Tips on Testing Hard Drive For Problems

One of the basic requirements of keeping your PC in good working order is to ensure that its hard drive doesn't have any problems. To do this, you can either opt for computer repair or prevent it by testing your hard drive to detect potential problems.

There are several ways to test and, if required, repair your hard drive. You can use the diagnostic tools built into your operating system, say Windows, or use specific diagnostic tools provided by a PC repair company skilled in such tasks.

Operating System Diagnostic Tools

Ideally, you should use the diagnostic tools present built into your operating system to perform regular, scheduled checks. Examples of the diagnostic tools provided in a Windows operating system are:

• Disk Cleanup
• Disk Defragmenter
• Scanning for bad sectors
• The chkdsk utility

Disk Cleanup

The Disk Cleanup utility helps you free hard disk space by deleting temporary and other unnecessary files. This utility also enables you to compress the files of your choice. Though this utility proves to be useful when you run out of hard disk space, it is a good idea to run this utility at regular intervals. If you regularly run the Disk Cleanup utility, it prevents you from running out of hard disk space, ensuring the smooth functioning of your PC. To run this utility in a Windows operating system, you can simply right-click the hard disk volume and click the Properties command. The Local Disk Properties dialog box of the hard disk drive will contain a Disk Cleanup button that can be used to run this utility.

Disk Defragmenter

However, the Disk Cleanup utility doesn't ensure that the files you store on your PC are stored in an organized manner. This causes your hard disk drive to become cluttered and, sometimes, even fragmented. You can resolve this by running the Disk Defragmenter utility. This utility optimizes your file system by ensuring that all files on your hard disk drive are stored in an organized manner. This utility also identifies the bad sectors on your hard disk drive and prevents data to be stored in them. In Windows, you can run this utility by clicking the Disk Defragmenter command on the System Tools menu. This menu can be opened from the Accessories menu within the All Programs menu.

Scanning for bad sectors

The Disk Defragmenter utility might not be able to detect or recover data from the bad sectors on your computer. To do this, you need to scan for bad sectors on your PC. But before you do this, you need to close all files open on your computer. You also need to exit from all applications open on your computer. Then you need to right-click the appropriate hard disk volume and click the Properties command. The Hardware tabbed page in the resultant Local Disk Properties dialog box will contain the Check Now button that is used to scan for bad sectors.

The chkdisk Utility

Another utility available in a Windows operating system is chkdsk. This utility enables you to check whether your file system contains any errors and, if possible, repair them. This utility can also be used to recover your data among other things. You can run this utility from the DOS prompt with or without any of its parameters. The syntax of this utility is:

chkdsk [drive:] [/p] [/r]

In this syntax, the [drive:] parameter represents the hard disk volume on which you want to run the utility. If you want to check the hard disk volume for all errors, you can use the /p parameter, represented by [/p] in the syntax. If you want to ensure that the utility checks for bad sectors and recovers available data, you can use the /r parameter, represented by [/r] in the syntax. However, if you just want to check the status of your hard disk, you can run the utility without any parameter.

External tools

Another way to check your hard drive for errors is to use the tools developed by the manufacturer of the hard disk. These tools are available on the Internet and can be downloaded from the Web site of the manufacturer. In addition to manufacturers, companies specializing in hard disk or PC repair also provide diagnostic utilities. You can purchase and use these utilities as required.

If you face problems in managing the hard drive of your PC, you can get in touch with a remote PC support company and resolve the things.

The online technical support executives working with a remote IT support company such as fixit99.com can resolve the problems within few minutes. Not only this, you can reach out an online computer repair company whether your PC is too slow, freezing, crashing or experiencing any other problems, the expert remote computer repair technicians ensure your PC is restored at the earliest.

Hard Drive Repair Using Free Software

Contrary to popular belief, if a computer does not boot due to hard drive corruption all data is not lost and the hard drive may even be repairable. There are 2 types of hard drive damage. One is fixable by you and the other requires a professional data recovery facility.

Physical Drive Damage - Physical damage is the worst. Data recovery can only be done by professionals and can cost up to $1,500 (sometimes higher). Physical damage usually consists of bad actuator arms, damaged platters or fried controller cards.

Non-Physical Drive Damage - Non-Physical damage (NPD) is what we're going to be discussing in this article. NPD occurs when the operating system's file system (fat or ntfs) gets corrupted due to an improper shutdown (for example). While this damage is may seem really bad (if it's preventing you from booting your PC), it's easily fixable with some software that's already including in any Windows PC and a USB external hard drive enclosure.

Here are a list of items that you'll need to follow the instructions below:

Another working computer with Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7
Find out what kind of hard drive you have. There are 2 types. SATA (small flat connector) and PATA (a.k.a IDE) which has a connector with about 30 pins. An external USB hard drive enclosure with a connector for the type of drive you're going to be connecting to it (you can grab one of these at BestBuy for about $50 USD).

Please follow the steps below to perform a non-physical repair (software repair) on a non-bootable hard drive.

1. Take the drive out of the computer.
2. Connect the hard drive to the connector on the USB enclosure.
3. Connect a USB cable from the enclosure to the computer that's working.
4. Power on the USB enclosure.
5. An external drive will probably load in your list of available hard drives. You can see this list by opening "My Computer" or "Computer". Take note of the drive letter for the external hard drive.
6. Now it's time to load a program called CHKDSK (Check Disk).
7. Click Start (if you're on Windows XP) or click the Windows globe (on the bottom left for Vista and Windows 7).
8. On Windows XP click RUN, then type CMD. On Windows Vista and 7 type CMD where it says "Search Programs and Files". This will open a black command prompt window.
9. In the command prompt type chkdsk "the drive letter you want to check": /r and press enter. So here is an example chkdsk g: /r then press the enter key.
10. This process can take hours. I've had a few that took days.
11. If this command completes successfully your drive should be repaired enough for you to recover the data from it and you might actually be able to boot from it again.

A word of warning. If your drive ever has any errors on it (bad sectors) it's reached the end of it's life and should be replaced ASAP. You'll be able to see this in the report provided to by the chkdsk command at the end of it's scan.

Best Hard Disk Data Recovery Software

Hard disk data recovery software is software that is used to get back the data that cannot be accessed due to formatting or maybe data that was deleted by human error, corrupt files, hardware failure software errors, virus attacks etc.

The advantages with using this type of software is that most of the data that was lost in your hard disk can be restored or even through service providers in a class room.

It is of much importance to power down your computers system once you have hard suspicion that your computer system is corrupted.

It is also important for one to note that the data that is to be restored will not be 100% guarantee that you will get back all your data.

One of the leading programs that can restore lost files is nuclear data.

With this type of software at hand, it will give you result oriented recoveries at a cost effective price and a secure way to get back your data.

There is another type of software that restore data which offers a wide range of HDD recovery tools. They can be found or bought from local dealers or via the internet, this software's are commonly referred to as the disk restoration, Linux data restoration, data retrieval called Novell Netware, window file recovery and so on.

Kernel data retrieval is one that can be used for the repairing corrupt files, damaged files which can come about due to bad sector or clusters, virus attacks and file that are deleted accidentally.

Hard disk recovery software which has been developed by Kernel data recovery team which was particularly designed for recovering data from windows operating system, Linux, Novel Netware etc.

There is also the development of the email recovery software that offers quick recoveries on Outlook express PST recovery, OST recovery, exchange server recovery and many more.

Kernel has also developed a password recovery which can really assist in the recovery of lost passwords.

This includes VBA password recovery and outlook password recovery.

You will even come across backup recoveries developed by Kernel recovery software's which deal's with Zip repairs, BKF repair and tape recoveries.

Hard Drive Problems

A hard drive crash can occur for various reasons, which will be discussed in the next paragraph. There are many factors which increase the likelihood of disk failure, and most of these are not related to the age of the hard drive. When a hard disk fails, many people try to open the drive and repair it themselves. This is a big mistake because the internal components of a hard drive are very fragile and susceptible to dirt, dust, scratches, fingerprints, and corrosion.

Reasons Hard Drives Fail

The simplest reason for physical hard drive failure is a burnt circuit board. When a circuit board has failed, the drive will not spin up. Another reason a hard drive might not spin up is motor failure. When the hard drive motor fails, the drive will either not spin at all or will spin at a degraded and unpredictable speed. Many times, users will hear a clicking sound coming from their hard drive. This clicking sound indicates either corrupt firmware or head crash. Both will require extensive labor from a data recovery company in order to repair and recover the data. Other reasons for physical drive failure are a broken read/write arm, water or fire damage to the hard drive, scratched platters, or bad hard drive bearings.

Hard drives can also fail due to logical problems such as computer viruses, bad sectors, cyclic redundancy errors, blue screen errors, and more.

How To Recover Data

Since the internal components of a hard disk drive are fragile, it is important to use a data recovery company to help recover data. Such companies are well equipped to open a hard disk in a clean room environment to protect the disk drive from corruption while attempting to repair it. The damaged drive must be repaired first in order to recover the data. The repair is not designed for long-term use. It is repaired for short-term use in order to recover the data only.

Fix Disk Read Error

A computer sometimes fails to load with Disk Read error. This error comes up when computer is started. A black screen appears with following text:

"A disk read error occurred. Press Ctrl + Alt + Delete to restart."

As instructed in the error message, restarting computer does not usually fix the problem. This article contains simple and easy-to-implement instructions to fix Disk Read Error in PC.

1. Customize CMOS Settings
2. Load CMOS Setup Defaults
3. Replace Data/Power Cords
4. Scan and Repair OS Registry
5. Check Disk Errors
6. Disinfect Computer with a Rescue Disk

Customize CMOS Settings

The CMOS Settings contain primary configurations which are required to load your system and control the way hardware operates.

Disk Read Error occurs when the CMOS settings fail to recognize your hard disk. In other words computer is not able to detect it and/or the operating system which is installed on it. Customize CMOS Settings to repair this problem.

1. Restart the machine.
2. Press F2 or Delete repeatedly.
3. Go to the Drives menu.
4. Move down using keyboard and select Hard Disk Drive.
5. Select the hard drive that contains Windows operating system installed.
6. Move up and go to the Boot menu.
7. Move down and select Boot Sequence option.
8. Set following sequence-
First Boot Device- Hard disk Drive
Second, Third Boot Devices- {Disabled}
9. Move up and select Exit menu, and then Save settings and exit.
10. The computer shall restart itself without showing above error message.

Load CMOS Setup Defaults

Problems with the CMOS Settings cause Disk Read Error. The best option to deal with this problem is to restore default settings.

1. Load CMOS Settings in the same manner as shown above.
2. Go to the Exit menu, select Restore Defaults.
3. Select Exit | Save Settings and Exit.

Replace Data/ Power Cords

Your disk data/power cords can be loose. Failure to transfer data leads to such errors. Turn your computer off. Check internal wiring, etc. If the problem still persists, replace the data/ power cords of your hard disk.

Scan and Fix OS Registry

Operating system Registry is a set of all PC configurations. Recent modifications in the Registry could have forced your computer to show Disk Read Error. Scan and fix Windows Registry as shown below:

1. Turn on your computer.
2. Press F8 key, select Safe mode with networking option.
3. Press ENTER.
4. Download an efficient System/Registry optimizer software..
5. Start full Registry scan.
6. Repair all errors detected.

Check Disk Errors

Disk Read Error appears when your computer fails to retrieve data from the disk. System files, settings and user data retrieval fails due to corrupt disk. Bad sectors are the reasons behind this error message. Check your hard disk for errors. Here's how to do this:

1. Load your computer in the safe mode again.
2. Double click My Computer desktop icon.
3. Right click system drive (the drive where your OS is installed).
4. Select Properties.
5. Click Tools | Check Now from the new dialog box.
6. Check-up Automatically fix file system errors and click Start from the confirmation dialog.

Disinfect Computer with a Rescue Disk

The most common reason behind Disk Read problem is virus infection. Your computer may have become a victim of virus/malware. Viruses overwrite system files with malicious content.

1. Use another working computer to download a rescue disk from the internet. (Use freewares available widely)
3. Burn the rescue disk content on a blank DVD ROM Drive.
4. Insert it in your malfunctioning computer and restart.
5. Load CMOS Settings. Set your DVD ROM Drive as First Boot Device; and Hard Disk as Second Boot Device. Save the settings and exit. (For detailed instructions, please refer previous paragraphs for details).
6. The computer shall restart itself.
7. When you're prompted to press any key, follow the onscreen instructions. Computer shall boot in a Linux-based environment, and antivirus will scan and remove infected system files.
8. When you are done with removing infected files, please shut down the Linux-based rescue disk system.
9. Eject your disk, set First Boot Device as Hard Disk using CMOS Settings.
10. Load Windows in safe mode.
11. Insert Windows installation disc. Press Windows Key + R, type SFC /SCANNOW and then click OK.

How To Recover Your Dead Hard Disk

Sometimes it happens that the hard disk drive stops working without any sounds of popping, screeching or clicking. If your hard disk shows the same symptoms and it contains some important data that is not backed up on any other device or computer, this guide may be helpful for you to troubleshoot and correct all the problems.

Inspect outside of the disk drive for any damage

· Firstly, stop using your laptop or your external hard disk.
· Disconnect your external drive or power down your computer.
· Remove the disk drive from the device or computer.
· Examine your drive carefully for the 'hot spots' or any other damage on external controller board.
· Closely examine if there are any broken parts.

Now replace the cables

Try plugging in the disk drive with new cables (data and power connection) that you think are functional and try again. Also note that you will need a certain flat-ribbon cable for an IDE drive.

If your computer has an IDE/EIDE (PATA) drive, switch the drive pin settings

· Switch it to "master", if previously it was "cable select" or "slave".
· Without keeping any other device or laptop on the same port, plug it in and try again.

Try another PCI controller or other IDs and try again

Just change your ID if you do not have any other controller or PCI card that can add ports to your laptop.

Plug it into the external driver case or an external disk drive adapter

If your hard disk does not spin up, you can try connecting the disk to some other power source. If it still does not work, the fault is probably related to your Printed Circuit Board.

Connect your hard disk to another computer or device and try again

If connecting the drive into any other device works, there is a possibility that your hard disk is fine and the motherboard of your computer is at fault.

Useful tips

· Keep in mind that you may permanently damage your hard disk by attempting to read damaged area of the disk again and again. It may damage the head assembly also.
· If you are not confident about what to do with your hard disk, seek a professional help to repair the hard drive as you may worsen the condition of your drive with lack of proper knowledge.
· Do not use RAID 0 to do anything but scratch all data. It is fast but it has no redundancy.
· You can see a partition table on the 1st sector of your disk drive. It contains the information about the organization of the drive. Without the partition table, your computer will just think that nothing is there.

How to Look For Hard Drive Repair Tools

The importance of computers in recent years has forced computer manufacturers to increase the reliability of their machines to compete effectively in the highly competitive market of computer producers. One of the most important parts of the computer is the hard drive, also known as the hard disk, the component that stores all your data within your computer. There are several different manufacturers such as Western Digital and Seagate that offer large hard disks for use in desktops and laptops, and these hard drives are manufactured using the latest of technologies available in the hard drive industry today.

These technologies make use of highly effective, compact chips and devices that are extremely small in size, thus they are highly sensitive and delicate components. It is the same when we speak of external hard drives that are attached outside a computer, just like internal hard drives that are installed within the computer/ laptop itself. Being sensitive items, these drives tend to malfunction quite regularly if not looked after properly. Any sort of impact to these drives might cause damage to them, and when you do not have your hard drive working, it would be impossible to use your computer.

Thus it is exceptionally important that you repair your hard drive effectively when it malfunctions. To accomplish this, you could simply send your CPU or laptop to your computer manufacturer for the company to find the root cause and perform the rectification works for you. This method would be expensive and also time-consuming. There is another way of fixing your malfunctioning hard disk, one that involves doing it yourself. This option can only be taken into account if you are fully competent in this task, or you risk causing more damage to your computer. And remember that in order to fix your hard disk, you would require the proper hard disk repair tools at your disposal to be able to perform the repair task.

Looking at how to find the proper hard drive repair tools for your repair works, you could try three different locations. The first would be the obvious option of finding the right tools and equipment online, where you would have a brilliant arrays tools from different makes and manufacturers to pick and select from. And you could also compare all the prices from different tool manufacturers not only within the nation, but all across the globe. This would be a clear advantage in terms of cost-effectiveness as you could obtain the tools that you need from nations such as China where the cost of the tools are far lower than what is available in other countries.

The second option would be to contact your computer's manufacturer, who might have the right tools that you need for the job. The last option would to scout around computer stores or departmental stores where you should be able to find the right tools that you need for your rectification work.

Any of the above mentioned steps would be able to assist you in finding the right equipment and tools for the job of repairing your computer's hard drive. All the best!