A hard drive holds the data of your daily life – from personal files to games and important documents, and sometimes the operating system itself. That fact in mind, we can consider it as one of the critical components of a PC. So, in any case, if it fails, the consequences can be dangerous, especially when you haven’t backed up your data.
Hard disk failure is a very critical risk that can happen without showing any warning. It can lead to potential data loss, system crashes. The recovery is also very costly if you wish to do so.
Although nothing in the world lasts forever, being able to recognize the signs of failure beforehand can help you act in the right time.
That’s a major reason why you should be aware of the early signs of HDD failure. Catching them early can help you prevent a bundle of data loss.
In this article, we will take a look at 7 signs your hard drive is about to fail.
Quick Note: These signs apply to both HDDs and SSDs; the cause of symptoms, under the hood, may differ slightly. We will point out the relevant differences.
1. Sluggish Performance
Hard Drives are slower than SSDs by nature. But if your system is suddenly taking longer than expected to open files or boot up the operating system, it’s a clear sign that something is not right with the hard drive. Paired with that, you may also notice program freezing and unexpected crashes, often turning your computer into a sluggish device, slow and unresponsive.
And if you are used to a fast and seamless experience, the performance issue might feel frustrating. Slow performance is one of the most common signs of a hard drive about to crash.
Potential Cause: The slowdown can be directly linked to the bad sector or some mechanical wear. These bad sectors hinder the read/write head from capturing the data properly, leading to delays.
2. Frequent Crashes or Blue Screens
One of the biggest signs, viral on the internet, is the Blue Screen of Death (BSODs) or frequent system crashes showing a blue screen displaying “Your PC Ran into a Problem”. Although there are several other reasons for the same, a disk on the verge of failure can also be a major reason for its appearance. These unexpected errors often occur while accessing files or running large applications that the system fails to read from/write to the disk. In some cases, BSODs appear more frequently when the computer struggles to access specific files or directories – more specifically, the larger ones.
Potential Cause: The cause of the frequent and sudden system crash can lie in the system’s Input output operations, a circumstance where the drive is unable to process the data correctly. The error log may point directly to the I/O errors, eventually confirming the source of the issue.
3. Unusual Noises (for HDDs)
If your hard drive begins to make unusual sounds, there is a high chance of some underlying failure that can show up anytime. If you start hearing grinding, clicking, or whirring sort of noises, it confirms that your computer’s hard drive needs special attention.
Also, there is something called “Click of Death”. It is a famous sound, a repeated clicking in HDDs that often signals a mechanical failure. This sound usually means the read/write head is unable to locate the data correctly.
Note: These noise symptoms only occur in traditional HDDs. SSDs are completely silent as they contain no moving parts.
4. Corrupted Files or Missing Data
Some files on our PC previously opened correctly, but now report errors, denying opening. It has been found in a few cases – the file even disappears. If that’s the case with your PC, your hard drive may be in trouble.
There are scenarios where folders rename themselves with random symbols and garbled names, or sometimes the format of the file becomes irredeemable. These are all the symptoms of your file experiencing corruption, eventually resulting in failure.
Potential Cause: These symptoms typically indicate that the sector on the disks where the data is stored is becoming unreadable. This is a common sign of drive degradation. In HDDs, these can happen due to physical damage to the platter. In SSDs, it can result from worn-out memory cells.
5. Disk Errors and S.M.A.R.T. Warnings
Modern drives come with monitoring software, which keeps a track record of the health of the drive. If you are seeing frequent disk errors or receiving alerts, the drive could anytime blink fail.
You can monitor them with built-in tools like CHKDSK on Windows or third-party utilities like CrystalDiskInfo or SMART Utility on macOS.
6. Overheating
If your PC is getting too hot at times, especially during light uses, it could be a serious sign of the underlying trouble. While it’s common to generate heat during operation, excessive heating is not normal and can significantly increase the wear and tear, specifically in HDDs.
Potential Cause:
- Imperfect heat dissipation
- Poor ventilation or dust-clogged vents
- Internal drive failure
7. Operating System Can’t Detect the Drive
Another sign of hard disk failure is the sudden disappearance of the drive from the File Explorer, Disk Management, or even the BIOS/UEFI. It usually signals the broken communication of the system with the drive, often due to severe corruption or hardware failure.
Although the symptoms can appear for many reasons, such as randomly mounting and dismounting, repeated message errors of “failed to mount”, or “No bootable device found” during startup, one possible cause can also be a drive issue, the thing that cannot be ignored.
Why does it matter?
This situation can be considered as the last stage before complete failure. While in some cases, defective cables or loose ports can cause similar issues, if it persists even after fixing the connection issue, there is a high chance of the following internal problems.
- Controller board failure
- Firmware corruption
- Severe physical damage
Conclusion
Hard drive failure can hit without warning, so you will have to rely on these signs and signals. Ignoring them can lead to severe loss if you really care what’s in the drive. Back up your data immediately in any such case. Also, use tools like CrystalDiskInfo and CHKDSK to monitor the drive health.
If the issue persists, it is always a good measure to replace the drive instead of attempting a risky repair.