
[Solution] How to Fix a Frozen Hard Drive
- Seal the drive in a zip-lock bag, and remove as much air as possible. Pop the drive into the freezer for a few hours.
- Plug the drive back into the computer and give it a try. If it doesn't work immediately, power down, remove the drive,...
Full Answer
How do you fix a bad hard drive?
You can attempt to fix your corrupted external hard drive using Check Disk, a utility that’s included with Windows that scans for hard drive related errors and attempts to fix them. Right-click Start and select Windows PowerShell (Admin). Type chkdsk E: /r. Replace E: with the drive letter of your corrupted hard drive.
How to fix your computer harddrive in under 5 min.?
Tidy up computer space with Disk Cleanup
- Choose Start→My Computer or Start→My Computer. ...
- Right-click the drive you want to check and choose Properties from the shortcut menu. ...
- Click the General tab, if it isn’t already open. ...
- 4. ...
- Clear the check boxes next to any files that you want to keep; check the check boxes next to any additional files that you want to clear off the disk. ...
- Click OK. ...
How to fix a physically broken hard drive?
- Remove the drive and repeat the first step. ...
- If needed, reheat the device and, while holding the drive in one hand, sharply spin and hit the drive on a hard surface. ...
- Repeat the first step. ...
- If you can hear a rhythmic "click" in time with the movement, the chances are that the drive heads are free on their mounts and are not jammed. ...
How to repair a corrupted USB flash drive?
How to repair the USB flash drive on Windows 10
- Click on the “My Computer- Removable Disk” icon. Then right-click the “Properties” tab to the Removable Disk icon.
- Scan; let the computer do the task of scanning and restoring previously corrupt files.
- Finally, right-click the USB pen drive and click on eject to safely disconnect the drive from the computer system.

How can I repair a damaged hard drive?
You can fix the 'Disk Structure Corrupted and Unreadable' error by:Unplugging and re-plugging the external HDD or USB drive.Uninstalling and reinstalling disk drive.Running hardware and device troubleshooter.Running disk scan for hard drive errors.Running CHKDSK command.More items...•
Can a hard drive be repaired?
Hard drive repair is possible, but they should NOT be reused after a recovery! Of course, HDDs can be repaired! However, a repaired HDD should not be reused, but rather, have its contents recovered immediately and then be discarded as it cannot be trusted to work into the future.
Can a physically damaged hard drive be recovered?
Sadly, DIY options very rarely yield the results users desire and the task of recovering data from a physically damaged hard drive is one that will almost certainly require the drive be removed from its casing. As a result, its owner will most likely need to instruct a professional data recovery company.
What causes hard drive damage?
Damage is generally caused by the hard drive experiencing a physical shock; being hit, falling over or being dropped. The shock can result in a head crash or damage to the platters. Circuit board failures account for 18 per cent of drive failures and moisture or static electricity is typically to blame.
How do I fix a corrupted hard drive that won't boot?
Fixing “Disk boot failure” on WindowsRestart the computer.Open the BIOS. ... Go to the Boot tab.Change the order to position the hard disk as the 1st option. ... Save these settings.Restart the computer.
How do I know if my hard drive is damaged?
Here are the most common hard drive failure signs:Overheating.Strange sounds.Corrupted data, files, and folders.Major slowdowns.Stuck spindle motor.Frequent error messages.System crashes.Blue Screen of Death.More items...•
How can I test my hard drive for physical damage?
Go to Disk Utility (on the utilities folder) and select the drive you wanna check (the drive, not the volume indented below it) Check that S.M.A.R.T status shows "verified" (this means the hard drive doesnt have any harware errors)
How can I recover data from a damaged external hard drive?
How to Recover Data from an External Hard Drive with Data Recovery SoftwareDownload and Install the Software.Connect and Select Your Hard Drive. Connect the external hard drive to your computer and launch Disk Drill. ... Scan for Deleted Data. ... Preview and Select Files for Recovery. ... Perform the Recovery.
Is HDD easy to damage?
Even though we try to be careful, sometimes our hard drives have a rough life. It may seem tough, but it's actually fairly easy to damage a drive, especially by accident.
What is the meaning of physical damage?
Physical Damage means any tangible injury to a Property, whether caused by accident, natural occurrence, or any other reason, including damage caused by defects in construction, land subsidence, earth movement or slippage, fire, flood, earthquake, riot, vandalism or any Environmental Condition.
How do I fix a corrupted hard drive?
You can fix a corrupted hard drive via CHKDSK command. Type cmd in the Windows search box. Right-click the best match and then choose Run as admini...
Can hard disks be repaired?
There are two types of sectors, a hard and soft sector. In most cases, Windows is able to repair a soft bad sector, as it's almost always related t...
How much does it cost to recover data from a damaged hard drive?
To recover data from a damaged hard drive will only cost you less than $100 with a piece of professional data recovery software, but the prerequisi...
How do I recover data from a crashed hard drive?
Get MiniTool Partition Wizard Pro Ultimate from its official website and install it on your PC. Launch Data Recovery. Then select the partition whe...
How to format a corrupted hard drive?
The specific steps are as follows: 1. Press “Windows” + “R” to open the Run box, typing “diskpart” and press “Enter”. 2. And then, type the following command and press “Enter” after each. select disk n (here “ n ” is the disk number of the disk you want to format.)
What causes a hard drive to fail?
The main causes of hard disk damage can be summarized as follows: 1. Abnormally cut off the power supply for the hard disk. (eg: suddenly power off when powering on and off.) 2. Wrong partition operation. 3.
What causes damage to a hard drive?
Damage caused by related inferior accessories. (If the user buys a poor quality data cable, a poor quality power supply or a poor quality motherboard will cause damage to the hard disk. Therefore, users are advised to choose a good brand with good reputation when selecting accessories.)
How to uninstall hard drive?
Right-click the hard disk with hard drive failure and then click Uninstall device to uninstall the drive. Step 4. Restart the computer and connect the hard drive. The drivers will start installing automatically in most cases. After restarting, you can check if your external hard drive can be read.
What to do if your computer cannot read your external hard drive?
If your computer cannot read your external hard drive, you can connect it to another PC to see if the drive can be read and work normally. If it works, you can make external hard drive repair by reinstalling the device drivers on your computer. Here are detailed steps for you to reinstall your hard drive's drivers.
Why is my hard drive corrupted?
Hard drive can become damaged or corrupted due to various hard drive errors like bad sectors on hard drive, file system corruptions. So you must learn these basic tips. After reading this article, you may find that hard drive repair is not so complicated.
Can a hard drive run into problems?
Hard drives can run into problems sometimes. This article will show you how to make hard drive repair and recover data from a hard drive. When your hard drive needs to be repaired, you can try the top 4 solutions in this article to fix the hard drive.
Can a hard bad sector be repaired?
Formatting the drive will almost always fix this. But, if it's a hard bad sector, this indicates physical damage , which cannot be repaired.
What to do if you can't hear anything?
If you still can't hear any noises, go on to the next step. However, if there is a difference, reattach the drive to your computer and listen for spin-up of the drive and normal clicking that indicates head activity. If all seems well so far, try to access the drive, and move your data onto a good drive.
Why is my iPod hard drive jammed?
Community Answer. If it's an iPod hard drive, where failures are generally due to drops, then your issue is usually a jammed arm. Smacking it gently while it is clicking might fix it for a while. This also works with any drive that was physically dropped (laptop drives, external drives).
What does it mean when your hard drive crashes?
If it's an inconvenience when your system crashes, it's a disaster when your hard drive heads south. Usually, that means your data is destroyed, and your bits are blasted—unless you backed up, of course.
How to back up a plugged in computer?
The inside of your plugged-in computer will usually work. Slide in the new board, making sure it's seated firmly into the drive, then re-attach the screws. Reconnect the drive to the computer, then power back up. If it works, congratulations! It's a good idea to back up your data at this point, but you're ready to go.
What is an external hard drive?
An external hard drive is just a regular internal hard drive in an external case. You can open the case and take out the drive, and from here you can connect it to a computer in a number of different ways. Or you can find a replacement case and install the hard drive so you again have a functioning external hard drive.
Why does my hard drive stop working?
If there's a power surge or a component failure on that board, your drive will stop working, but only because it doesn't know what to do next. Look for signs of damage—burns or scorch marks.
How many people edit wikihow?
wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 45 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 1,138,627 times.
How to repair a corrupted hard drive?
Follow the instructions below to run CHKDSK scan and repair corrupt hard drive without formatting: 1 Open an elevated Command Prompt window 2 Make sure the corrupt drive is connected to the system 3 Assign a letter to the corrupt drive via Disk Management tool, if it doesn’t have one
What is SFC scan?
SFC scan helps fix the damaged or missing Windows system files that may cause drive corruption. The scan checks system file integrity and replaces a corrupt or damaged system file with a cached copy stored within the system.
Who is Aruna Attri?
Aruna Attri is a Senior Data Recovery Expert at Stellar®. She is a technology blogger and Windows expert. She has experience in Windows data recovery domain. She loves to troubleshoot Windows issue and write technical tips and tutorials.
Can Windows recognize a corrupted hard drive?
While Windows may not recognize a corrupt hard drive as usable, this software natively supports recovery from a corrupt (RAW) hard drive. Just follow the steps mentioned in the video to get back the data quickly. Now that you have recovered data from the corrupt hard drive, format the drive to repair it.
How to rebuild a RAW partition?
Part 1. Rebuild MBR. 1. Right click the internal disk and select "Rebuild MBR". 2. Choose a proper MBR type for the current OS you are using and click OK. 3. In the main interface, click "Apply">"Proceed" to start rebuilding the MBR.
How to make a bootable USB?
To create a bootable USB: Connect an empty USB to a working computer, download the free software, install and run it on the working computer. Click "Make Bootable Media Wizard" and follow the hints to create a bootable USB. ( PS: it will contain installed AOMEI Partition Assistant.) Then plug the bootable USB in the computer with ...
How to open cmd window?
>> If your Windows can boot successfully, you can click the Search box, input CMD, and right-click the given Command Prompt icon and select Run as administrator to open the CMD window.
Why is my internal hard drive damaged?
Common reasons: ▸ The hard disk is infected by some unexpected or unknown viruses. ▸ The hard disk suffers a sudden power failure during working. ▸ The internal hard disk has some bad sectors . ▸ The MBR of the internal hard disk gets damaged. ...
What is internal hard disk?
Overview of corrupted internal hard disk. An internal hard disk is the primary storage device, holding the OS and other pre-installed programs. It decides whether your computer and system can run successfully. But similar to external hard drives, the internal hard disk sometimes also gets corrupted. When that occurs, your computer won’t boot ...
How to check for bad sectors on internal hard drive?
Part 1. Check bad sectors on the internal hard disk. You just need type "chkdsk c: /f" and press Enter in the window. (where C is the drive letter of one partition on the internal hard disk). In most cases, you will receive a message saying “Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another process.
Can you repair a hard drive without a Windows disc?
It is worth mentioning that AOMEI Partition Assistant is versatile software, making it possible to repair damaged hard disk without Windows disc, and you can also use it to format system partition, migrate OS to SSD, extend system partition without reboot.
How to check if a hard drive is corrupted?
Open "This PC/Computer", right-click the hard disk or partition which you want to check and click "Properties". Step 2. Select "Tools" and click "Check now" under Error-checking. Step 3. Check Disk Options dialog will show up and select any one of the following options to check and repair hard disk. Step 4.
How to fix a corrupted hard drive?
Run Antivirus. Connect the hard drive to another Windows PC and use a reliable antivirus to scan the drive. Sometimes, viruses and malware can cause such errors. Therefore, an antivirus scan may repair the corrupted hard drive and make the drive accessible. 2. Check and Repair Hard Disk Error in Windows 10/8/7.
What to do if your hard drive is a physical problem?
If it is a physical hard drive problem, you'll need to send your hard drive to the data recovery or repair service center.
What is SFC scannow?
The SFC Scannow option is one of the several specific switches available in the SFC command. It helps fix the damaged or missing Windows system files that may cause drive corruption.
How to format a hard drive for repair?
After successful data recovery from the corrupt hard drive, format the drive in Disk Management to repair hard disk. And then, move the restored data to the hard drive. Step 1. Right-click "This PC" and choose "Manage". Step 2.
Can a hard drive be formatted to fix a physical corruption?
Formatting the drive will almost always fix this. But, if it's a physical corruption, it can not be repaired.
How to recover data from external hard drive?
Since you're going to recover data from an external hard drive, you need to correctly connect the drive to your Windows computer. Run EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard and choose the exact external drive where you lost data. Click Scan.
Why is my hard drive not opening?
Missing or corrupted system files are responsible for a hard drive with unusual symptoms. It usually occurs when there is a problem during the file save process. So when your hard drive seems to be damaged and you cannot open it, maybe you need to repair the crashed system files at first.
Who is Tracy from easeus?
Tracy joined in EaseUS in 2013 and has been working with EaseUS content team for over 7 years. Being enthusiastic in computing and technology, she writes tech how-to articles and share technical solutions about Windows & Mac data recovery, file/system backup and recovery, partition management and iOS/Android data recovery.
Can a computer come into play without a hard drive?
A computer cannot come into play without a hard drive whirling. To correctly cooperate with a hard drive, or an external one, you must possess some necessary know-how skills for keeping a storage device healthy, and in turn, prolonging its life.
How much does it cost to recover a damaged hard drive?
It can be costly if you recover data from damaged hard disk using hard drive data recovery service, ranging from $150 to $1500. However, you can still get your damaged files back at a low price. The way is to take advantage of hard drive data recovery software. It is a safer and more reliable approach to damaged hard drive recovery.
How to recover data from a hard drive?
A Few Tips for Hard Drive Recovery 1 You should manage to salvage your data from a damaged hard drive before you fix it to prevent data loss during the hard drive repair. 2 Once your hard drive is damaged, you can connect it to another healthily working computer to verify its damage or failure cause. Different causes can bring various symptoms, and the chance of data recovery varies. 3 A professional damaged disk recovery program can help you a lot in recovering data from corrupted hard drive efficiently and promptly. But an unreliable program can make it worse, so try a trusty one. 4 Keep a habit of taking regular backups of any important data on your hard drive so that you can make sure nothing will be lost permanently.
Why does my hard drive make a grinding noise?
When the hard drive produces strange noises like grinding or trashing, this means your hard drive cannot be repaired, and you must prepare to transfer or save your data. Sometimes the system stops recognizing or detecting your drive, which reflects a logical failure with your hard drive.
How long does a hard drive last?
The lifetime of a hard drive today lasts up to 5 to 10 years, depending on the quality and production. The hard drive can be failed quickly under intense temperature and humidity factors, with data loss following.

Scenario
Why Hard Disk corrupted?
- If all of a sudden your hard disk doesnot accessible, you know there is something wrong with the hard disk. What causecorrupted hard disk? The main causes of hard disk damage can be summarized asfollows: 1. Abnormally cut off the power supply for the hard disk.(eg: suddenly power off when powering on and off.) 2. Wrong partition operation. 3. Dangerous habits during t…
How to Repair Corrupted Hard disk?
- Once the hard disk is corrupted, you may not be able to access the data on it. Thusyou need to repair the corrupted hard disk. But how to fix corrupted hard dive? Hereprovides you two methods to complete this operation. Method 1. Repair corrupted hard disk with Windows built-in tool If your hard disk is corrupted, you can use the Windows built-in tool –Diskpart torepair corrupted hard d…
Summary
- Follow these simple steps, you can easily and effectively repair the corrupted harddisk. AOMEI Partition Assistant is such a useful corrupted hard disk repair tool.Besides check partition, it also provides you many other powerful functions such asResize/Delete/Format Partition, repairMBR and so on. What’s more, AOMEI Partition Assistant can also he...