Check your hard disk for errors

It came as a surprise to find out that modern hard disks are designed to last for only 2 to 5 years. Anything can go wrong once their designed life span is over. The best way to check the hard drive for errors is by using the system's "error checking" features.  In order to access this feature, go to the windows explorer, and right click on the drive you want to check, and then click on Tools, and then on Check Now under Error Checking.  That is all.  The system will check the selected drive and fix any errors it encounters.

As data is added, modified and deleted on the hard drive through constant use, it gets fragmented in little pieces. The data is still there but the disk has to work overtime to retrieve and make it usable.  One way to keep the data neatly organized on the drive is by using the defragmentation feature of the system. Simply type defragmentation in the search area after clicking on the start button and it will take you to the defragmentation area.