Hard Disk Gone Bad

I hate it when my computer's acting crazy during times I needed it the most. It's just like the feeling you get when you can't find something you badly need but it pops out in front of you when you're not looking for it.

Two days before the final exams, I turned on my laptop to print our lectures. Something like this prompted in to my screen: "Your computer did not shutdown properly.." and I was given options like "Start Windows in Safe mode, Start Windows normally" and other two options that I forgot. I tried the second one but after a few seconds it returned to that same prompt. So I tried other options, but it gets back again and again and again.

I was really eager to revive my laptop because I badly need to study our online lectures. So I called my computer technician, hoping he could fix it as soon as possible. Then I found out that there was a problem on my hard disk, a condition called bad sector.

So what is a bad sector?

According to Fix-HDD-BadSectors, bad sectors happen when a portion of a hard disk's writable part is unreadable. This is due to the over churching of the partition or the Windows directory. Since the hard disk is where the computer saves the data, there is a possibility of data loss or corruption due to bad sector. Bad sectors can really be a big problem, but there are some programs that can repair the hard disk as long as it is not physically corrupted.

My computer technician had to take my hard disk to a repair shop so it would go back to normal again. Unfortunately, all the files in my drive C were deleted. The good thing is, I don't have to spend much for a new hard disk.

To avoid bad sectors and other hard disk problems, here's some tips:

1. Install anti-virus software. I'm not sure if the bad sector of my HD came from a virus, but it's better to be safe. Let's install anti-virus, anti-spam and anti-malware softwares.

2. Stay away from dirt. I think this might be my problem. I admit that I'm really lazy to wipe off the dusts on my laptop and table. The CPU of my desktop is also covered with cobwebs so I'm sure my hard disk is prone to damage. From now on, I will regularly wipe off the dust and cobweb.

3. Regularly perform "scan disk" and "defragmentation". This is a good way to check if the are errors on your system.

4. No to overheating. Have you noticed the fan in your CPU? It keeps the temperature inside the CPU cool and it vents out the heated air to keep the hardware components from damaging. There are also exhaust fans for laptops that are available in stores.

5. Backup your files. Save your files on DVDs or external hard drive so that if anything bad happens to your disk, your files are safe.