What to Do If Your Hard Drive Fails? | Get the Best Solutions Here

Hard drives don't work like all hardware components that can function throughout their lifetime, even with wear and tear. Typically, a hard drive may show signs of failure after three years of use. If it's subjected to several issues, this time could be sooner. However, a hard drive is a critical component, and its failure can affect the entire computer.

This may present itself as slow computer performance, decreased functionality, bad sectors, or any number of unusual behaviors. Now, this article from Tom's Guide will tell you exactly what to do if your hard drive is failing. Here are the fixes.

How to Tell if a Hard Drive Is Failing

One major issue we often notice is that a computer slows down when the hard disk drive fails. However, this could be due to various reasons and not necessarily directly related to a failing hard drive. Nonetheless, it's crucial to recognize the signs of a failing hard drive to address the problem promptly. Here are some indicators of a failing hard drive: 1. **Slow Performance:** If your computer takes longer than usual to start up, shut down, or open programs, it could be a sign that the hard drive is struggling to read and write data. 2. **Unusual Noises:** A healthy hard drive operates quietly. If you hear clicking, grinding, or whirring sounds coming from your computer, it might indicate a mechanical issue with the hard drive. 3. **Frequent Freezing or Crashing:** Frequent system crashes, program errors, or the Blue Screen of Death can be a result of a failing hard drive. 4. **File Corruption or Loss:** Files that suddenly become inaccessible, get corrupted, or disappear without reason are strong indicators of a failing drive. 5. **Error Messages:** Error messages related to the hard drive, such as "disk not found" or "sector not found," are clear warnings. 6. **Unexpected Reboots:** If your computer restarts on its own without any apparent reason, it could be due to a failing hard drive. 7. **Sluggish File Transfer:** If transferring files between drives or to external media becomes unusually slow, it might be a sign of a deteriorating hard drive. 8. **Bad Sectors:** A hard drive with bad sectors has difficulty reading or writing data to specific areas, which can lead to system instability. 9. **Declining Disk Space:** If the available disk space reduces significantly over time without explanation, it could be due to a failing hard drive that's unable to properly allocate space. 10. **Slow Boot-up and Slow Loading of Programs:** If the computer takes an unusually long time to boot up or if programs take forever to load, it could be a symptom of a failing hard drive. If you encounter any of these signs, it's advisable to back up your important data immediately and consider having the hard drive checked by a professional. Early detection and intervention can save your valuable information and prevent more significant issues down the line.

• Undetected hard drive. If your computer isn't detecting the hard drive, it won't show up in the BIOS process. If you're having trouble reading files or accessing programs, it could be due to a failing hard drive or SSD (solid-state drive).
• Slow performance, freezing, or black or blue screen of death errors. While these issues can be caused by other things, they can also be signs of a failing hard drive.
• Weird sounds coming from the computer. If you hear strange noises coming from your hard drive, there's an issue with it. If the sound is repetitive, it's called the "click of death," which usually happens when a hard drive fails to write data, retracts, and tries again.
• Data corruption and increasing numbers of bad sectors. If data becomes corrupted, you won't be able to access it, causing data loss. Bad sectors don't follow data integrity, and corrupted data can spread like a virus.

What causes hard drive failure?

If a hard drive fails at the end of its lifespan, that's to be expected, as hardware components do tend to age. But if it fails sooner, there may be other factors at play. So, as you go about repairing your hard drive, make a note of what might have caused the failure so you can avoid it with your new one.

• Firmware Failure: Most firmware issues are manufacturer-induced, except for a few cases. Firmware problems tend to show up right from the start.
• Human Error: Many users contribute to file corruption by abruptly shutting down their systems or engaging in unethical downloads or hacking activities on their computers.
• Power Surges: Voltage fluctuations are another significant issue for hard disk drives. If an UPS fails to provide stable full power or if voltage levels fluctuate, it can lead to surges that impact the drive.

Please share this article on your social media platforms to help reach more people.

What to Do When Your Hard Drive Fails

If you notice any signs of hard drive failure, don't worry – as long as you can recover your data in time. Here's what to do when your hard drive fails.

Back up hard drive data

If your hard drive is having issues, the first thing you should do is back up the data on it. This preserves your information because data cannot be recovered from bad sectors. Get a second hard drive and save the backup there. It's unlikely that both drives would fail unless there was some sort of natural disaster.

For backing up your data, you can use Windows utilities, OneDrive, and Google Drive. Microsoft Office 365 is also of great help, since higher subscriptions offer 1 TB of storage space. However, the best solution is to use a backup management tool like Todo Backup to save copies to the cloud.

If you're interested in learning how to back up a hard drive without using any software, you can refer to the following article for assistance.

Please provide the English content you want to translate, and I'll translate it into Chinese for you as soon as possible.

How to Backup External Hard Drive Without Any Software

External hard drives are commonly used to store files for data security. But how to backup an external hard drive without any software? This article will show you how to back up an external drive without using software. Read More >>

Fixing Drive Issues

The next thing to try is to fix the disk, which is possible on a Windows machine, because the operating system can check and repair it.

Step 1: Close all apps, programs, and features on the device.

Step Two: Double-click My Computer, right-click the suspect hard drive, and select Properties from the drop-down menu.

Step 3: In the Properties window, go to the “Tools” tab. Click “Check,” and enter your password to proceed.

Step 4. The operating system will scan the disk and display the results. If there are any error messages, you will see an option to “Check and repair drive.” Click it to fix these issues.

Another way to check if the hard drive is connected properly is to reset the BIOS settings. Make sure you do this before replacing the entire hard drive, as the problem might be resolved through this process.

Step one: Restart your computer and press the BIOS shortcut key while it's booting up to enter the BIOS setup.

Note: The BIOS key is the key to enter the BIOS settings, which varies from computer to computer, but is usually F12.

Step 2: Check whether the BIOS sees the hard drive; if not, you will have to replace it immediately.

Check the first boot device:

Replace a Failed Drive

If all checks fail, you need a new hard drive to replace the failed one. If you want the data on the old hard drive, the most important thing is to clone the old hard drive to the new one. For this, you need a reliable and secure disk cloning tool to copy the contents of the failed hard drive to the new one. In this regard, the Disk Copy tool can well meet your needs.

A hard drive cloning tool is a software for Windows that offers excellent cloning, upgrading, migrating, or copying data from one hard drive to another. With flexible options, you can clone your source drive to a new one in just three simple steps. The utility is a comprehensive backup and recovery solution that includes cloning, imaging, and bootable USB drives.

The main features of Disk Copy are:

• Replace a laptop hard drive without losing data on Windows.
• Migrate the operating system from one SSD to another without reinstalling.
• Clone sector by sector, skipping bad sectors without interruption.
• Perfect for cloning, transferring, or upgrading drives.
• Clone a hard drive for a complete backup and recovery solution.

Get the tool now to clone your failed drive and preserve your data. Here's how to use a disk cloning utility to copy an old drive to a new one:

Advance notice:

• Sector-by-sector clone requires the target disk to be the same size or larger than the source disk. Uncheck this if you do not plan to clone a larger hard drive to a smaller one. • All data on the target disk will be completely erased. Exercise caution.

Step 1: To start cloning the entire disk to another disk, select it in Disk Mode, then click Next.

Step 2: Select another disk as the target disk.

Step 3: Check the disk layout of both disks. You can choose "Adapt to target disk," "Keep as source," or "Edit disk layout" to manage the disk layout on the target disk.

• "Auto Resize" modifies the layout of the target disk by default, so it's in an optimal state. • "Copy as source" leaves the target disk unchanged, with the same layout as the source disk. • "Edit disk layout" lets you manually adjust/move the partition layout on the target disk.

Check “Select this option if the target is an SSD” for optimal performance of your SSD.

A message will appear warning you that your data will be lost. Confirm the message by pressing OK, and then click Next.

Step 4: Click “Proceed” to actually carry out the task.

After cloning your old hard drive to the new one, you'll need to carefully swap the drives in your computer. Follow this guide to safely replace your new hard drive:

Step one: Unplug all external peripherals and open your computer case safely.

Step 2: Find a suitable enclosure, and figure out its connectivity options.

Step Three: Remove the outer casing properly, pull out the old drive, and insert the new one.

Step 4: Replace the screw, connect the power cable with the connector, and put the CPU cover back on. Your computer is now ready to go with its new hard drive installed.

In short

Whether or not you're seeing signs of hard drive failure, it's a good idea to run regular checks so that you don't have to worry about what to do if your hard drive fails. While you may not be able to fix a failing drive, taking steps ahead of time can help you avoid losing your data. The best way to save your data from a failing hard drive is to clone the drive.

With the Disk Copy tool, you can clone SSD sector by sector to have a backup in case of hard drive failure. In just three steps, your new drive will be ready with all the data. Download the tool now to avoid data loss due to hard drive failure.

4. What to Do When Your Hard Drive Fails: FAQ

Here are some common questions and answers about what to do after a hard drive failure, which might be helpful for you.

1. What if your hard drive fails?

When your hard drive is failing, you'll initially encounter boot errors or persistent error messages. In addition, you might hear strange sounds or clicking noises, be unable to read files from the disk, and notice physical signs of a failing hard drive.

How do I know if my hard drive is really broken?

If the hard drive containing the boot files fails, the computer won't start. For other drives, you won't be able to read from, write to, or otherwise use the drive.

Are hard-disk failures common?

Every electronic device has a lifespan, and after that, it may show signs of hard drive failure. They will eventually fail or stop working altogether due to wear and tear over time and physical damage.