How to fix hard drives at home?
Hard disks contain everything you need in your day-to-day life: photos, videos, documents, games, music, etc. But, the hard disk is short-lived as a result of its constant use and fragile construction, so it can become unusable at a very inappropriate moment. And it is very scary, especially if you do not have a backup copy of your data.
Do not panic: all is not lost!
Here will be described in detail how to fix a bad hard drive. In addition, you will learn about some of the techniques that you can try to use to fix a hard drive.
Are you ready? Let’s go!
Step 1. Check your hard drive
Perhaps the problem of a malfunctioning hard disk is very simple. Try the following tips to fix a hard drive:
- Check your hard drive for errors.
The Windows operating system has its own built-in hard disk recovery mechanism. Sometimes, in the case of an external hard drive, Windows can automatically request a scan when a hard disk is connected to the computer. But that is suitable for internal drives too. To use this method, follow the step-by-step instructions:
Click on Start -> Computer (or My Computer) -> select the appropriate hard disk -> right-click on Properties -> Tools. Click on Check.
Windows will check your disk for possible problems and fix them. If this does not happen, do not be discouraged. Read on!
- Change the drive letter and paths.
Right-click Start, then Manage, then Disk Management. Can’t find it this way? Try this: click on the Windows Start button and enter into the search field “Disk Management”. You will see the option “Create and format hard disk partitions”. Tap on it.
Find your hard disk and right-click on “Change drive letter and paths...”. Now you can rename the drive letter and click OK. You should see a message stating that other programs may not work; agree by pressing the Yes button. This warning only applies to change the letter of the internal drive. Restart your computer.
Here are extra-simple three tips for external hard drive:
- Check power supply.
It is likely that it takes power from the USB port itself or there is a separate power supply. Check whether it works correctly. If you have an internal hard disk and it is powered by the computer, then there are hardly any problems with the power supply.
- Detection.
If your computer cannot detect the hard disk, connect it to another computer. Often this method helps to fix the hard drive and another PC can see and read the hard disk.
- Try reinstalling the driver.
To do this, click the Windows Start button and enter “Device Manager” in the search field. Click on Device Manager and select Disk Drivers. Choose your external hard drive. Right-click and select Update Driver Software. Restart your computer.
* In case that doesn’t help, go to Disk Drivers and select External Hard Drive (don’t do this with the internal drive!). Again, right-click Uninstall. You will need to restart the computer and reconnect the hard drive. Drivers should automatically install.
Remember! If you have started the computer and you hear a steady loud click, your drive is destroyed. Do not attempt to repair it yourself if you want to fix the hard drive, as the magnetic layer on the disk is most likely damaged.
However, if none of this advice has helped, you will still have the question: How do I fix my hard drive and get my files back? Do not worry; this is not all that can be done with a damaged hard drive.
Step 2. Recover files from the hard drive
You may ask: Why is file system recovery not step № 2? The best thing you can do to fix the file system of your hard drive at home is to use the command line (see Step 3). But ... it will damage your data, and in the end, you will lose them forever. Do you want this? Probably not. That is why you need to restore the hard disk partitions. And it is much easier to do with hard drive recovery software. And the best hard drive recovery tool is DiskInternals Partition Recovery.
Why?
Everything is simple: the software has a free trial version to fix the hard drive. You can view the recovered files before purchasing the product at absolutely no cost. If you have never used tools to fix a hard drive, it does not matter. The built-in wizard will do all the work for you quickly and efficiently. The software creates virtual partitions. Such partitions, in turn, can be treated like regular disks.
In addition, DiskInternals Partition Recovery works on each of the partitions on the hard disk and recovers all types of files of any size.
Do you still not know how to fix files on an HDD?
Follow the step-by-step instructions that are described below and you will learn how to fix a hard disk without much difficulty.
1. Download and run DiskInternals Partition Recovery to fix hard drive.
2. Select a damaged hard drive. Left-click on the partition (C/D/E) where the documents were lost.
3. Scan the hard disk. Select one of the proposed scan options and wait for the process to complete. It is unlikely that it will be very fast; it all depends on the size of the disk. As a result, you will see all your documents. Now you can browse for files in the folders or use the search field for a specific file type.
4. Preview and restore hard disk partitions. Select the files you need, then left-click on Recovery. You can preview all deleted files to make sure they are truly restored.
5. Preservation. For the last step, you just need to purchase a license and enter the license key.
It is not recommended to save recovered documents on the restored hard disk.
Step 3. It’s time to fix the hard drive
You can try “Chkdsk” to fix the hard drive and restore the partition to return the files. This method is very good for fixing your file system and storage. However, if you want to recover files from the hard disk, it is better not to use the command line, as it will cut your data down to 512 KB.
- In order to use the command line, press the key combination ⊞ Win and X / Win.
- Then enter “cmd” in the search field and press Enter. A new “cmd.exe” window will appear.
- Click on it and you will see a line similar to this: "C: \ Windows \ system64> _."
- In this new window, type chkdsk and the drive letter: /f or /r and press Enter.
For example, “chkdsk e: /r” (note: there is a space between “e:” and “/”).
* Parameter /f - means the correction of errors on the hard disk.
* Parameter /r - means the correction of the sectors on the hard disk.
Your hard drive check begins.
However, it is better to start recovering files from a damaged external hard disk using software, and only then fix the disk using the command line. This is more appropriate in terms of the security of your documents.
Instead of P.S .:
Can you fix a hard drive? Yes you can!
We hope that we thoroughly answered the question: How do I fix my hard drive? It is better to purchase good hard disk recovery software once, than to search for a more or less adequate free application of the same kind with questionable quality for a long period of time.
With DiskInternals Partition Recovery, you will save time, money and nerves.
Good luck!