A disk is divided into a sort of grid with concentric tracks and sectors, and the read/write head reads data in these sectors. The Windows 10 Check Disk command-line utility is reliable for finding and repairing disk problems by scanning the disk looking for bad sectors. Look for a text line on the screen that indicates what to do. Each manufacturer has a different way of opening the utility on boot, but pressing the F10, F2 or Escape key usually works. The BIOS utility varies by manufacturer and should be the first step to resolving disk issues. Two free utilities are very successful in fixing disk problems - the Disk Diagnostic or Repair utility built into the BIOS or EFI of most computers and Windows 10 Check Disk (CHKDSK). The Event Viewer logs and displays informational events, warnings and errors. This shows informational events, warnings and critical errors for all system components such as the CPU, controllers, memory, network and disk. Once opened, expand the Windows logs and click on System in the Event Viewer (Figure 1). Open the log by either searching for 'event viewer' or entering Eventvwr.msc in the command line. Included in all versions of Windows, the event log records warnings and error events associated with the hard disk. These signs are usually easily detected via errors and warnings in the Windows event log.

Other indications of impending disk failure include poor performance while opening or saving files, booting the computer or accessing data. Disks can also fail gradually as sectors on the disk become unreadable to the read/write mechanism. These can be catastrophic, such as dropping the computer and damaging the drive or something as simple as firmware that can no longer detect the drive.

Signs of disk failureĭisk failure can occur for several reasons. Instead, an organization can neutralize the risk of a disk failure by ensuring the user or IT staff keeps an eye out for key indicators and knows how to use built-in utilities such as Windows 10 Check Disk. Backups can mitigate the fallout but restoring data can be time-consuming and expensive for organizations.

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