How Can You Tell If Your Hard Drive Is Failing?

Do you have concerns about your computer's traditional spinning hard drive failing? If so, it helps to know what signs to look for so you can have this problem fixed. Follow these tips to deal with the problem appropriately. 

Check If The Hard Drive Powers On

The first thing you'll want to do is check if the hard drive is even powering on. You can do this for trying to feel if the drive is vibrating, which means that the drive is physically spinning. There may also be a motor sound coming from the hard drive, which may be easier to hear if the hard drive is in a laptop and you can't feel the vibrations through the case. If the hard drive is not doing any of these things, it could be dead and in need of replacement.

Listen For Odd Sounds

Even if the hard drive does power on and spin, it may not be in working condition. One warning sign to look out for is a hard drive that is making clicking sounds. This means that the hard drive has some sort of power failure and would need to be repaired if you want it to turn on again so you can get data off the drive. If there are no sounds coming from the hard drive at all, it is likely an indication that the circuit board has failed. Buzzing sounds means that the motor or spindle of the hard drive has failed. Thankfully, a mechanical problem with the drive means that the data is still there, but it will require repairing the broken component of the drive. 

Perform A Diagnostic

If the hard drive powers on and is just performing in an odd manner, it is worth performing a diagnostic check on the hard drive to see what it tells you. Check with your computer's operating system to see how you can perform a diagnostic check. On a Windows computer, it will involve entering the BIOS menu to check the status of the hard drive. If you are on a Mac, you can perform a check within the Disk Utilities application. 

Feeling a bit stumped over the status of your hard drive and don't want to lose the data on it? Take your computer to a computer repair shop for their assistance. They'll be able to tell you what is wrong with the hard drive, and if the data on it can be saved. 

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