I abuse my computer a great deal but that doesn’t mean I do not
maintain it. Keeping the registry clean is just one of the things I do
but more importantly, making sure the hard disk is in a pretty good
shape. A lot of things depends on your hard disk and if it crashes all
of a sudden, you know you have a lot to lose. Normally, you should do a
backup to an external hard disk (or the cloud) every now and then but
even at that, there’s still a chance that your hard disk may stop
working all of a sudden, making you lose some important files you just
got.
There are certain things you need to do often to maintain your hard
disk. Just a few days ago, I downloaded iOS 6 using IDM (Internet
Download Manager). At the very last stage where IDM would merge the
downloaded parts into a single file, I got an error message that there
was some sort of error on my hard disk and the download could not be
completed. A downloaded file of almost 800MB wasted?
It was only then I remembered I hadn’t done any hard disk
maintenance in many months. Here are things I did that fixed the error:
1. CHKDSK
CHKDSK (pronounced check disk) is a Windows command that checks your
hard disk for errors and attempts to fix them. It checks the integrity
of the file system and fixes any error, including repairing bad
clusters.
CHKDSK also scans for physical errors on the surface of the hard
disk (also called bad sector) and attempts to repair them. You should
regularly do this to keep your hard drive in good shape and avoid any
sudden crash.
How to run CHKDSK on Windows 7
- Go to My Computer
- Right-click on your hard drive and select Properties
- Select the Tools tab, select Check now. After that, mark the box that says Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors
- Hitting the Start button, you should be told the process can’t be executed while Windows is running.
You have to restart your computer to complete it and at the next
boot, let the program run and do not interrupt it. Depending on the
size of your hard disk, it may take over one hour to complete the
whole. You should see errors encountered logged on your screen and if
they got fixed.
2. Defragmentation
First, you should know that defragmentation isn’t as important as
the first CHKDSK mentioned above but you should still do it anyway. It
makes files to be easily accessible on your hard drive.
Defragmentation is a windows feature that re-arranges files stored
on the hard disk in such a way that they occupy contiguous storage
locations. This makes your system perform relatively faster. This
process helps to organize the data from the HD, which facilitates
procedures for reading and writing.
How to defragment your hard disk
- Go to My Computer
- Right-Click on your hard disk and select Properties
- Click the Tools tab and select Defragment now
The rest is easy but you may be unable to use your computer while the process is running.
Other hard disk maintenance tips
- Be sure you have enough free space.
- Always do a proper shut down, avoid sudden power off using the power button.
-Protect your computer from sudden shock and vibration. Vibration can throw off the delicate internal mechanisms of a drive.
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