4 Symptoms of Hard Drive Failure and What You Can Do to Fix It

If your PC isn't performing as well as it used to, then it's in your best interest to troubleshoot the issues and find out why. If ignored, these issues will quickly develop into major problems that cause downtime. In a worst-case scenario, you'll experience a hard drive failure and lose valuable data.

Preventing this scenario starts by knowing what issues to look for. To assist you in diagnosing your PC for hard drive failure, be on the lookout for these four symptoms.

Is your hard drive making strange noises?

Like a car engine, a hard disc drive is an intricate machine that's fine-tuned and made up of many moving parts. Just like you would get your engine looked at when it makes odd noises, a hard drive making new noises is a symptom of a problem that needs to be addressed. Two particularly worrisome noises to be mindful of are clicking and grinding. With a hard drive's disc platters spinning at thousands of revolutions per minute, you can see how these noises could very quickly deteriorate into a hard drive failure, or even a crash.

How's a hard drive work?: Hard Drive Crash Course

And: What's a Hard Drive Crash and How Can I Prevent It?

Are you experiencing system hangs?

A system hang (also known as a freeze) occurs when the program you're working on, or even the operating system itself, ceases to respond to inputs--despite all of your desperate clicking. Granted, a system hang could be a symptom of a variety of other PC issues other than hard drive failure (like software-related issues or CPU issues). Regardless, you should have your PC looked at if it's constantly freezing up on you.

Are computer files randomly disappearing?

Humans are forgetful, computers are not. Therefore, lost files are a symptom of a major hard drive issue like sectors going bad. If this problem isn't attended to, it will only get worse and lead to a hard drive failure, as well as a loss of more data if the defective drive continues to be used.

For more tips see: How to Prevent Server Problems Like Memory Failure from Hurting Productivity

And: Not so Fast! Why Your Deleted Files May Still Be on Your Hard Drive

Are you experiencing longer boot times?

While it's normal for your PC to experience longer boot times over time, especially as you add programs and put wear and tear on your machine, these extended boot times should be minimal. Noticeably longer boot times are a symptom of a hard drive that's deteriorating and at risk of a failure.

For more tips see: 3 Easy Tips to Improve Your PC's Boot Up Time

What you can do to fix a failing hard drive.

Once a determination has been made that hard drive failure is inevitable, you'll want to take action and either fix the hard drive or replace it altogether. Before taking any action, first move all the data on your problem-prone hard drive to another drive. This can be done by connecting your computer to a docking station and then moving all of your files over. Also, relying on copies of your backed up data will work, just make sure that you're backed up files are up to date.

Due to the fact that hard drives are quite complex, we don't recommend that you pop open the case and handle the components unless you're trained for this kind of computer repair work. Instead, a more prudent and economical way of resolving this issue is to simply replace the problem-prone drive altogether. After all, the lifespan of a typical hard disc drive is about five years, meaning that money spent on servicing an older hard drive could be a waste.

See also: Have No Doubt, Every Hard Drive Fails

Also, every five years hard drive technology advances considerably, especially when it comes to data storage. Therefore, a problem hard drive may be an opportunity in disguise for your business, seeing as it gives you the chance to refresh your equipment and benefit from the latest hardware. For example, swapping out an eight-year old hard disc drive for a new solid state drive will set your company up nicely for many years of issue-free computer usage, seeing as the lifespan for SSD drives are way longer than their counterparts, thanks to the lack of moving parts.

See also: Why You Should Go WIth a Solid State Drive if You Can Afford It

While it's important to not ignore the symptoms of hard drive failure, it's equally important to be proactive about the maintenance of your computer equipment. This is the surest way to minimize hard drive issues and get the most out of your technology. To learn more best practices and other computer symptoms you need to be concerned about, be sure to subscribe to Directive's blog!

Related: 6 PC Troubleshooting Guidelines that Every User Should Know

Related: The 5 Most Common Causes of Data Loss

Related: 5 Signs Your Hard Drive is About to Fail