Easy Fixes For Your Hard Drive Problems

If there’s a clicking noise coming from your computer or you encounter a number of freezes, there’s probably a problem with your hard drive. Most manufacturers claim their hard drives last for more than 1-million hours of use, but the failure rate of a drive is about 3 to 5 times higher than that.

A recent post on Techopedia has some tips for how anyone can attempt to fix their hard drive. Before opening up your machine, check your warranties. Many times, trying to fix your own computer will void your warranty, which leaves you no safety net if you aren’t successful.

• Create A Back-up
  

There are paid services and free services to back-up the data on your hard drive. The important thing is to make sure you have a back-up in case your drive completely fails. This is good advice whether your hard drive is acting up or not. 

• Ask Windows To Fix It

More recent versions of Windows is actually capable of fixing some of the minor errors on your hard drive. Right click the your hard drive in the “My Computer” menu, go to “Properties”, then “Tools” and select “Check Now”. 

• Replace It

If the “Check Now” tool crashes, there’s a serious problem with your hard drive. Even if it runs successfully, it may tell you you’re due for a replacement. Before replacing it, however, deactivate software like Office 365. This way, you can restore from back-up on your new hard drive. 

• Make A Clone

There are programs available that will clone your hard drive, which then allows you to put the cloned drive onto a new, healthy hard drive. This way, you won’t be starting from scratch and you’ll be sure all your data and programs are already in place. If the errors on your old hard drive are from viruses, however, you’ll just be infecting the new drive as well. So use caution with this option. 

Your hard drive is arguably the most important piece of your computer. If it isn’t working properly, your entire computer can be virtually useless. While there are some easy fixes for common problems, some issues are best left to the professionals.

If your computer isn’t working properly, bring it to Geek Rescue. Our staff will diagnose and fix the problem quickly and efficiently. We work on a variety of devices so if it boots up or turns on, we fix it. Come by or call us at 918-369-4335.