There is no doubt that a hard disk is the most important component of a PC, and you have to be especially careful in maintaining it if your small or medium-sized business depends on crucial data.
As with all components, hard drives also have a limited life and can start producing errors if used for long and without care. Things especially go south when the disk starts accumulating bad sectors due to hardware problems or through viruses and malware.
Outsource My IT highly recommends that you back up data regularly to avoid loss of data. In an instance where the hard drive fails or does not work properly, with backed up data, you can keep running your business.
With that said, here are 5 common hard drive problems and how to fix them.
Dealing With A Manufacturing Defect
- If your system/s is unable to detect a hard drive when your computer is booted, you could be dealing with a manufacturing defect with your hard disk. This usually happens when the HDD is packaged and sold by the manufacturer without testing it for errors.
The Fix
- Normally most hard drives come with a warranty, especially if you recently got it. You can always have your faulty drive replaced with a new one by contacting the manufacturer or the retailer from where you bought the hard drive.
File Corruption
- Files can get corrupted on a hard drive if the system was not shut properly, or if the drive is infected with malware or virus. Corrupted files can cause loss of data which is vital for a company. So it is very important to keep this in check.
The Fix
- Corrupted files can always be repaired if you have some technical know-how of the command prompt available with all Windows PCs. Just press the start button on your system and type in CMD and then type chkdsk C:/f and it should start repairing the corrupted files.
If this doesn’t work, you can always restore a backup of your important files with a recovery software or by copying the backed up data from the cloud or an external hard drive. You can also seek professional data recovery services.
Dealing With Viruses
- Virus and malware are very common in the business environment because there is a lot of human error involved. As a company, you should educate your employees to not open malicious emails or links they get from the internet.
Viruses can slow down your system, corrupt data, or even seize your system completely. Some hackers can release ransomware in your system that locks it down and asks for a ransom in return.
The Fix
- The best fix for viruses and malware is to have active anti-virus and anti-malware software running on all of your systems. Invest in the best software and you should be well protected. On top of that, make sure your employees know how to tell a real email from a fake one.
Losing your business data can mean the end of your business, so it is very important to look after your systems and invest in cloud backup. If you’re a business who still doesn’t have a data backup plan, get in touch with Outsource My IT today and let us discuss your options.