PC Problems

Hard drive failure, whether internal or external or even memory stick, is something that is pretty much guaranteed to happen to all of us at some stage in our computer ownership so make sure you BACK UP!

If you’ve got an external hard drive that you’ve got important files or family photos on that has started to act up and looks like it might be failing or failed already then here’s a few things to check before the worst is confirmed.

1. Make sure theres no obvious problem, eg – Plug, Power supply, USB Lead, etc..
2. Try restarting both the PC and Drive, the first cure for most problems!
3. Try the drive in another pc or laptop.
4. If the drive shows up but is inaccessible, try going to the manufacturers website and downloading the latest drivers or any application they may have for dealing with the problem. Check any forums or tech support they may have too.
5. Try to do a virus and spyware scan of the drive.
6. Try going to ‘My Computer’, right-click the drive name and choose ‘Properties – Tools – Error Checking – Check Now’. Make sure both boxes are ticked before you scan.
7. If you can access the drive but slowly and unreliably, try moving the last files you added before it acted up just in case they are corrupt.

If none of the above work, you may be faced with a hardware failure which will need to be remedied by a technician. If you can get the hardware fault fixed then you may be able to recover any lost or corrupt files with some commercially available recovery software. Make sure you highlight the fact that you need the data saved if possible to the technician when you leave it in.

Rest assured that most data can be recovered unless the drive is physically damaged/destroyed.

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