How to Fix a Failing Hard Drive

Is your hard drive making clicking noises? If yes, then it’s a tell-tale sign of hard drive failure.  A failing hard drive is something that you should attend to as soon as you start getting the following hard drive failure symptoms:

• errors when opening files and applications
• clicking noise
• frequent BSOD errors and crashes
• overheating

So, how can you fix a failing hard drive? Here are some things that will help:

1. Run CHKDSK

Sometimes you start getting hard drive errors when bad sectors build up. While there is nothing you can do to repair bad sectors caused by physical damage, it is possible to repair bad sectors caused by software and operating system errors. To do that, you’ll need to run a tool called CHKDSK (Check Disk). This Windows utility scans your hard drive for logical errors and attempts to recover bad sectors. It also marks bad sectors that can’t be recovered, so that Windows doesn’t try to save any new files to these parts of the hard drive. You can run CHKDSK by right-clicking on your hard drive, going to Properties, then going to the Tools tab and launching the utility. Make sure that you have all checkboxed selected when a popup window appears, especially the one to repair detected errors. Just a note – CHKDSK can take about an hour to complete and you won’t be able to use your PC white CHKDSK is running.

2. Check Hard Drive Connection

Another thing you should do if your hard drive starts playing up is check whether it’s mounted properly or not. Sometimes your hard drive can become loose with use, which can cause various errors. To fix a failing hard drive, open your computer case and check that the drive is properly connected.

3. Freeze Your Hard Drive

No, this is not a joke. If your hard drive overheats like mad, results in errors and doesn’t let you access your files, there is only one thing you can do – freeze it. Believe it or not, but freezing it will fix your failing hard drive. That’s right, simply dismount your hard drive and put it in the freezer for 15 minutes. This will make the hard drive cool down and will also contract its parts, which will allow you to mount your failed hard drive for long enough to back up your files.

These tips will hep you fix a failing hard drive. Remember to back up all your data as soon as you start getting errors. Otherwise you may lose all your files.