Computer Repair Tips

Failing Hard Drive

How to tell if you have a failing hard drive

Nobody wants a failed hard drive – it is one of the more expensive repair jobs and there is always the terrible risk of loss of data through a corrupt drive. It is so important to do regular backups in the event of a hard drive failure.

Keeping an eye open for the symptoms of hard drive failure may in some instances give you some warning that the problem is going to occur and allow you the time to do a fast back up before the drive fails completely.

Symptoms of a failing hard drive

Below are some of the symptoms of a failing hard drive – they are however not exclusive to a failing hard drive, it could be another problem with your computer. Either way, you need to take action if you have one or more of these problems occurring with your machine.

  • Errors when booting your computer
  • Computer crashes when booting
  • Scrambled or changed file and folder names
  • Errors when performing normal operations on your machine
  • Loss of files and folders
  • Computer freezes for long periods when you are trying to access files or programs
  • You lose access to a device
  • Rubbish output when you print or open your files
  • You hear a clicking sound coming from your computer
  • The computer seems to be heating up more than it did previously
  • Corrupted data within your files
  • Chkdsk runs when you start up your computer
  • You hear a beep when booting that you didn’t hear before
  • Your computer runs really slowly.

Help your hard drive last longer

Generally wear and tear are the major causes of a hard drive failure, but you can help your drive to last longer.

One way to do this is to prevent overheating of your computer. This is usually caused by a build-up of dust within your machine. You should minimise dust build-up by keeping the area around your computer clean.

You should also consider regularly cleaning your machine yourself with a can of compressed air – or take it to a repair business for a routine maintenance job. Poor ventilation is also a cause of overheating, make sure that your machine is located in a position that allows airflow.

Over-use of your machine can also weaken your hard drive. If you never turn off your machine, you should consider changing this habit and if you don’t think you are going to use the computer for a period of time, turn it off.

Be careful with your laptop, a physical shock such as a dropped laptop can cause your hard drive to fail.

Hard drive repair

If the problem with your hard drive is related to software issues such as bad sectors on the drive this may be repairable.

However, if the hard drive is failing mechanically the only solution is to replace it.

We can help you with both repairing bad sectors on your disk as well as replacing your hard drive.

If it is too late and your hard drive has failed, we offer an affordable data recovery service.

failing hard drive

Affordable Computer Repairs and Service, 48 Octantis Street Coorparoo. Call us today on 3397 1215 or 0409 974 707 for hard drive repair services.