When a computer or laptop is slow, most users turn their attention to the graphics card or processor. While HDD has a greater impact on PC performance, even more significant than the aforementioned components.

Often, users will find out that the hard drive is slowing down by an LED that blinks or just glows and does not go out, and this is accompanied by a freeze in the task being performed or its execution is too long.

In this case, the hard drive can make the following sounds:, crack, rattle. This tells us that the computer is actively interacting with the drive and a significant decrease in performance is associated primarily with the HDD. Let's look at the most popular reasons when it slows down this device and learn how to fix them.

Disabling the Indexing Service

Quite a lot, especially old hard drives with an IDE interface can load the indexing service (it allows you to search files and folders faster). Those users who do not use the search so often can disable it, since they generally do not need indexing.

To disable it, you need to go to "My Computer", right-click on the desired section and open its properties.

In the "General" tab, uncheck "Allow indexing ..." and click "OK".

Disk cleanup using standard OS tools

First of all, when the hard drive and, accordingly, the computer began to work very slowly, you need to clean the disk from junk files and other garbage. You can do this in a variety of ways, but we will consider the option of cleaning without using a third-party software.

For this you need:

Cleaning with CCleaner

The main advantage of this program is that it performs a deeper cleaning than standard means Windows. In addition, it also finds and fixes errors in the registry, optimizing the system as much as possible. It has free version. In addition, if the previous method did not help you and the hard drive is still running slowly, it is recommended to clean it up with it.

So, let's break it down step by step:

defragmentation

Drive fragmentation is an inevitable process when you actively use your computer. It is because of this that programs and games can slow down, which is why it is recommended to regularly defragment, which optimizes the hard drive and improves the performance of the entire system. You can also run it using standard Windows tools:

After that, the HDD will stop slowing down and start working faster.

This method was analyzed using the example of Windows 7, but it will be completely similar in other versions, Windows 10 and 8.

Virus check

Often slow work hard drive may be related to the ingress of viruses into the system. That is why, before proceeding to the next points, check it for threats, even if you already have an antivirus installed.

After all, as you know, no antivirus can provide 100% protection against all types of threats, so you need to additionally check your device with special ones.

Error checking

You should also diagnose the hard drive for errors. Since their presence directly affects its performance.

You can launch it in one of two ways:

Thus, you can quickly check for errors and, if found, promptly correct them.

We analyzed a few more effective ways in the previous one.

Victoria utility - check for bad blocks

If your entire computer slows down, the reason for this may be damaged (inaccessible) read / write sectors, the so-called "bad blocks". As a rule, in this case, at the first connection, the hard drive freezes, information is copied or read for a long time, files disappear, strange sounds appear.

That is why you need to check the disk using the Victoria utility. Previously written detailed instructions about its use, so I won't repeat it.

Changing the operating mode

Sometimes it happens that the OS, due to some errors, changes the HDD mode from UltraDMA to PIO (an older version) and is characterized by a slower speed.

To find out what mode the disk is in, you should:

What should I do if PIO is specified in the operating mode settings, and how can I change it back to DMA? Today there are several options:

Two cables are connected to the HDD - IDE and a power cord. The first is wide enough and has a red or blue vein. When opening the system unit, pay attention to whether there is a parallel connection of this cable with any other device other than the hard drive. In case of detection, disconnect it from the parallel component.

1. What else could be the reason? Perhaps the problem is with the motherboard, namely outdated versions drivers. To fix this, you need to update the software. In some cases it will be useful to use special programs, which comprehensively check the PC for updates.

If your computer freezes a lot and this problem is related to connection modes, now you know what to do in this situation and how to fix it.

HDD temperature

As everyone has already learned, the entire computer can slow down due to the hard drive, however, the main reason for this can be not only errors or an incorrect mode of operation, but also a strong one. The optimum temperature for its operation is 30-45C. When the temperature rises above 45 degrees, measures should be taken to reduce it. Let's take a closer look at the issues related to this problem.

To measure the temperature of the drive, regardless of whether it is an external hard drive or an internal one, we need the help of third-party software. To do this, we will use the free version of the AIDA64 utility:

In the window that appears, you can see the HDD temperature indicator. If it exceeds the recommended number, then most likely its slow work is connected precisely with this, now let's move on to action.

Cleaning from dust and dirt

The first step is to clean the system unit from accumulated dirt and dust. This factor significantly affects the temperature of not only the hard drive, but also other components. Thorough cleaning is recommended to be done regularly, at least once a year. If you have a laptop, then this will help you.

Cooling system

If the cleaning did not bring the desired effect and the hard drive still overheats, runs slowly and slows down the system, then you should think about either buying and installing an additional one. It will blow and cool the space around the disk, which will significantly reduce the temperature.

In summer, the storage tank heats up the most. In this case, you can simply open the system unit, put a home fan in front of it and turn it on to cool the PC.

When the drive does not perform well on a laptop and overheats significantly, you can purchase a special cooling pad. It will provide a decrease in temperature by 5-7 degrees.

Several hard drives

If your computer is equipped with two hard drives that are mounted next to each other, then you can try to distribute them in different places. Or even turn off one of them, which will reduce the temperature by 5-10 degrees.

I would also like to note that when working with laptops, it must stand on a hard, flat surface. Many users put it on a bed or sofa, which blocks the ventilation holes and overheats the laptop. And a person cannot understand what is the matter, why the hard drive takes a long time to load and the system slows down incredibly.

Another solution is disassembled in this video

youtube.be/mJu1ryZAmVA

Updated: 2017-09-30

Professional help

If you are unable to fix the problem yourself,
then most likely the problem lies at a more technical level.
It can be: failure of the motherboard, power supply,
hard disk, video card, RAM, etc.

It is important to diagnose and fix the breakdown in time,
to prevent failure of other components.

Our specialist will help you with this.

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When a computer or laptop starts to work slowly, the first thing they think is that the problem is in the processor or video card. But there is still hard disk (hard drive or HDD drive), which also affects the performance of the PC. Yet strong enough.

As a rule, ordinary users find out that the hard drive is slowing down only after programs and games open slowly, work for a long time and constantly freeze. Or by LED external hard drive that is constantly lit or blinking too fast. In some cases, the HDD drive may even crack, squeak, or creak. These are all signs of a problem with the hard drive.

Which ones? It is difficult to give a definite answer here. Yes, it doesn't exist. Therefore, below are the most popular hard drive errors and problems, as well as how to solve them.

This manual is universal and is suitable for both fixed HDD drives and external drives.

The first reason is too much accumulated garbage on the computer. By "garbage" we mean temporary files, as well as everything that is in the trash (as a rule, it is no longer needed, but it takes up space). Therefore, if the hard drive lags the system, first of all you need to clean it. Thankfully this is very easy to do.

Using the example of Windows 7, cleaning the hard drive of unnecessary files is done like this:

Windows will estimate the amount of space, after which the following window will appear:

Check or uncheck the boxes as required and click OK. Similarly, you need to perform the procedure for the rest of the local disks - D, E, etc.

This is how the hard drive is cleaned in the standard way. You can also use special software for this - for example, CCleaner, Auslogics BoostSpeed, etc. With their help, you can additionally remove unnecessary programs from startup (they also slow down the computer), clean the registry, etc.

By the way, pay attention to how much free space you have left on local drives. It must be at least 10%. Otherwise, the computer or laptop will slow down and fail. If you have just such a situation, you need to free up more space. If there is nothing to delete, then write some files to a disk, flash drive, or upload them somewhere on Yandex.Disk and similar online services.

Defragment your hard drive

Fragmentation is an inevitable process with heavy use of a PC. It is because of it that games and programs can greatly slow down. Therefore, it is recommended to perform the defragmentation process at least once a month. This optimizes the HDD and improves the performance of the PC. You can perform this procedure in 2 ways: using the standard Windows tool or special software.

Checking the hard drive for errors

Another reason why an external hard drive (or a regular one) freezes is logical errors. You can check their presence or absence through scandisk, a standard utility that is available in Windows.

To run this check:

There is also a second way:

Checking the operating mode of the hard drive

You also need to check what mode the hard drive is in. There are two in total:

• PIO (old mode, operates at the expense of the PC central processor);
• DMA (new mode, works with RAM, which significantly increases the speed of the computer).

In theory, there should be a DMA mode, but due to the presence of various errors and malfunctions, Windows can automatically switch it to PIO. As a result, the hard drive slows down and freezes. And regularly.

To find out what mode the hard drive is in:

What if the PIO mode is set there? You can switch it to DMA with two simple ways:

Users who bought a PC or laptop 3-4 years ago do not have to worry about this. They usually don't have any problems with the loops.

Checking a hard drive for bad sectors in Victoria

Another reason why a hard drive freezes is bad sectors. While there are few of them, the problem can be fixed with the help of software. For example, the Victoria program (Victoria).

How to understand that there are bad sectors on the hard drive? This is evidenced by:

• constant freezing of a laptop or computer when accessing the HDD drive (opening files);
• you hear a rattle or crackle that was not there before;
• too slow file copying;
• drop in PC performance in general.

The Victoria program is one of the most effective for checking a hard drive for bad sectors. And it's very easy to use:

1. Run Victoria as an admin (RMB on the shortcut - Run as admin).
2. Go to the Tests section.
3. Click Start.

After that, the verification will begin. You need to pay attention only to 2 types of rectangles - red and blue. If there are a lot of the latter, then you need to select the "Remap" item and start a re-check. This will help restore the hard drive to working order.

By the way, if you just recently bought an HDD drive, and the Victoria program shows the presence of blue rectangles, it is recommended to send it in for repair under warranty. On a new hard drive bad sectors should not be.

HDD overheating

The next reason on the list why a hard drive on a laptop or computer slows down is overheating. After all, too high a temperature is dangerous for the hard drive too.

The optimal value is considered to be 30-45 degrees. If the temperature is above 50 - this is already a problem. Although values ​​of 50-55 degrees are not critical for many HDDs, they still work fine (but this can reduce their lifespan).

If there is a suspicion of overheating of the hard drive, you need to check it. For example, through the AIDA64 program. To do this, run it and go to the Computer - Sensors sections. As you can see, in the screenshot below, the temperature of the HDD is 33 degrees.

What if it's too high? There are several ways to reduce the temperature of a hard drive:

• cleaning a laptop or PC system unit from dust;
• installation additional coolers(fans) for cooling;
• HDD transfer (if you have 2 or more hard drives in system block PC, try to install them at some distance from each other);
• purchase of a cooling pad (only suitable for laptops).

Winchester cracks and knocks: what to do

In general, a hard drive is a mechanical device, so it can make various knocks, crackles and rattles. If it's been like this since you bought it, then it's no big deal. But if there were no such sounds before, and after a while they appeared, and the hard drive began to slow down (work slowly) - this is a bad sign.

First you need to urgently copy all important files from it (just in case). And then try to reduce the noise. For example, using software designed to reduce the speed of head positioning. The speed of the HDD will drop a little, but visually you will not notice it. But knocks, cods and gnashes should disappear. Or at least become quieter.

Very often, users are faced with a problem when, for some unknown reason, the entire system starts to freeze, periodically fail, or even boot with errors. However, even the most advanced users, not to mention beginners, cannot always find the reason for such behavior.

In this article, we will try to diagnose the main causes and find ways to eliminate them.

Unstable hard drive

If the computer freezes when you connect a built-in or external hard drive, this may indicate problems in the operation of the hard drive or further signs of its failure.

Depending on the type of problem (software, mechanical), it can be:

• Loading failures.
• The appearance of a blue screen.
• A large number of bad sectors.
• Low read/write speed.
• The appearance of errors during operation.
• Frequent freezing of the entire system.

Standard Windows Tools

The reason that the hard drive clicks and freezes during operation may be the usual system errors and unstable sectors. Checking and fixing them is quite simple, for this we will use the usual "Explorer".

When checking the system partition (on which Windows is installed), a message will appear stating that the check will be performed at the next boot, we agree.

After that, its performance should be restored.

Third Party Programs

There is another most effective method hard drive diagnostics using free programs or . They are distinguished by great functionality and are used as the main tool for getting rid of bad sectors by professional craftsmen.

If, in addition to the fact that the hard drive often freezes, it works slowly, other problems are also observed: constant errors in programs, drivers, and failures in the Windows OS. It is necessary to check it as soon as possible, since there is a possibility that at any moment it may fail and all information stored on it will be lost forever.

Overheat

If your computer freezes due to the hard drive, then this may be due to it. Modern hard drives emit a lot of heat during active work and can get very hot. That is why cooling elements are necessary for their normal use. Sometimes gaming PCs are equipped with entire cooling systems using water or refrigerants.

If the operating temperature of the drive is exceeded, the system starts to slow down and works extremely slowly and intermittently, as a result of which the laptop or computer may freeze. Modern motherboards have temperature monitoring technology, information about which can be found in or using the additional AIDA64 utility.

For this you need:

normal temperature work hard disc is 30-45 degrees. If the available indicators significantly exceed this number, then it is urgent to find the cause and take specific actions.

There may be several of them:

1. Lots of dust and dirt.
2. Failure of the cooling system. This is especially important if you have a closed case and when the cooling system is not working, the heat generated by the components will only accumulate, as a result of which they can simply burn out.

First you need to thoroughly clean the device from clogging, cleaning out all the dust and dirt. If this does not help, then you need to check. If it does not work at all or periodically creaks, buzzes and makes other uncharacteristic sounds, then it should be lubricated, and if necessary, completely, since it could fail with prolonged use.

To do all this with a laptop is much more difficult, since this device must be disassembled, showing special care and carefully following the special instructions.

Controller and hard drive compatibility

A new, newly purchased modern hard drive hangs and slows down when connected, and also does not want to work faster than outdated drives. However, the performance test report shows that both devices produce the same results. This may be due to the fact that your motherboard do not support new interface. In this case, you will have to abandon the new drive or you will need to replace the motherboard with a newer model.

The next reason is the cable used, it may also be outdated and simply not suitable for the new HDD. In addition, old wires fail during prolonged use, especially at high temperatures inside the case.

Contacts and loop

Contact oxidation

If, when copying this or that information to any of the partitions of the hard disk, it freezes, then the cause may be oxidized contacts. Due to the oxide layer formed at the contact point, the current flow is disrupted and, as a result, the entire system hangs.

Getting rid of oxide is quite simple with a regular hard eraser.

Plume

A damaged or not tightly connected cable can be the "culprit" of various problems with the hard drive. Therefore, this point should be carefully checked and, if necessary, replaced the cable.

Physical malfunction or lack of power

As a rule, with any physical malfunction of the internal mechanism of the hard drive, it may begin to creak, knock or squeak. This is especially often manifested as a result of various physical injuries: a fall, a blow, severe overheating. All this can indicate both its imminent failure and lack of power (if there was no physical damage).

In the first case, the only right decision would be to take it to a service center. Since it is possible to restore its performance only in special sterile conditions and with certain skills.

If there is a lack of power, it is enough to disconnect unused devices from the computer or laptop and recheck the HDD. You can also connect it to any other device. If the problem is solved, then the “culprit” is found - the weak power of the power supply. AT this case only replacing it with a more powerful one will help.

Disk fragmentation

Another reason why the computer takes a long time to load and hang may be due to hard drive fragmentation. Due to the constant addition and deletion of files, their contents are divided between several sectors of different areas of the hard disk. This process is called fragmentation.

At this moment, the drive head is constantly moving in search of scattered fragments of a particular file, and since the parts of the file are located in different areas, this takes a lot of time.

At the same time, defragmentation will organize the files, thereby reducing the access time to them.

To defragment a hard drive, you can use any third-party program, which is quite a lot on the network, or standard operating system tools.

For this you need:

Now you know what to do if the hard drive on your computer freezes or slows down, thereby preventing the operating system from working normally, and you can fix the problems yourself.

Many users are scared to death of restarting their computer.

This process should be easy and independent of users, but sometimes it can take a minute, two, or seem like an eternity.

This is a rather controversial topic, since much that is known about computer boot is a myth.

But still operating system should not load longer than 90 seconds. If the user is forced to endure more, it is worth starting to take action.

Computer Diagnostics

Very often, the user becomes nervous for no reason.

It takes a lot of time to diagnose. Although the reason may lie in the most common things.

Tip: If you use your PC a lot, you can leave it on or set it to hibernate when you press the power button. In this case, it makes no sense to turn it off every time. Then the user gets rid of the need to deal with slow loading.

It's all about organizational skills and discipline. To take this example, very few software installations require a regular reboot.

Some changes require a forced reboot while others simply “prompt” you to reboot now or later.

And let's be honest, sometimes users want to save time, which means they choose to reboot later... and sometimes that "later" happens much later.

And then several updates, patches and ignored reboot requests just overlap.

The system gets confused in the update order, there are delays that are not visible to the eye of the average user.

After such a long-awaited reboot, the device takes some time to process all these changes. This is normal, but can still annoy most users.

Many do not even wait for this necessary download, and reboot the unfortunate device again. Then all updates are reset. This cannot be done.

Disable autorun programs

Programs that are loaded at startup remain active in memory.

Therefore, they are one of the main reasons for the slow Windows boot. Disabling programs that the user is not using may work.

To manage startup programs, you can install a very interesting tool Mike Lin's Startup Control Panel.

With it, the user can easily remove unused programs from the list of resident programs and startup programs.

Scandisk and Defrag

With Microsoft Scandisk and Disk Defragmenter, you can make sure that your hard drive is working without errors.

Also, these programs are necessary in order for the data to be stored in the most efficient way.

Even experienced users run both of these programs at least once every few months.

Yes, they take some time to use. But it is better to spend it once than to wait painfully for the download every time.

Not enough free space on the hard drive

For a personal computer to work optimally, it must have at least 250 MB of free space on the hard disk on which the operating system is installed.

If the amount of free space is less, the overall performance and loading time can be significantly reduced.

The operating system itself takes up a lot of space, but in addition, the extra space is used to temporarily store files needed during operation.

Determination of free space on the hard disk.

In order to determine the availability of free space on the hard drive, you need to open "My Computer".

In the window that opens, there will be a column "Devices and drives", then you need to right-click on Disk C. And select the "Properties" option in the drop-down menu.

A new screen will display the total volume, free volume and used space. It is necessary to check the data on Disk C, since the operating system is most often installed on it.

If there is not enough free space, you need to delete temporary files, clean the system of unused programs and recheck the free space.

Update Drivers and Windows

Custom, incorrectly installed, or outdated drivers can lead to a number of different conflicts.

It is necessary to regularly update the operating system drivers, the Windows operating system itself, and also update the software that is used on the device.

Only in this way can it be guaranteed that software problems will not occur.

All of these problems are not yet related to hardware malfunctions. This is a completely different set of problems.

Upgrading the operating system to a new version

Are you still running Windows 7? Upgrading to Windows 8 or 10 will seriously speed up boot times.

Not every operating system update will necessarily be faster, but the transition from 7 to 8 was huge.

How to update the Windows operating system.

In order to get the necessary operating system updates, you need to go to the Control Panel.

If the necessary updates are found, the system will offer to carry out automatic installation latest updates.

The user can only wait installed updates and reboot your device.

Cleaning the registry

If the user has already completed all the previous recommendations from this list, but the long-awaited result has not yet come, you can clear system registry. To do this, you can install any program from the Internet.

The registry cleaning process itself rarely depends on the user. Most of the programs work automatically.

Reinstalling Windows

Although this may take time and free removable drive to save important files, this is one of the cardinal decisions.

Also, the process itself can be a little time consuming, requiring you to completely erase all data and reinstall Windows.

This process will cause the user's computer to function as it did when it was new.

Equipment upgrade

Improving the hardware

This is a hardware method of solving the problem. There are more financial costs than time and moral.

Of course, this is one of the most effective ways to increase performance and reduce load times.

You just need to call any company that is engaged in modernization or upgrade, and order the appropriate service from them.

You can also upgrade your computer yourself by replacing obsolete components with new ones.

Adding RAM

Installing more memory (RAM) for your computer helps increase the overall speed of your computer, and in some cases can reduce boot time by several times.

If your unit is running less than two gigabytes of RAM, you should consider upgrading or expanding it.

Adding a Solid State Drive

A solid state drive is the most efficient way to improve overall system performance.

On desktops and laptops, you can migrate Windows from a regular hard drive to an SSD. This will significantly reduce the download time.

Solid State Drives are characterized by higher speed, reliability, fault tolerance and stability. At the moment it is the best choice among hard drives.

Reset BIOS settings

When you first set up your computer in BIOS Setup, the administrator may have disabled some settings.

In order to check what is disabled there, you need to long press the del key when starting the computer.

This is the most common key that motherboard manufacturers assign to enter BIOS Setup.

If it didn’t work, you should look on the Internet for how to enter BIOS Setup by selecting a specific motherboard model.

Once in the BIOS, you can enable the “fast boot option” mode and move the hard drive to the first place in the boot priority list. You also need to turn off the "Logo" when loading.

Thus, the computer will not waste time displaying beautiful picture, but will spend all its energy on starting the operating system.

Disable unused hardware

Any computer loads a lot of drivers when it first starts up, even though some of them are not used.

You need to go to the device manager from the start menu search bar.

There you need to find everything that is not used on the computer, such as Bluetooth and third-party controllers, modems, virtual Wi-Fi adapters and other hardware that is not in the system. Right click on the entry you want to disable and click disable.

Don't forget to double check that everyone else peripherals left to work. If the computer is part wireless network, virtual Wi-Fi adapters should remain enabled.

Antivirus software

It is believed that this is an obvious fact, but still it is worth noting it separately.

To keep your computer running fast, you need to install a good antivirus program, keep it up to date, and run regular scans.

This is more of a preventive measure than a real solution to the problem of long loading. But very often it is viruses that lead to the fact that the computer takes a long time to boot.

Plus, any antivirus program will leave your files intact.

Unused fonts

Since time immemorial, loading extra fonts at startup slows down system boot time.

It's less of a problem now than it used to be, but it can still be tiring.

Windows 7 loads over 200 fonts on startup; even more if you have Microsoft Office installed.

Chances are you're using very few of these fonts, so you might want to hide them to speed up the process.

In Windows 7, you need to open the Fonts folder from the Start menu search bar and check for any fonts you don't need. Next, click the “hide” button on the toolbar.

That way, if you want them, you can put them back, however, Windows doesn't load them on startup.

Please note that by simply removing a few fonts, you will not see a noticeable difference.

For the result to be tangible, you need to get rid of several hundred unused fonts.

It’s more of a patience factor here, when you can mark more than a hundred fonts, everything will not seem so funny. And you will understand why they slow down the loading of your operating system so much.

Motherboard replacement

We change the "motherboard"

This is one of the very cardinal decisions, since it most often entails the replacement of the processor and RAM. But this will seriously reduce the boot time of the computer.

Sometimes the motherboard is still working, but the hubs are already swollen on it. Which significantly reduces the speed of its work. And only a specialized specialist can determine whether it is repairable.

Again, these aren't the only things you can do to improve your computer's boot time, but they are some of the most well-known, reliable methods.

It is important to understand that by speeding up the boot time of the computer, you need to achieve benefits, not harm.

Currently, it is much easier to transfer various records, documents, files and other objects not to disks and flash drives, but to external hard drives. This is due to the high speed of copying to such media in comparison with other drives.

Also, when using external HDDs, it is very easy to record information, as well as its unrealistic number of times. The user is not limited in the implementation of deleting and writing data. Moreover, you can easily transfer dozens and hundreds of different files at once. This will not adversely affect the drive being used.

And it is also very important that such pluggable data carriers are capable of holding a lot of information. Some can store up to 6 TB. But at the same time, the size of such elements is quite insignificant. So the media of this drive can be in your pocket and at the same time it will not deteriorate, it will not be scratched, which is typical for standard disks.

But sometimes it happens that the external hard drive still starts to slow down. At the same time, it is extremely difficult to determine the reason for this behavior. It’s even hard to imagine what users should do with the drive they are using in this case? But you still have to figure out the reasons in order to find an effective method for fixing the problem.

Work with external HDD. The reason is outdated defragmentation

Some users note that difficulties with external drives can occur precisely because the disk defragmentation, as well as the file system, has not been launched for a very long time. To understand this problem, it is necessary to understand it with an example.

In general, when working with Windows, information is placed not only as a whole file. If the user has loaded the object enough big size, then it is automatically distributed over several sections. The difficulty is that at the time of playing such a file, the operating system spends a lot of time searching for and connecting all the fragments.

In many ways, this is why there is a decrease in the speed of the disk to a large extent. At the same time, the device used will also slow down. Thus, fragmentation was pre-produced. But to correct the situation, you will have to perform defragmentation, which is the reverse operation.

First, you will have to work a little on cleaning the disk. That is, you need to remove all the accumulated garbage on it. The defragmentation procedure is performed at a time when no program, application, service, gameplay, and much more is running on the device. So only if this condition is met, a positive result will be achieved.

The procedure is activated when you go to the "My Computer" section. After that, a list of all available media that you can work with will appear. The user will need to allocate an external drive in respect of which subsequent work will be performed.

Next, go to the properties of this object. You will need to open the "Service" tab, and then start the optimization process. Now on the screen personal computer a message will appear telling you exactly how the defragmentation is going. In some cases, this procedure does not need to be done at all. So you should look at the message and focus on it.

The file system has a significant impact on fragmentation. So users will have to take this aspect into account as well. If the system is modern, then it is more prone to fragmentation. There is also one more condition - it does not allow you to place files on the disk that are larger than 4 GB.

The reason is the detection of bads and logical errors

Difficulties with the speed mode of an external hard drive can also occur for other reasons. In some cases, you can not even guess about errors on a third-party drive, since they may not appear at all for a long period of time.

Such errors often occur for a rather banal reason: due to incorrect use of utilities downloaded to the device. Also, sometimes there are conflict situations with important components - drivers. And the reason may lie in a sharp power outage of the gadget.

In some cases, the problem with an external hard drive is because the user has been using it too much. That is, if the work is carried out very actively, then this affects the speed of processed requests. Sometimes operating room Windows system after a reboot, it automatically launches a scan to detect errors.

The check should be launched through "My Computer". As soon as a partition opens with several disks that are accessible, you need to select an external drive. We click on it, and then open the tab with properties. As soon as the transition to this section is made, you need to open the verification function in the "Service" tab.

Now the scanner is already activated, which will do the work in order to identify various errors in file system. And more difficulties arise due to the accumulation of bads. In small quantities, these unreadable sectors of the hard disk will be eliminated by the system.

But as soon as there are too many of them, the system is no longer able to cope with them. Thus, it is not possible to isolate them without negatively affecting the performance of a personal computer. This leads to difficulties in working not only with a PC, but also with an external hard drive.

Activation of several programs. Reason #3

That is why the device and working disks may freeze. If several applications are activated at the same time, then this can greatly overload the PC. A large load affects absolutely all disks - internal and external.

Especially often the process of downloading various files leads to this. In some cases, gameplay may also be running and a few more utilities included. And if a check is performed by anti-virus software and at this moment the user is working with some utilities, then this, of course, will negatively affect the functioning of the device.

The easiest way to find out the real disk load parameter at a certain moment is to refer to the task manager. The user will need to evaluate all those processes that are active. Very often, the user may not even guess about some running processes.

Hidden processes work without unnecessary "noise" so that users cannot fix them. But it is still possible to identify these objects with the help of specialized utilities. You can also go to the task manager and select the option to display running processes.

At the same moment, a list of all the elements that are active at the moment will appear on the screen of the personal computer. You should immediately close all the processes that greatly slow down the system, as well as those that are not needed at all. Further, the problem will be fixed, if, of course, this was the reason.

Difficulties with malnutrition

This is another actual cause of problems with the drive. It lies in the lack of power to the USB port. The thing is that different disks have different starting and operating currents. This means only one thing: files from an external drive will be recognized, but a freeze will still occur.

It is also important to choose those ports on the machine with which there are fewer problems. So it's better to use the ports on the back of the unit. It is best to check if this is the reason or not. This may require special hubs with additional food, as well as elements that need to be connected on one side to the USB ports of the gadget, and on the other side to the USB of the external storage medium used.

In such simple ways, it is possible to identify the real cause, as well as quickly fix the problems that have arisen. As a result, all brakes will be removed. Such an easy-to-implement procedure will certainly help to get rid of difficulties, if this is the reason.

The work of loaders

Another reason for the appearance of difficulties with external drives can be called torrents. A huge number of users prefer to work with hard drives, which are connected separately in order to load a huge amount of information on them. Thus, the computer will not be heavily loaded, since it RAM will not be overloaded with files.

But if you load objects of a sufficiently large size, then this leads to difficulties in working with storage media. Many users use external hard drives to directly upload files to them. However, the download speed can be significantly reduced if the disk is suddenly overloaded.

At the same time, a new notification will immediately appear on the gadget’s screen, in which users will learn about the overload. To avoid this error, you need to correctly configure the torrent download software. In this case, the work of the disk itself will also be adjusted.

The elimination of errors is facilitated by limiting the number of simultaneously downloaded torrents. So users should not download more than two files at once, even if the size of such objects is not too large. Reduced disk load has a positive effect on download speed.

You should also install sequential download. After installing one file, the download of the next object will immediately be activated. The user needs to configure the program only in this way. In the future, this will make it possible not to encounter various errors due to such banal reasons.

Difficulties due to media damage

The reason in some cases lies precisely in this. In this case, users need to urgently take measures to "save" the information that is stored on this drive. But first you have to check if this is true or not?

If suddenly the user notices that the connected disk makes strange sounds during operation, then this should be urgently paid attention to. In this case, various noises may appear. This happens at the time of an attempt to read data from this object.

You can also understand that damage has occurred if suddenly, when accessing the disk, the gadget starts to freeze. In this case, the device does not have to be heavily loaded with third-party processes. Users can check other aspects as much as they like, but they will not detect errors in them, since the problem is most likely related to the inoperability of the drive.

If the disk LED is off or the operating system cannot detect it, then this is also a consequence of media damage. External HDD can be accidentally hit, dropped. In this case, the user may not pay attention to this, but the disk will already be faulty.