How To Diagnose & Fix Hard Drive Problems

• Introduction
• Defragment Hard Disk
• Cleanup Hard Disk
• Check for Errors by Running ScanDisk

  Introduction 

It's a good idea to use ScanDisk about once a month to check your hard drive to keep your system running well. ScanDisk can find and fix errors in the file allocation table, the file system structure (lost clusters, crosslinked files) and the directory tree structure. It can also detect and isolate sectors that have gone bad because of damage to the surface of your disk.

You should also defragment your hard drive on a regular basis to keep your system running well. In the course of normal usage, files are constantly changed and written or rewritten to the hard drive. The file system tries to pack the files tightly, but because they are not all the same size, it breaks them into pieces to fit where it finds space for them. Over time these pieces get scattered all over the drive. It begins to take a lot of head movement (and thus time) to read and write files. As a result, your computer's performance suffers, and worse yet, it's easier for errors to creep in.

You might want to use Disk Cleanup to clean out the junk.

Defragment Hard Disk 

Your computer's hard disk is like a file cabinet—and while you are working, it can get pretty disorganized. When you install a program on your computer, the program's files are typically broken up over multiple locations on your hard disk. This is called fragmentation. Fragmentation slows the performance of programs on your computer. Disk Defragmenter reorganizes the files on your hard disk into contiguous blocks. This improves the performance of your programs because the files are arranged closer together.

Disk Defragmenter can also create a log file to determine which programs you run most frequently. All such frequently used files are then placed in a single location on your hard disk, which further reduces the time needed to start those programs.

Keep your hard disk in peak condition

If you use your computer a lot, it's a good idea to run Disk Defragmenter on a regular basis. It also helps to run Disk Defragmenter if you've installed several new applications, so that they will perform at top speed.

Here’s how you do it:

1. Double Click MY Computer
2. Right Click Local Drive C
3. Click on Properties.
4. Click Tools.
5. Click Defragment Now..
6. Click Analyze

Cleanup Hard Disk 

Disk Cleanup helps you to free up space on your hard disk by removing files you don't need. You can also permanently delete any type of unnecessary file, including:

• Deleted files in the Recycle Bin.
• Temporary files.
• Cached Web pages that you don't use.
• Downloaded program files temporarily stored on your hard disk.

When to run Disk Cleanup

As part of standard maintenance, Disk Cleanup should be ran at regular intervals, perhaps once a month, at some convenient time when your computer is not otherwise in use.

Here's how to run Disk Cleanup:

1. Double Click MY Computer
2. Right Click Local Drive C
3. Click on Properties.
4. Click Disk Cleanup.

Check for Errors by Running ScanDisk 

Through normal use of your computer, your hard disk can become cluttered and a bit messy. Folders become cross-linked, file names contain invalid or unknown characters or become damaged, and file names become disassociated with their files.

ScanDisk can fix these and other problems for you. When you run ScanDisk, it:

• Automatically corrects damaged files and helps you regain unused disk space.
• Checks your hard disk for physical errors. If the error occurs in a data storage area, it will relocate the data and mark off the damaged area so that no further data is stored there.
• Checks files and folders for invalid file names, dates, or times.
• Detects "lost file fragments." You may either have them automatically deleted or converted to files for viewing.

When it has checked your disk, ScanDisk can display a summary that indicates whether it found and repaired any errors.

To check the hard disk drive integrity in Windows:

1. Double-click My Computer, and then right-click the hard disk drive you want to check.
2. Click Properties, and then click Tools.
3. In Error-checking, click Check Now.

Under Check Disk Options be sure to check the following:

• Automatically fix file system errors
• Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors