Hard Drive Repair - Fixing File System Problems

Although today's PCs and Macs make it easy to take care of a lot of tasks, hard drive repair is definitely not one of them. A hard drive failure may lead to the loss of very critical data, and is frankly beyond the scope of many users; at least users without help, anyway. Here are some methods that you should consider when you are experiencing a hard disk crash.

General Hard Drive Troubleshooting Comes First

Your broken hard drive can display errors such as "retry, terminate, ignore" or "cannot read disk" while operating, or during the boot process. This is a sign that there may be bad or unreadable sectors on the drive. You can first try reformatting the hard drive or even re-installing the operating system. Hard drive failure is a somewhat common problem, so do not think it’s impossible.

Use Operating System Utilities

Often, fixing file errors within the operating system can be as easy as using the built-in Windows tools themselves. Scandisk can be a good starter, as can disk defragmenter. Scan the hard drive for errors. Use programs and utilities you can easily find on the web.

Check Drive Cables and Connections

If there is a sign that the hard drive may not be receiving power, check the four wire connector from the power supply. Is it properly seated?

You can check the voltage with a meter and determine if the hard drive is getting the proper amount of voltage. If the hard drive has crashed, it may not be receiving any power at all. If the connection shows very low or spiking voltage from the power supply, the power supply may be going bad.