Hard Drive Failure Symptoms | 9 Symptoms Of Hard Drive Failure

The hard drive is considered the fastest storage device compared to a USB drive, memory stick, and CD. But new storage devices like SSD are faster than hard drives. The hard drive comes with many benefits like ample storage, high speed, high security, and reasonable prices.

A hard drive is an essential part of your computer, and all crucial data is stored on it. But like other parts of a computer, hardware can also fail at any time, and it will become impossible for you to access your essential data.

There is no way to tell when your hard drive will fail, but some signs and symptoms indicate the hard drive failure, so you can make hard disk recovery to prevent any data loss. Here is everything that you need to know about hard drive failure.

At What Point Your Hard Drive Fails?

There are two points where there are more chances of hard drive failure.

• The failure of the hard drive at the very beginning can occur. The reason behind this is the fault in the manufacturing. These manufacturing defects can be detected in tests. These tests are the reason that manufacturing defects are reduced but still, they occur.
• The failure of the hard drive can also occur at the end of the hard drive’s life. It usually occurs after 4 to 5 years, and there can be many reasons behind this failure.

Symptoms Of Hard Drive Failure

Here are the symptoms of hard drive failure.

1. One of the most revealing signs of hard drive failure is the Blue Screen Of Death. Blue screen of death is not only the symptom of hard drive failure. Other problems can result in a blue screen of death. If you reinstall your system or you are in the safe mode of the window, and still, this error persists. Then it is a clear sign that your hard drive is going towards failure.
2. Corrupted files are another sign of hard drive failure. A corrupted file sign occurs when the document does not open. These corrupted signs indicate that the hard drive is going towards failure slowly. If the number of these corrupted signs increases, then there is a fair chance that your hard drive is going to fail anytime.
3. If you hear strange sounds coming from your hard drive, then it is concerning. Commonly these sounds can be clicking sounds or turning sounds. Mainly these sounds are produced when you are doing multiple tasks on your computer. These sounds indicate that any part of your hard drive is not functioning correctly.
4. Another symptom of hard drive failure is the crashing of the system. This problem can often occur or when the system is used heavily. To check whether it is a hard drive problem or not, run the hard drive diagnostic. Or clean the dust from the ventilation areas of your system.
5. The occurrence of the error message is another symptom of hard drive failure. Frequently these messages occur when you are moving a file from one place to another. It is a warning sign if the frequency of these messages increases with time.
6. Change of the name of the folder or file is another sign of the hard drive failure. Or the scrambled folder names also indicate the hard drive failure. These are clear signs that there is something wrong with your hard drive.
7. If your files or folders go missing without any knowledge, then it also points that your system’s hard drive is damaged.
8. If it takes more time than usual to load a file or folder, it is also a symptom of hard drive failure. This delayed loading of the file or folder indicates two things related to the hard drive. One is that the hard disk is damaged. Another is that a virus attacked the hard drive.
9. The BIOS cannot detect the hard drive. In this way, the hard drive cannot be formatted or used typically.

What To Do If Hard Drive Failure Symptoms Occur?

Here are the things to do immediately if any signs of hard drive failure occur.

Backup Your Data

If you notice any of the symptoms mentioned above, there are high chances that your hard drive will fail. The best thing you can do to prevent data loss is backing up the data, as hard drive recovery is unreliable.

It is recommended that you keep all your essential data on another hard disk. Both the hard drives rarely fail simultaneously, and the reason behind this can be a natural disaster. There is another option too, like you can store your important data online like on Google drive.

Replace Your Hard Drive

The other thing you can do is replace your hard drive. Then you can shift all your data on that new hard drive. It is best to seek help from a professional about which hard drive you should buy and how to install it. Any wrong step can lead to hard drive failure in the beginning.

Recover Data From Formatted Flash Drive

Do Not Dispose of Your Hard Drive Anywhere

Remember that your hard drive contains all your data. Never dispose of your hard drive randomly. It is possible that if your hard drive has confidential data, then a third party can make data recovery and get some sensitive data.

How You Can Prevent Hard Drive Failure

Here are some preventative measures that you can take to prevent hard drive failure.

• Clean the ventilation system of your system to avoid overheating. Overheating can damage your hard drive.
• Never open your system by yourself to clean the hard drive. This way, you can damage your system or hard drive.
• Defragging your system is an excellent option to keep your system and hard drive performing well.
• Avoid installing unnecessary software on your system as your hard drive has to work harder. Also, remove the unneeded software from the system.
• Protect your hard drive from power surges by using a surge protector.
• Try to avoid static shock, as a single static shock can fry your hard drive.

Wrapping It Up

It is not always necessary that a hard drive will fail after any of the failures mentioned above. Sometimes hard drives fail without a single warning, so it is better to create a backup to prevent any data loss.

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