How to Fix a Crashed Computer
“Help! My Computer Keeps Crashing!”
We hear these dreaded words from customers all the time: My computer keeps crashing! If your computer has been crashing, there may be many reasons why. One potential reason is that the hard drive is damaged. Most hard drives function using spinning platters that maintain and organize data. As these moving parts wear out, errors become more frequent.
An aging computer sometimes creates the environment for hard drive failure.
However, this is not the only reason your computer might be crashing. For example, viruses or hackers can contribute to long-term system instability. Until you are sure about the source of your crashing problems, there are a few steps you can take to protect the integrity of your data. The faster you act, the more likely it is you’ll be able to protect the contents of your hard drive.
What to Do If Your Computer Crashes
Every computer crashes once in a while. If your computer is crashing more frequently, however, it points to errors that you should address right away. Many times, the culprit is an aging hard computer no longer producing the operational environment its hard drive needs.
Wondering how to fix a crashed computer? Let’s look at a few steps you can take:
Ensure It Is Operating At the Right Temperature
Over time, the internal workings of your computer can get clogged up with dust. This can cause the cooling fans inside your computer’s case to slow down or deactivate. Listen carefully to your computer. Do you notice it is extremely loud during startup? Is it quiet or silent while running, where there used to be noticeable fan sounds? When you feel the case, is it hot?
All of these indicate issues with cooling. Move your computer to a more ventilated area. You may need to contact professionals to replace or upgrade your fans, especially if one of them has deactivated. It is a good idea to start backing up the data on your hard drive in case heat does unexpected damage to the hard drive platters. In many cases, though, your drive can be saved even if the drive crashes.
Check Your Hard Drive for Errors
Windows comes with software tools that will check your hard drive for errors. In recent Windows editions, these are known as the Disk Defragmenting Tools. These tools will scan your hard drive for damaged sectors and consolidate your file system so that files can be accessed more quickly. If many damaged sectors are found, your hard drive may be damaged.
Update Your Antivirus Definitions
Viruses can damage hard drives by replicating throughout the file system and sending malicious commands. As viruses propagate across your hard drive, they can corrupt or hide files your computer needs to function. Some can destroy the logical structure of a hard drive and make all its files impossible to access. Make sure you have a modern, up-to-date antivirus program.
If you are wondering how to fix a crashed computer, each of these steps can help. However, if symptoms continue to worsen, you should contact certified data recovery professionals right away. It may be the case that your hard drive should be completely replaced. Data from the old hard drive can be recovered so as to minimize your losses and the likelihood of future problems.
Go Online for a Free Quote from Certified Professional Data Recovery Experts
If you need to know precisely what to do if your computer crashes, find out from the pros. Secure Data Recovery is an industry leader in protecting and recovering sensitive data from damaged hard drives. We maintain the strictest certifications to ensure our technicians are the most skilled and experienced in secure hard drive recovery.
Learn More About Computer Crashes and Data Recovery
Follow the links below to learn more about the reasons behind computer crashes and the steps needed to recover data following a crash.