7 Effective Steps to Fix “Windows detected a hard disk problem” Error

“Windows detected a hard disk problem” error can occur for various reasons and cause catastrophic data loss at any time. This article will look at this issue to teach you how to resolve it.

Many Windows users have complained a lot about the “Windows detected a hard disk problem” error. It can result from many factors, like disk errors, virus attacks, file system corruptions and operating system problems. In addition, generally, it can directly lead to disk failure, system crash and even disastrous data loss. Thus, it is essential to resolve this error as soon as you encounter it. You can adhere to the following 7 steps to get rid of it.

1. Scan disk by antivirus software

As virus/malware attack is one of the potential causes of this issue, before taking other actions, you should try to detect and kill the viruses or malware in the first place. You must have installed antivirus software on your PC, so run it right now!

2. Back up your file right away

After scanning the disk via antivirus software and ensure that no virus exists on the disk, you can follow the suggestion of the error message to back up your disk data. Data backup will play a great role in future. For instance, if your disk fails entirely, you still can recover lost data from the backups, like to recover Outlook data from PST backups.

3. Use system file checker

Perhaps the error occurs from system file errors or corruption. Thus, you can try to fix the issue via Windows inbuilt system file checker, which can scan all system files and replace damaged file with a backup copy.

1. Firstly, open the “Start Menu”.
2. Then enter “cmd” in the search box.
3. Right click on the “cmd” program and choose “Run as administrator”.
4. In the command prompt window, type “sfc/scannow”.
5. Lastly press “Enter” key button.

4. Run CHKDSK

If error persists after system file checking, you should proceed to check your disk via another built-in tool – CHKDSK. Provided the error comes from file system problems, CHKDSK must be able to fix it.

1. Firstly, access the Command Prompt like the above tip.
2. Then type “chkdsk (drive letter): /f”, like “chkdsk c: /f”.
3. Next press “Enter” key to run CHKDSK.

5. Recur to a reliable disk repair tool

Assuming that all the above means cannot resolve the error effectively, you can also resort to a disk repair tool. There are many such tools in the today’s market. But you should ensure that the tool you select is from reliable source. Unreliable tools can cause further damage to your disk and data.

6. Seek professional disk repair support

Provided that you have no sufficient knowledge about this issue, you had better not perform DIY recovery methods at will. It’s recommended to recur to recovery professionals. You can resort to your computer manufacturer or third party disk repair support.

7. Disable disc diagnostic

Actually, sometimes, it is possible that your disk has no faults. It is the mistaken disk diagnostic of Windows. Hence, you can simply disable the disc disagnostic feature.

1. First, type “gpedit.msc” in the search box of “Start Menu”.
2. Then click on the “gpedit” program to run it.
3. Next you can select “Administrative Templates”, “System”, “Troubleshooting and Diagnostics” and then “Disk Diagnostics” in order.
4. Subsequently, click on “Disc Diagnostic: Configure execution level”.
5. After that, change the execution level to “Disable”
6. Later, hit “Apply” and “OK”.
7. Lastly restart your Windows. The error will be gone.