How to Know Your Hard Drive Is Failing?

One of the most feared expressions in modern times is ‘The computer is down.’

(One of the most brainy Quotes by Norman Ralph Augustine)

This quote declares that – the most dreadful moment in every business owner’s life is when the computer, PC, or laptop stops working. And since the data is stored in hard drives, a common fear is always buzzing around – losing up to the essential data files.

Data could be in the form of critical project files, photos, videos, and favourite music videos. But, imagine a situation where your hard drive has failed or the dreaded blue screen of death fills up your screen. 

Worse, right?

Likewise – other devices, hard drives are an integral part of computer systems. However, unfortunate and uninviting failures can knock on the door at any time. 

It’s quite hard to determine the real cause of hard drive failures. There is no doubt to say that it’ll bring a lot of inconveniences and put your whole computer to a halt, which makes the data inaccessible. The average lifetime of a hard drive is around 5 to 10 years. The more it’s exposed to changing temperatures, humidity, or external shocks, the more likely it’ll lose its lifespan over time. 

The noticeable part is that hard drives give off a very distinct noise during a failure, while other times, these devices start losing their performance. Even when you’re trying to restart your computer, an error message like – “NO BOOTABLE DEVICES FOUND” displays on the screen. It concludes that your hard drive is dead. The scenario could be any. Therefore, the real causes and different warning signs are necessary before it becomes a stressful pain (like losing data permanently). 

Worry Not! Multiple data recovery services are proven to be a lifesaver for a business owner. The topmost and well-reputable data recovery professionals are into this business that helps every size of organization in restoring their physically and logically deleted data. 

Before visiting such professionals, you must be aware of warning signs that a hard drive is experiencing due to mechanical failures or logical failures. Let’s get started – what are those!

Table of Content

Common Signs of Hard Drive Failures

1. Constant “Blue Screen of Death”
2. Missing or Corrupt Files
3. Poor Performance
4. Clicking and Loud Hard Drive Noises

Wrapping Up!

Common Signs of Hard Drive Failures

1. Constant “Blue Screen of Death”

Are you facing constant “Blue Screen of Death” hits? This implies that your hard drive and other components failed to respond. Sometimes, Windows is unable to access the data that is necessary for operating. This further leads to a forced clash, called BSOD (Blue Screen of Death). When a drive proceeds towards this stage, it often becomes complicated to back up the data. In such a situation, it’s advisable to remove the hard drive from the computer and take a backup of the data through a hard drive dock or USB adapter on a different computer. Hence, using a separate device guarantees accessing data safely. 

2. Missing or Corrupt Files

The real cause behind missing and corrupt files are bad sectors on a hard drive, which generally happens due to age, damage, or manufacturer fault. This can also become the reason for poor performance. And a bad sector means the OS can’t read and access the content. There are certain methods like “Performing chkdsk” that can repair the bad sectors and endeavour to copy the data over a good sector. However, it isn’t possible to repair the mechanical or hard sectors as this is a sign of malware or a corrupt Windows image. For this, you need to discover other possibilities like running a security scan or updating Windows as inevitable.

3. Poor Performance

One of the most common symptoms of hard drive failure is a poor performance that decreased within a relatively short period of time. If your startup time has risen within the span of a few weeks and your programs feel inactive, this is a sign of hard drive failure. Over time, mechanical and logical damages and bad sector problems start appearing. The actual reasons for bad sectors are physical damage and manufacturer defects. Mechanical bad sectors can’t be repaired. On the other hand, logical bad sectors can often be repaired through various data recovery programs. 

The head takes a long time in searching the requested reading/writing data. This further slows the performance. However, there are other multiple reasons for slow performance, including too many programs running in the background, a fragmented hard drive, a malware infection, a corrupt Windows installation, or a full hard drive make a significant impact on your PC’s performance.

4. Clicking and Loud Hard Drive Noises

Hearing unusual noises from a hard drive can lead to a lot of trouble. A constant sound is also called the click of death, which occurs when the head trying to write data, failing, returning to its home position and retrying over and over again. Generally, these noises are also known as grinding or screeching noises. The main causes of such noises are – malfunctioning components in a hard drive. So, listen carefully to those strange noises every time when you’re trying to start your computer. 

There are various service providers offering services regarding hard drive data recovery in USA, Singapore, and other countries. Relying on such technicians means obtaining a 100% guarantee over data recovery and others. 

Wrapping Up!

The overall solution to these problems is to create a backup of your data over time or take the assistance of data recovery professionals. Why? Taking backup on time avoids further unforeseen situations like losing data permanently from your device. Whereas, data recovery or IT support professionals protect and bring accidentally deleted data and damaged hard drive data back within a limited period of time. 

These are the only methods that help in gaining certainty to protect data on a variety of hard drives to keep it secure. Don’t wait until the last minute when your hard drives sound the alarm.