You can normally tell that one is on the way out by the noise it makes - it's horrible
I have had 2 Maxtor diamond drives die on me. I remember the last one being very hot to touch. It started making 'clonking' noises. The O/S would take an age to load. Eventually it ground to a complete halt.Both of the drives were always hot and unbearably noisy.
All the Samsung drives I have bought have always been good though. Quiet, cool, and reliable.