, then the system locking up. The spectacular part was watching the thing jump, and the fact the chassis of the drive had cracks in it and there were a large number of serious dents from inside on the lid. I figure that if the drive had been mounted in a system it would have had debris punch thru the chassis and lid, but I don't mount hard drives during testing, they just sit on the desk, so I think the fact it could jump like it did absorbed some of the energy of the internal parts shattering.

[Vertigo1]

My friend just ordered some new parts for his PC. Among them, he got a new video card, a sound card, a processor and some other stuff. He did not replace his hard drive. He was still using an older hard drive. Now, he claims that his hard drive exploded. He was in the middle of a download, and it starting making a 'whizzzzzz' noise. After that, he said his PC froze and then shut down. After this, the tower starting smoking and a loud "CRACK" came from it. It's now toast.

Could that have actually happened or was he making it up?

Have him take the drive out and rattle it. If he hears pieces rattling around, that thing is fubared. At any rate, its highly unlikely the warranty is even still valid. I'd say its time for your friend to invest in a new hard drive. They're getting pretty damn cheap these days. WELL under a dollar a GB. I got my Maxtor 160GB drive (one of the 8MB cache models) for $99 after rebates. (retailed at $159.99)

[Einhander Sn0m4n]

Oh, and feel free to open up the dead HDD to satisfy your morbid curiosity. Don't forget to take pictures.