(Power cables seldom fail, but we have seen it happen.)ĥ. Also, remove the current power cable and use a different one. Power down the system and replace the data cable with a new or known-good cable. If the hard drive temperature seems reasonable and the power supply is not the problem, you may have a cable problem. Although it doesn't completely eliminate the power supply as the cause a power supply can be failing rather than simply being marginal for the load you can try reducing the load on the current power supply by removing components temporarily for example, by temporarily reverting from that hot new video adapter to the embedded video or an older, slower video adapter.Ĥ. You can eliminate the power supply as the cause of the problem by temporarily (or permanently) replacing it with a high-quality, high-capacity unit. But it's even more likely if you've recently added components to your system particularly a hot new video adapter or some other component that draws a lot of power. Power supplies may begin failing spontaneously and non-obviously, so this problem is always possible. One of the most common but little-known causes of hard drive read/write errors is a marginal power supply.
Install a hard drive cooler (available from any online or brick-and-mortar computer store) and/or add supplemental cooling fans to the case.ģ. If the read/write errors disappear, it's very likely that overheating is causing the problem. If the drive is very hot, leave the side panel off and point a standard house fan directly into the case to cool the drive. The hard drive should feel warm (perhaps quite warm) to the touch, but not so hot that it's uncomfortable to press your finger against it for several seconds. Remove the case access panel and use your finger as a temperature probe. If read/write errors occur only after the system has been running for a while particularly during warm weather or if you have recently added a fast video card or other heat-producing component it's possible that the drive is overheating. A drive that kind of works may stop working entirely and forever if you restart the system.Ģ. Never turn off the system until you have taken every possible step to recover data from a failing drive. Sometimes, a file that refuses to copy despite repeated retries on one pass will copy successfully on a subsequent pass, so don't give up too early. At that point, choose the Ignore option to continue copying other files. If you get a read failure error while copying a file, choose the Retry option several times until you are sure it won't succeed.
A particular file may be corrupted on one copy but readable from another. If you succeed in copying all of the files you need, copy them again. Insofar as is possible, while the drive is still functioning, copy the important files to another hard drive or an optical disc. Before proceeding, note that a failing drive can become a failed drive at any moment. Take the following steps to isolate the cause of the problem:ġ.
When a functioning drive fails or begins returning read or write errors, there are many possible causes. Don't even think about continuing to use a hard drive that has had problems, even if repair utilities swear that the drive is now in perfect condition. When a hard drive exhibits problems, your only goal should be to rescue your data from that drive.
Once a drive has shown signs of impending failure, it will inevitably fail completely, and probably sooner than later.
Drive makers and third-party utility vendors offer software that claims to repair hard drive problems. If a hard drive shows even the slightest sign that it has problems, immediately copy the data from that drive to another hard drive or optical disc and replace that drive. Unfortunately, hard drives often fail like light bulbs perfect one moment and dead the next. If you're fortunate, you may get some warning of impending drive failure, such as odd noises coming from the drive, dialogs warning of read or write failures, or a SMART drive failure warning when you start the system. Once a hard drive is configured properly and recognized by the system, it generally continues working properly until it fails. Make sure that the drive has power, and restart the system. Check the cables make sure that they're aligned properly and seated completely and replace them if necessary. If a newly installed drive isn't recognized by the system, turn off the system. Problems that occur when you have just installed a hard drive are almost always a simple matter of a bad or incorrectly connected cable, incorrect jumper settings, or some similar trivial problem.