Hard drive crashes are not one of those things that happen every day. But, if you do find yourself in a situation where you need to recover data from crashed hard drive units, it can be harsh. One of the worst situations is of course hard drive head crash, which can damage your hard disk, your data, and sadly, your well being. Here are some prime symptoms of a hard disk crash coming soon to a computer near you!
1) The sound of clicking, crackling or buzzing
You may have noticed that your hard drive is making strange noises (which, in a usually quiet hard drive environment, can be quite alarming) recently. Your hard drive is actually physically scraping, which causes the crackling and clicking noises you’re hearing. Basically, your hard drive is in the midst of checking itself and possibly wrecking itself. This sound can be caused by the heads frantically searching for information, or it can be caused by full on head misalignment which will then strike against the platters. If this is the case, it is recommended that you turn off your computer.
2) Corrupted Data in Your Documents
Are you finding with normal operation that your computer crashes and freezes with regular use? Is something not working properly? That’s another symptom of a failing hard drive that you should be aware of. When the drive attempts to read a corrupted file or program, an error can occur. Your hard drive is slowly succumbing to crash and failure, which is never fun to see. Be prepared to get professional help when you can.
3) Computer Experiences Major Slowdowns
Slow file access can be caused by bad or damaged sectors on the hard drive, or it can be caused by the hard drive being fragmented. Your computer may be slowing down due to software, in some cases, of course. The best bet in this case is simply to try chkdsk or perhaps look in your BIOS for any S.M.A.R.T. warnings that you may be missing out on. You’re not at red alert yet, but immediate back up of your critical files is definitely recommended.
4) Files Have Suddenly Disappeared.
If you are unable to access your files because the disk has been damaged, and the hard drive is unable to access the information stored on the disk, it can be a harrowing experience. Again, not to beat a dead horse, but odd file disappearances can mean your drive’s integrity is at risk. Consider removing the drive and cloning it to another clean, new hard drive. Back up your drive now!
5) The Terrifying Blue Screen of Death
While this isn’t always a sign that your computer and hard drive are on their way out, it is a fairly certain indication that things are going wrong—and quickly. Windows still gets a lot of things wrong with its huge range of patches, vulnerabilities and issues, but Blue screens tend to be a fine signal that you’d better renew your backup ASAP.
When your crashed hard drive has reached the end of the line, the clicking noises will stop, your files may be all but completely inaccessible, and your hard drive is running slower than it has ever run before (as in dead). At this point, you will again need to call a professional data recovery service like Hard Drive Recovery Group. Certainly, running your computer once you have had a hard drive crash is very dangerous to your data, but keep in mind that we recover crashed hard drives daily – even when folks have run them far past their best before date.
Remember: with a hard drive crash that is physical in nature, there really is very little choice – call a professional or say good night to your hard drive.