Problems with computer components are very common. Moreover, they are not always associated with user errors. It happens that you wanted to save money and bought a budget motherboard, did not take into account some technical specifications, forgot about system requirements. But when a problem occurs, few people think about its causes. The user wants to eliminate it. So, some decide to deal with problems on their own, while others go to the service center.
HDD
Before we learn about all the problems with the hard drive, we will briefly deal with this device. This is a drive that runs on magnetic hard drives. The device is designed to record information, its storage, random access to it. Based on magnetic recording. Railway is a device that can be found in almost every modern PC.
Differences
Naturally, a hard drive is not the only drive that records the data we need. Previously, a floppy disk - diskette - was popular. There are some differences in their work. The main element in the railway are rigid plates made of aluminum or glass. They are coated with a ferromagnetic material, such as chromium dioxide. In this case, one or several plates are placed on one axis. The heads of the reading mechanism do not touch the disks, so the service life of the devices is much longer, and problems with the hard drive are reduced significantly.
Also, hard drives at one time became associated with other components in the system, such as a drive or an electronics unit. Therefore, they are fixed devices. Hard drives are now being replaced by faster, but more expensive SSDs.
Sound
If you heard your hard drive squeaking, it’s worth the alarm. If he makes any sounds, that means he is "indignant", which means he needs something. It turns out that by his "voice" you can determine what exactly the problems are. Let it be inaccurate, but at least roughly predict the failure will succeed.
Before you deal with the malfunction, try to save all the files you need in the cloud, on other drives, if, of course, the PC still allows you to log into the system. Most likely, if you only heard sounds from your hard drive, it will soon stop giving access to your internal information.
In addition, as mentioned earlier, if you heard that the hard disk is clicking, it means that it has a malfunctioning of a particular component. It happens that the same problem can “sound” in different ways. All interpretation of sounds are just the most popular options. In addition, the disk may behave completely unpredictably or squeak to a problem with another component of the PC.
Recovery
If you were sitting calmly at a computer, and after seeing a “blue screen” in front of you or the system stopped responding to you, do not panic. It is advisable to immediately disconnect the HDD from power, since destructive processes can occur in it, which leads, accordingly, to the loss of files. While the damaged drive is connected, the computer will continue to write data to it, determine the free space, fill it with something, etc. It is better to immediately turn off the entire system and separately deal with the disk. If you do not have a second PC to which you can connect the drive, then it is clear that you have to carry the device to a service center. If it is possible to fix everything yourself, then you need to install a program for cloning the disk.
To do this, there are a large number of programs such as EASEUS Disk Copy. This is free software that clones railway sectors. The disadvantages are the presence of additional “junk” software during installation, as well as the lack of a Russian-language version. Paragon Drive Backup Personal is a good backup program, based on which cloning is performed. Software can be launched from bootable media and from the OS. The pleasure of such a multifunctional application will cost $ 40. In addition to these, you can name Macrium Reflect, Acronis True Image, Farstone RestoreIT Pro, etc.
You will have to drive the cloned drive through several recovery programs, since it is unlikely that you will be able to return all the data the first time. To do this, you will need the following programs: TestDisk, Restoration, Recuva, Undelete Plus, etc. In general, there are a huge number of such software, so finding some will not be a problem, if only it would not be too late.
Design
To understand what errors and malfunctions can be, it is worth understanding the design of the drive. After all, it is possible to understand whether it is possible to recover a hard drive only after its diagnosis. To see the main components of the device, you need to unscrew the screws and get rid of the top cover. Under it we will find the main elements.
The printed circuit board is usually green, is a kind of analogue of the motherboard in the PC. It also has a processor represented by the controller, and not one. Such an interface turns binary into system- friendly commands.
Magnetic disks, or plates, or “pancakes”, as we said earlier, are made of durable materials. Made of glass or aluminum, coated with a magnetic layer. There can be several or one. It is they that store all the data that it is so important for us not to lose.
Reading heads take information from the surface of the plates. As mentioned earlier, they do not directly contact the surface of the disk, but are literally nanometers away from it. They are allowed to read information by the laws of physics, which create air currents and a dense layer. Most often there are two such heads. If they break off, then after falling onto the plate, they destroy all data from the surface.
No answer
Of course, you will not always hear the hard drive squeaking. Sometimes he can “die” and not make a single sound. This is the saddest outcome that could be. Most often, there is only one way out of the situation - buying a new device. But not everything is so bad, there is a chance to bring the device back to life. If the disk stops responding to the computer, most likely the reason is in the board.
Previously, craftsmen found a working board and replaced the damaged one. Now it’s not easy to do this, since the architecture and technology have changed, and each railway receives its own microcode. And even if it is possible to replace the board constructively, then most likely you will have to say goodbye to all materials.
There may be several reasons for this failure. These are voltage drops, in which one of the diodes or some other component of the board suffers. The developers are trying to eliminate such problems, so they install a pair of diodes with different voltages. Replacing the diode as a whole is simple. If you have to change the entire board, then you need to find the ROM unit and transfer it to a new one. But this is not always easy to do, as some developers embed firmware with ROM in the firmware, and therefore replacement is not possible.
Sounds
If the hard drive clicks, but it starts, then the problems are with the read head. And, perhaps, not even with one. Sometimes such a sound is also caused by damage to the coating of the plates. It is unlikely that this problem can be solved independently, so it’s better to immediately send the device to a service center. There you will need to open the device. This is done in rooms without dust, so that it does not immediately magnetize to the plates. Replace the head and restore data. If you just heard that the railway is making a sound, you must immediately turn it off, and re-enabling it will result in the loss of all information on it.
Hovering
If there are problems with sectors of the hard drive, it is activated in the work, it is noticed by the PC, but it freezes during the request for access. Specialists claim that this is caused by damage to the surface of the magnetic plate. The device works normally until it starts reading bad sectors. To diagnose this problem, you need to conduct SMART monitoring. If it turns out that you have a bad hard drive, you will have to remove the image of it, and only specialists will do it in a quality manner.
Of course, you can try to fix this problem yourself. But you need to understand that the risk of losing data is great. In addition, software that can be freely installed usually has limited functionality, so it may not complete the cloning process or interrupt it, and most commands are sent from BIOS.
Squeak
It doesn’t matter if the external hard drive is squeaking or internal. The problem is almost always the same: sticky magnetic heads. The motor is trying to get the system and mechanisms, but cannot. It happens that the head after the next work is improperly parked, remains directly above the surface of the plate, and then sticks to it.
If you encounter such a problem and hear how the hard drive squeaks, then most likely you will not be able to intervene on your own. More precisely, of course, you can try, but the thing is unsafe. Since you have to open the device, and this must be done in the absence of dust around. Inside, you will have to remove and replace the heads, which also not everyone can do. In general, this failure is only in the hands of specialists.
But if the hard drive is squeaking, this may be an indicator of another problem. There is a possibility that the spindle is blocked - the axis on which the plates rotate. Usually this happens when the device falls or hits. Only a professional can fix this problem, since it is necessary to replace the axis or rearrange the magnetic plates in another railway, which is called the donor.
Invisible
Usually, if the PC does not see the hard drive, the user does not hear any sounds, but sees various kinds of labels on the screen that indicate problems with the hard disk. The first thing that can occur in this case is the uncertainty with the BIOS. There can be a huge number of culprits in this problem, there are ambiguities with the power cable, with the motherboard, and with the railway itself.
There is also such that the BIOS sees the disk, but the system itself does not find it. If another HDD is installed in the PC, then you will be able to start the PC, if it was the only drive, then most likely the computer will not start at all.
It is also possible that the user thinks that the PC does not see the hard drive, although the system produces something like "Disk is not formatted." These problems are related to the logical drive. With the physical, everything is in order. But the user, before understanding this, begins to carry out all sorts of manipulations that lead to irreparable.
In general, a hard drive is a subtle thing. Various kinds of problems often occur with him. There are defective models, broken sectors, and more. It’s best not to experiment on your own, but to give the device to specialists who will quickly find a malfunction without having to do a lot of unnecessary operations.