Four common hard drive problems and how to fix them

We tend to store everything on our phones and computers. The humble hard drive has quite the responsibility keeping all that data safe and accessible. That makes it very important to know what’s wrong if you’re having hard drive problems and how to fix them. That’s what this page is all about.

If you’re having problems with your hard drive, you can always bring it to Dave’s Computers in New Jersey. Our team of hardware and data recovery experts can troubleshoot and fix all manner of problems and recover data should any be lost.

There are some things you can do yourself too.

Overheating disk

If your computer keeps shutting itself down or doesn’t sound the same, it could be overheating. Computers produce a lot of heat and use fans to keep components cool. If your computer begins sounding quieter or different, check all your fans to make sure they are working. If your computer shuts down for no reason, download a temperature monitor program and see if your computer is getting too hot.

To fix, check fans and keep them free of dust and debris. Make sure the exhaust port on your computer is free of dust too.

Files won’t open

If you cannot access a file, this could be down to file corruption, being accidentally damaged or malware. You need to be careful here. Run an antivirus scan and malware scan to make sure you’re not infected. Open a CMD window in Windows and type ‘chkdsk /f’ and hit Enter. Allow the process to fix anything it finds.

If your data is still not accessible, bring your drive to us to recover the data.

Human error

If you have accidentally changed the disk type from Dynamic to Basic, deleted files or folders, used a disk cleaner and deleted files, you’re not the first and won’t be the last. I have done this a few times myself.

First check the Recycle Bin or Trash depending on your computer. Recover all files from there. If you deleted files, right click the folder that held them and select Recover Previous Versions. If that doesn’t work, bring your computer to our data recovery team.

Virus or malware

As well as contributing to files not opening, some malware and viruses delete files altogether. Ransomware does the same thing if you don’t pay up. Some malware will overwrite the data so it cannot be recovered but not all of them do. Try running a full antivirus and malware scan and cleaning up anything it finds.

For most malware situations, you’re going to need professional help. Most home data recovery programs just aren’t powerful enough to recover data from a malware or ransomware attack. While you can do the basic cleaning, it’s up to us to recover your data.