The speed of disk access has a very noticeable effect on the usability of a computer, at times making it feel painfully slow while you watch the disk access light flash. Such a slowdown in hard disk performance can happen for several reasons, ranging from a
The speed of disk access has a very noticeable effect on the usability of a computer, at times making it feel painfully slow while you watch the disk access light flash. Such a slowdown in hard disk performance can happen for several reasons, ranging from a hardware problem, file system issues, software, through to virus or operating system errors.
Such problems are extremely unlikely to fix themselves and will almost certainly become worse. Such a condition should not be ignored, but diagnosis is not always easy and if the problem is severe, any attempts to fix it could make the issue worse. If you are unsure of the problem, it is best to seek professional advice. For some problems sending the disk to a data recovery company is the only sensible solution.
Hardware Problem May Cause Total Failure
Unusual sounds coming from the computer may be an indication of the first stages of developing hardware failure. Such noises include clicking and scraping sounds and in some cases a high pitched metallic squeal has been heard. If you are well prepared for the possibility of a failure, you will already have data backed up to other media. However, for a large number of user’s backups are done on an ad hoc basis and any such warning signs of a failure should prompt them to ensure any important data has been securely backed up.
The problem is that by the time the signs are noticeable due to a slowdown or unusual sounds, the damage may already be too severe to allow all your important data to be backed up before a total failure occurs. It is however not unknown for a hard disk to operate perfectly for many years despite making strange noises. If your drive starts to make strange clicking sounds though, it is usually a sign that there are unreadable disk sectors present and a terminal failure which requires data recovery is likely to happen very soon.
Operating System and File System Issues
All read/write requests between the hard disk drive and computer are handled through drivers installed in the operating system, which in rare instances of a damaged driver can cause corruption of important system data which can lead to the inc