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.
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.
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.
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.
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.