pctechguide.com

  • Home
  • Guides
  • Tutorials
  • Articles
  • Reviews
  • Glossary
  • Contact

Simple Steps to Take to Troubleshoot Your Hard Drive

Are you having trouble with your hard drive? You shouldn’t immediately throw it out. There might be plenty of things that you can do to fix it.

The average life expectancy of a hard drive is between three and five years, although the exact figure will depend on the machine. If it is starting to fail before it is due, then there might be plenty of things that you can do to keep it running. You just need to know what troubleshooting steps to take.

You can find some basic troubleshooting tips below.

Simple Hard Drive Troubleshooting Ideas

If your hard disk is defective, you can repair it yourself with the appropriate tips and tools. We have summarised all the information on this in this practical tip for you.

The hard disk is very error-prone, as it is subject to heavy use. Data is constantly being read and written to it, which can lead to write and read errors.

With Windows onboard tools you can try to repair faulty hard disk segments. To do this, right-click on the hard disk under “Computer” and select “Properties” > “Tools”. There click on the “Check” button to test the hard disk for errors. This process may take some time.
Free tool: Alternatively, you can also use the free tool CheckDrive to test and repair hard disk errors.

Recover lost data from hard disk
If files are missing, you can try to recover your data with the freeware Recuva.
If instead a complete partition was accidentally deleted or reformatted, you can use a test disk.

Detect hardware errors
If there are other drives above or below the hard disk, such as CD-ROM, DVD, or BD drives, the hard disk may become even hotter and not work properly. Increased temperatures also reduce the life of the hardware.

The temperature of a hard drive should not exceed 96 degrees Fahrenheit. If the temperature is constantly above that, a passive hard drive cooler is suitable. An active hard drive cooler, on the other hand, usually consists of a fan that is attached to a hard drive bay or the hard drive itself. The temperature can be measured with an HDD thermometer, for example.
In the event of an error, you should always switch off the PC and disconnect it from the power supply. Open the case and check that the hard disk drive cabling is intact and that the connections are correctly seated.
If the hard disk drive makes unusual noises during operation, such as rattling or clattering, this indicates that the hard disk drive is defective. Even at this stage it is recommended that you back up the data on the hard disk. You should boot from a live CD, so that the hard disk is then recovered. Both the Clonezilla distribution and SystemRescueCD are good choices. SystemRescueCD also has a backup program called Clonezilla which can be used to back up entire hard disks.
Note: If you don’t feel confident enough to repair the hard disk yourself, you should contact a specialist store. You can try to recover the data with the program from above before you order the repair.

Filed Under: Articles

Latest Articles

Memory Upgrades

In recent times, as well as becoming much cheaper, RAM has also become more complicated. There are currently a proliferation of different varieties, shapes and voltages. The first step in planning an upgrade is therefore to determine what memory … [Read More...]

The Woojer Will Rock Your World

A lot of people have heard about the Woojer though they thought it was meant “woofer”. More so, this is where the woojer derived its name, from the word “subwoofer”. So what’s so special about the Woojer with its diminutive size that’s only slightly bigger than a matchbox? Well, you won’t believe … [Read More...]

LEP Flat Panels

Polymers are chemical substances that consist of large molecules that are, themselves, made from many smaller and simpler molecules: proteins and DNA are examples of naturally occurring polymers; many others, such as nylon, are artificially … [Read More...]

Gaming Laptop Security Guide: Protecting Your High-End Hardware Investment in 2025

Since Jacob took over PC Tech Guide, we’ve looked at how tech intersects with personal well-being and digital safety. Gaming laptops are now … [Read More...]

20 Cool Creative Commons Photographs About the Future of AI

AI technology is starting to have a huge impact on our lives. The market value for AI is estimated to have been worth $279.22 billion in 2024 and it … [Read More...]

13 Impressive Stats on the Future of AI

AI technology is starting to become much more important in our everyday lives. Many businesses are using it as well. While he has created a lot of … [Read More...]

Graphic Designers on Reddit Share their Views of AI

There are clearly a lot of positive things about AI. However, it is not a good thing for everyone. One of the things that many people are worried … [Read More...]

Redditors Talk About the Impact of AI on Freelance Writers

AI technology has had a huge impact on our lives. A 2023 survey by Pew Research found that 56% of people use AI at least once a day or once a week. … [Read More...]

11 Most Popular Books on Perl Programming

Perl is not the most popular programming language. It has only one million users, compared to 12 million that use Python. However, it has a lot of … [Read More...]

Guides

  • Computer Communications
  • Mobile Computing
  • PC Components
  • PC Data Storage
  • PC Input-Output
  • PC Multimedia
  • Processors (CPUs)

Recent Posts

How AI Detectors Are Shaping the Future of Technology and Innovation?

Image Credit kiquebg by Pixabay Anybody that hasn't been living under a rock for the last couple of years is aware of the massive changes brought … [Read More...]

OpenGL technology

Initiated in 1992 by Silicon Graphics as a general CAD and 3D API for Unix-based X-terminals, OpenGL evolved out of SGI's … [Read More...]

Windows XP Startup Applications

When specifically investigating startup problems, you can use the System Configuration Utility's (see the Clean Boot tutorial) Startup tab to … [Read More...]

[footer_backtotop]

Copyright © 2025 About | Privacy | Contact Information | Wrtie For Us | Disclaimer | Copyright License | Authors