Problem With My Hard Drive

Discussion in Software PC & Mac started by May102014 • Jul 25, 2014.

  1. May102014

    May102014Active Member

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    My hard drive always crashes on my laptop. I don't go on any questionable sites that carriy viruses and yet I always end up having to replace my Hard Drive once or twice a year. Could this be a problem with my laptop? I have an Anti-Virus software, McAfee, on the computer. This didn't work. My friend said this depends on the brand and many manufacturers hide behind the claim of durability. She said that big companies form alliances, and so the more you purchase the more they profit. Sighs, I just want a resolution to this problem. Any advice would help.
     
  2. zuulspaceman

    zuulspacemanNew Member

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    If you're having a lot of issues no matter what you try, you may want to start planning on getting yourself a new hard drive. The longer you're dealing with it acting up, the more of a chance it will crash. If I were you, I'd get with Google Drive and put my important files in the Cloud ASAP. Or, you can buy an external hard drive to transfer them to. If you end up with a dead hard drive, you can still get the files off of it later, but it's going to cost far more than doing it yourself before the thing crashes.
     
  3. troutski

    troutskiWell-Known Member

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    It's time to swap out hard drives. You're going to need a new one because the old one is likely defective or corrupted in some way. Hard drives aren't that expensive, so you should consider just buying an external one and using that on your laptop. Or you could send it into the manufacturer if it's under warranty, but that means you'll be without a laptop for some time, usually around two to six weeks, depending upon the company in question.
     
  4. jdwriter

    jdwriterActive Member

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    Actually, it sounds like you need a new laptop. If you swap out hard drives every one to two years that shows a problem with the supporting infrastructure. That said, how long have you had this laptop? If it is more than 4 years old it is likely out of date for most purposes, and likely working too hard to keep up with what is being thrown at it by your applications.
     
  5. GLOGIK

    GLOGIKMember

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    Hi, it really depends on what you mean by the word "Crash". Well, let me just take that to mean that you're saying your hard drive makes your system unbootable. You also mentioned that you've had to change your hard disk a number of times. If that's the case, then I'll suggest the following:

    1. Make sure you love your laptop: This might sound strange, but the way a lot of people handle their laptops couldn't say less of the fact that they don't truly love their laptops. Make sure you handle your laptop with care. Don't allow the laptop to experience shock often: By this I mean, when you drop your laptop on any surface, do it gently, when you move it from place to place, do that gently. Don't treat your laptop like a piece of paper, simply because it's mobile. Your hard disk is a very sensitive device on your system's Motherboard, and will very easily crash when exposed to too much shock. I've kept this in mind for 4 years now, and I'm still using my 4 year old laptop without any of such issues. In fact, it's the laptop I'm using to post this. The laptop still looks sleek and strong. Strictly observe this, and you're most likely than not, going to have a long-lasting laptop.

    2. Ensure You Have The Paid Version of A Good Anti-Virus Software (Like AVG Internet Security): This one is very critical, and can never be over-emphasized. A lot of people claim they have anti-viruses, but in actual fact, they are relying on a free anti-virus software for protection of their PCs. The free versions of these anti-virus programs are actually scaled-down versions of their paid counterparts, hence you can't expect optimal protection of your PC when using those.

    Once a virus attacks the boot-sector of your hard disk, you system will become completely useless, as the operating system will not even be able to load at all.

    Anyways, from what you've said in your post, point 1 listed above is most likely the cause of your hard disk failure. Just follow my laptop-safety tip, and I think you'll be fine. Hope this helps.:confused:
     
  6. johnnear

    johnnearActive Member

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    Okay you're not giving enough details here but still, it depends on many factors whether you can solve that problem or not. First off, how old is your laptop/hard drive? If it's more than 10 years old then it's probably the sheer age of it that's why it's crashing. Second is, are you sure that it's the hard drive that's crashing? Because it might be that something else is causing the crash.

    Third, you're hard drive has a lot of bad sectors. Now this is probably the most plausible reason your hard drive crashes. If you have tons of bad sectors in your drive, it's a lost cause and you might as well replace it. How would you know if you're drive has a lot of bad sectors? Try and install Disk Doctor on your PC, it will diagnose your hard drive and tell you whether it's still okay or if it's a goner.