Hdd shortage: Hardware Shortages in 2022 and Why They Are Going to Continue into 2023 and 2024 – NAS Compares

Hardware Shortages in 2022 and Why They Are Going to Continue into 2023 and 2024 – NAS Compares

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Why are there Hardware Shortages in HDDs, SSDs, NAS, DAS and more

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The Aftermath of the Global Pandemic on the Supply Chain

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The Impact of Adverse Environmental Changes on Production

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Repeated and Unpredictably Release Date Changes

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Social & Political Factors that are resulting in Hardware Shortagesand Logistics Barriers

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How Long Will Hardware Shortages Last?

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Why are there Hardware Shortages in HDDs, SSDs, NAS, DAS and more

If you have been trying to purchase any kind of hardware in the last 12 months, then you will be acutely aware that there have been reported shortages in practically all kinds of business and commercial technology. Indeed, for many this has felt like the case for the better part of the last two years or so, and although it would be so, so easy to place blame on the pandemic, the sad reality is that there are numerous global factors right now that are causing technology hardware shortages to reach this critical degree. Today I want to discuss each one of the main reasons that have resulted in us being unable to find or afford the hardware we so desperately want in 2022, as well as why this is likely to continue well into 2023 and 2024.

Note, I wrote an article on this subject back in April 2021, which you can find here, and although several of the factors covered in it still continue to be long-standing issues in 2023, there are several new hurdles (social, environmental and political) that have arisen since then to exacerbate the situation. I have tried to avoid being too repetitious on this update on hardware shortages since my last video here, so if you think I have missed something, it might well be covered there.

The Aftermath of the Global Pandemic on the Supply Chain

We Need it Now, Yesterday, Tomorrow, Not at all!

Yes, I did say that there was more to these shortages than the global pandemic, however, we still need to acknowledge that this is still a HUGE factor in what has caused hardware shortages worldwide. Although the peak of the pandemic for most regions has passed, changing work patterns, buying habits and available budget afforded by most users in the last 24 months have left the routine of most hardware manufacturers and their production schedules in tremendous disarray. First, there was confusion over which hardware needed to be mass-produced at the production lines (predominantly in the east of the world) that had to suddenly adapt to rapidly changing consumer needs, no longer making bulk/larger business purchases and domestic transport procurements during lockdown and isolation periods, but now desiring home office accessories such as laptops monitors and a myriad of remote working tools. This also resulted in many companies and individuals hoarding their budgets to ‘weather the storm’, thereby further reducing the amount of hardware being purchased generally.

Source: https://www.whitehouse.gov/cea/written-materials/2021/06/17/why-the-pandemic-has-disrupted-supply-chains/

Additionally, although the bulk of the world has now returned to a relative state of normality at the manufacturing sector and production line, for the last 18 to 24 months we have observed safe working practices and reduced numbers of on-site teams which have resulted in smaller quantities of output on key components and services that are essential in the developments and creation of practically every day-to-day electronic device. People may well now be back at their desk and or workbench as they were pre-pandemic, but there is simply no way in which the shortfall in production from the last 2 years can be replaced and therefore most manufacturers are now constantly working to play catch up.

Source: https://www. whitehouse.gov/cea/written-materials/2021/06/17/why-the-pandemic-has-disrupted-supply-chains/

Then you had hardware that was already on backorder for companies that were no longer needed (postponed jobs, business closures, scaled-down requirements, etc) and would need to be reappropriated at the production level (ie dismantled) or companies take the financial hit, thereby limit further long-term spending across the supply chain. One key example of this was when the automotive industry that suddenly needed to flip-flop between needing new models out for sale, suddenly needing to reduce those orders as no one could go anywhere, to then all of a sudden finding that people would choose to spend suddenly available appropriate budgets on high value, quality of life improvements in their personal/home lives, such as upgrading their family vehicle. Such widespread changes across numerous areas of home and business buying patterns all added up to a tremendous degree of unpredictability at the point of manufacture, which still continues well into 2022. The impact of the pandemic is extremely broad and almost many companies would have to re-evaluate their release roadmaps to better introduce new releases to a more receptive audience, they could/would only be able to hold out so long before desperately needing to recoup on their investment.

The Impact of Adverse Environmental Changes on Production

Blame the Weatherman!

One tremendously overlooked factor that has significantly harmed large-scale computer component manufacture has been environmental challenges caused by natural resource depletion and the climate crisis. The impact of unexpected weather patterns interfering with predicted production has been big in number, but small in new coverage! That said, there are several examples of this in the news over the last 2 years that did manage to break into the mainstream. Reports of droughts in Taiwan, the largest world producer of semiconductors (by far the most important part of microchip production) and unexpected cold and heat weather highs in other smaller semiconductor producers in the US have ceased/bottlenecked production resulting in significantly reduced quantities being produced.

Source: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/monthly-report/global/202201

With production numbers consistently lower than forecast numbers and the value of the reduced production increasing insurmountable for some, the result is that hardware components are becoming fewer in number, more expensive and only really accessible to those who can buy in tremendous bulk. These environmental concerns and the impact of further natural disasters that range from fires caused by intense heat in rural areas to hurricanes and tsunamis have all played their part to reduce production levels. Of course, some might argue that most/all of the environmental impacts on the industry resulting from climate change are caused by these very companies themselves and, frankly, you won’t hear much argument from me on that, but nevertheless, environmental changes have had their fair share of impact and continued cause on hardware shortages right now.

Repeated and Unpredictably Release Date Changes

Coming Soon, Delayed, Cancelled, Rinse, Repeat!

Although I generally talk more about network-attached storage and data storage in general here on the blog, the rhetoric and business practices surrounding the release of new products are applicable to pretty much the ENTIRE industry right now. Some shortages in newer hardware have been caused by the brands themselves out of necessity and are the result of financial and tactical hard decisions. Many brands will refresh their available range of products every few years, producing a new hot toy that promises to be bigger and/or better than the last. Any new release will have been in production for a considerable length of time whilst its predecessor remains on sale, slowly making its way through R&D, design, production, QA and finally the build-up to release. Indeed, most brands invest a significant degree of profits from an existing series into the next big release and are relying on a healthy profit margin when it launches. The issue lies, however, when large orders for components used in a new release take longer than predicted to arrive at production and it can often be the case that a company’s capital is significantly tied up in components and hardware agreements for a product that is not ready yet. Add to that that the previously mentioned changes in buyer hardware needs and budgets, and what we find is many brands have stock levels of old or existing product ranges that are simply too high in quantity to risk releasing a follower product that will instantly devalue their existing stock as it will be deemed obsolete.

The byproduct of this is that the 2019 and 2020 series of many products in the tech sector have remained on the market considerably longer than they may have previously planned, as brands need that existing stock to sell and free up some of that allocated capital. Until this is done, many brands will resist releasing those new and improved products which may well be limited in quantity already if efforts to avoid creating a negative cash flow across their portfolio and ultimately dissatisfied consumers. Indeed, some brands reached breaking point and have been forced to make the rather complicated decision for regional releases, which means that some new products in the tech industry are only available in some regions of the world right now and will not become globally available until those stock levels are at a lower level. This is a risky move as it is no longer the 1980s and thanks to the internet. If a product is released in China or Japan, only, the world still knows about it and even these limited releases will have a tremendous impact on the global perspective of the current generation of hardware.

Social & Political Factors that are resulting in Hardware Shortagesand Logistics Barriers

War, What is it Good for?

I think it would be something of an understatement to say that politically, things have been rather volatile these last few years. The impact of major global conflict and international economical differences of opinion have led to the worldwide transit of goods and materials to be incredibly complicated. Although we could point at any number of small-scale instances of disagreement between countries and nations, two particular instances stand out above all others.

Source: https://www.piie.com/research/piie-charts/us-china-trade-war-tariffs-date-chart

The first is the ever-evolving US-China trade war that was kicked off in earnest way back in 2019 (and was already trading blows before then) centred around security, human rights and threats of economic sanctions. Several journals have covered the key events in the US-China trade war (linked below), but in terms of hardware shortages, the result has been that many areas that produce necessary components such as semiconductors and storage components have had their distribution hugely reduced for reasons of political point-scoring, or restrictions on their sale outside of their points of origin for reasons of security across many areas of the globe. Although this trade war is now in the slow and diplomatic process of resolution, it is still very much a current factor in why some hardware remains particularly scarce. Additionally, many high-profile brands are stockpiling core components needed in the production of their products and this too has caused increased bottlenecking of key hardware resources to be made available generally. Although actions by Huawei are often sighted as the catalyst of this trade war (after breaches in security and data access were recognized and considered the ‘last straw’), this has been a building tension for many years and these two global superpowers butting heads is being felt by consumers now more than ever.

If you want to read a blow-by-blow account of the US-China Trade War, I STRONGLY recommend the BBCs updated coverage feed on this HERE

Alternatively, if you prefer a more listed timeline, WiKi has you covered HERE

Source: https://www.aljazeera. com/news/2022/3/17/the-rising-cost-of-the-war-for-russians-daily-life

The second and much, MUCH more ‘current’ clash is the ongoing Russia – Ukraine conflict and how it has affected the price and availability of several key materials needed for logistics and manufacture (as well as basic/domestic resources too of course). First, there is the production and distribution of Neon, an important component in microchip production with the Ukraine at one point estimated to produce between 45% and 55% of the world’s supply. Restrictions on transit and complete isolation of areas of Ukraine as the conflict worsens have led to reduced quantities of neon worldwide and in turn, its impact on reduced production of these key computer components once again. On top of this, there is the fuel and energy crisis caused by Russia’s position as one of the largest fuel providers in the world. Russia has been supplying about a quarter of the oil EU countries import. That is about 2.2 million barrels per day of crude oil and 1. 2 million barrels of oil products. According to the Carnegie Endowment, a US think tank, this has been earning Russia more than $1bn (£800m) a day. The EU plans to ban Russian oil imports arriving by sea by the end of this year. This would cut EU nations’ oil imports from Russia by two-thirds. New sanctions against President Putin’s “war machine” could cut the amount of oil it buys from Russia by 90%. Although the impact of this is not immediately clear on hardware production, it has significantly impacted global logistics for road and air freight, which need to factor in both the cost and availability of fuel to move goods. Add to this the difficulties in logistic routes through these areas of Europe and the continued conflict between Ukraine and Russia forcing countries to pick a side (and therefore becoming enveloped in sanctions) is yet another reason why there is a stranglehold on the availability of much electronic hardware globally.

Source – https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/oil-hit-100-strong-demand-russia-ukraine-crisis-strategists-2022-02-04/

It is also worth remembering that as the Russia – Ukraine conflict continues (almost 4 months now at time of writing), many top-tier electronics and software companies have left Russia and suspended their services, with only Google currently remaining (trying to balance their financial and ethical relationship with the country with regard to information services), but this has no doubt spurred Russian controlled/influenced companies with control of key resources and components to be equally reluctant to share!

How Long Will Hardware Shortages Last?

Things are going to get worse before they get better!

So as you can see, hardware shortages worldwide are more than just the byproduct of an extended pandemic and in fact comprise many different global factors right now. Solving any single one will only somewhat alleviate the continued difficulties faced by hardware manufacturers to return to a relative sense of normality in their stock and release patterns. Add to this that each of these contributing factors discussed and the impact on hardware shortages is by no means a small-scale difficulty and we will almost certainly see hardware shortages continue well into 2023 and likely 2024. For the most part, it may well be the case that consumers and businesses alike are going to have to change their expectations on hardware availability and, sadly, likely be forced to embrace substantial price increases on even the most lower-tier domestic hardware. As always, I will keep an eye on things and hopefully, next time I write about hardware shortages it won’t be so bloody depressing. Thanks for reading. Now go and have a bit of a lie-down.

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2022-08-01

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Hardware Shortages in 2023 and Why They Are Going to Continue into 2023 and 2024

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NAS, Hard Drive & SSD Shortages in 2021 – WHY, HOW, WHERE and WHEN? – NAS Compares

Why Are there Hardware Shortages and Price Increases in Hard Drives, SSD and NAS?

Where has all the stock gone and why is everything suddenly more expensive? This is the question that lots of users who are are getting ready to purchase or upgrade their data storage solutions in 2021 are asking. From hard drives to SSD, from NAS to DAS, availability and lead times on even arguably mundane areas of storage have begun to thin out considerably, whilst the price tag on most of this hardware has started to noticeably rise. It would be remarkably easy to just point a finger at the pandemic and say that’s why it’s happening and indeed the global pandemic that still continues to varying degrees has played a part, but there are other key reasons for hardware shortages in storage technology right now. These range from environmental to economical, and even social-political reasons too, all of which are now being felt by the consumer in a big, BIG way. So today I wanted to go through each of the biggest impacting reasons for these hardware and chip-centered shortages and why we are going to continue to feel this pinch until 2022 and maybe 2023.

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Constant Changes in Demand and the Manufacturing Sector Having to Keep Up

As mentioned, of course, the pandemic played a part in why there is limited hardware available right now. Changes in safe working practices globally have resulted in delays at the manufacture and production level. However, the pandemic’s effect on the supply chain and production tier is far more nuanced than that. Though manufacturer of key components (semiconductors, etc) is done in numerous regions, the bulk of their production is in the east and primarily Taiwan (which we will go into more detail regarding in a bit). Global hardware trends and requirements have changed dramatically during the pandemic and each time these trends have shifted towards alternate technology demands, the semiconductor manufacturing sector has had to suddenly shift and catch up, only for demand to change suddenly once again. These changes have been further exacerbated by regional differences in how the pandemic has been tackled, leading to further unpredictability in the manufacturing sector to ensure the right components are being produced at sufficient volume. One key example being produced by editorial sites is the shift in buying of cars/transport worldwide. Pre-pandemic, this was an enormous area of microchip and general computer component production, occupying a large degree of manufacturer quotas and commitments to create.

However, the pandemic led to huge drops in automobile purchasing (everyone staying at home!) and therefore demand for these components dropped significantly. Meanwhile, unsurprisingly, demand for home office equipment, laptops, computers, network equipment and storage dramatically increased due to remote working environments and additional equipment being required to facilitate home office setups. The manufacturing sector for these key components was simply not ready for this enormous switch in buying trends and it led to the first inconsistency in demand vs manufacturer. This inconsistency and an almost quarterly flip-flop on the kinds of semiconductors and more that were needed to be produced lead to the earliest problems in hardware shortages and very early placed a premium on the available components. Fast forward more than a year and a half and you’ll find that this unpredictability in buying and manufacturer needs has spiraled out of control, resulting in a long period of consistent manufacturing is long overdue. Meanwhile, it would also be remiss to ignore that big hardware releases from the likes of Google and Apple that have been planned on road maps years in advance, have been backed by large pre-orders of semiconductors and other hardware components in tremendous numbers. These new phones, tablets and other consumer devices still launch and the buying power of these tech giants to secure large numbers of dwindling hardware components has also left enormous delays in the supply chain for everyone else.

Chia and Storage Based Crypto Swiping All the Media

The cryptocurrency industry, yes I say industry, for many years now has been the bane of many premium hardware buyers who live outside of it (Gamers, Video Editors, Data Centers, etc). Those who have tried to buy even a moderately powered graphics card in the last few years can vouch for the issues of long lead times and incredible price gouging. Till moderately recently, the driving force behind crypto mining and cryptocurrency generation in general has been via the use of enormous GPU power and in enormous bulk. However, a comparatively new method of crypto production has appeared on the market that shift gears away from traditional GPU at its heart and I switched towards fast-performing storage as it’s its means. One of the more popular crypto right now seemingly spearheading this demand is ‘Chia‘.

Although still not fully available to all, it has already led to bulk buying and mass procurement of enterprise-level storage at the point of manufacture in the east. From comparative custom-made storage to vast pre-ordering of enterprise-level SSD to facilitate the performance required in Chia, this has severely impacted the availability of a vast amount of enterprise-level SSD, as well as enterprise hard drives and commercial SSD to a lesser degree too. Indeed, despite lessor performing media being less suitable, utilizing this comparatively consumer-grade storage media on-mass with the right hardware environment can still produce profitable results. Needless to say, this has caused a tremendous impact on hardware availability on the majority of storage media types and although this new storage targeted crypto is arguably better for the environment than the GPU heavily predecessor, it still continues to be the bane of users looking for for a reasonably priced and available storage in 2021.

Impact of the US-China Trade War on the Supply Chain

It would be remiss to not also factor in the ups and downs of the US-China trade war and its impact on hardware availability in late 2019, all the way through to 2021. With either side flinging accusations and supply chain demands at one another, this has significantly impacted the movement of hardware in the world. The ongoing reliance on the East tech sector cannot be understated and although recent moves and investment by the US government (China too) to improve in-house/on-soil production are being made, the impact of these will likely not be felt for several years yet.

Meanwhile, China’s production still hinges on worldwide demand to facilitate it, with the U.S being their biggest customer. This ongoing argument has pulled in many other countries for support and defense, resulting in supply chain blocks and tit for tat legislation being thrown around to the detriment of end-users and retail getting caught in the middle.

The Environmental Impact and Dwindling Water Supplies

Meanwhile, with all of the negative effects of a global pandemic, a new form of cryptocurrency and two global economic superpowers butting heads, there are also the almost inevitable environmental issues that have impacted in a lack of hardware availability and price increases linked to scarcity. As previously mentioned, despite China, the US and others investing more in developing key component manufacture in their own regions, the bulk of semiconductors are still developed in Taiwan. This small island has enormous global importance – and now they face droughts and associated water shortages thanks to this demand for hardware components being so vast. The production of semiconductors, along with other key components, requires a huge amount of water during their manufacturer.

Despite the fact that Taiwan is an island (i.e surrounded by water) you cannot simply run off to the ocean with a bucket. Water needs to be pumped, filtrated and cleaned to a usable standard before it can be utilized in the production of semiconductors. This tremendous demand for this component, alongside constant changes in the production line to cater these components to the end-user, has significantly drained available water resources in Taiwan, draining reservoirs and pushing existing water treatment centers to breaking point. Taiwan has invested significantly in this area and as we speak, a new water filtration and treatment center is being built there. But the advantages at manufacture will still not be present or noticeably felt until 2022 to at the earliest.

The China-Taiwan Relationship, Global Intervention and its Impact on the Supply Chain

Although the impact on Taiwanese sovereignty, independence and freedom with regard to China is not centered around the subject of semiconductors and component manufacture in Taiwan, it would be silly not to acknowledge that this has not impacted or played a part in tensions worldwide. With the recently mentioned dominance in semiconductor manufacturer, Taiwan holds a lot of political attention. The US, along with large portions of the world, supports and recognizes Taiwan as separate from China. There are numerous, historical, moral and social factors that form the basis of this support, but it would be foolish to ignore that there is also a note of economic concern in this too. Meanwhile, as far as ownership of Taiwan is concerned, China is still adamant that historically it is theirs, and has been an ongoing debate for decades. Taiwan has had a bit of a target on its back for a while (still holding its ground) and although there will always be a mix of social/economical reasons attached to this, the support of big countries in Taiwanese independence is most certainly being viewed angrily by China and this coupled with the effects of the trade war has most certainly made an impact on the supply chain, hardware availability and how end-user hardware is priced. This is not the biggest factor in this list, but it sure is not making things any better.

And there you have it, five key reasons where there are hardware shortages right now, why the prices are going up and (sadly) why we can expect this to be the case for quite a while longer! There are numerous other factors of course (expected component refreshes not arriving on time with CPUs leading to gaps in the production line, Brexit and its chaos at the borders with the EU/UK, etc), but these are negligible when compared to those listed above. Have I missed something? Is there a new crisis on the horizon you think worth touching on? Let me know below. Otherwise, if you ARE still looking for the right solution for your data storage needs and need help with narrowing it down, or looking for an alternative to something that is unavailable/price-hiked, you can always use my free advice section below. It’s manned by myself and Eddie, we respond to all inquiries, give impartial advice and it is GENUINELY free. It might take an extra day to respond to your message, but we will try our best to help you with your storage needs. Have a great week!

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Why the hard drive turns off during operation and how to fix it

Hard drive problems are an extremely serious problem associated with the risk of losing important data and information. That is why you should be extremely careful about any of its malfunctions in order to prevent their removal.

A common problem that users have is that the hard disk is disconnected during operation. Most often, this is manifested by the disappearance of the folder structure from the «My Computer» section. Let’s look at several reasons for the occurrence of such situations and try to eliminate them in an accessible way. nineOl000 contact with cable

The cable’s SATA connector is not very reliable, and therefore can lose contact even due to small vibrations. This leads to the consequences described above. nine0003

So what needs to be done so that the hard drive does not turn off? First of all, to solve this problem, you need to check the connection. A contact may have been lost when connecting to the motherboard or the drive itself. You should also pay attention to the place of connection to the power source.

Remember that the SATA cable cannot be bent more than 90 degrees, so never fold it. If you did this, then it could deteriorate and need to be replaced with a new one. nine0003

It should also be said for low-quality power supply connectors (PSU) for SATA drives, which are prone to deformation and swelling. This very often leads to poor quality contact. Winchester, of course, works, but at the same time it will be thought about, as in the case of existing bad sectors. Therefore, make sure that the connectors are in order and properly connected to the socket.

Overheating

Another extremely common cause of a wide variety of PC problems. If your hard drive completely disappears from the system, and reappears after rebooting the computer, this may indicate that it is overheating. To check the temperature, you can use special utilities, of which there are a lot today, such as HDTune, AIDA64 and others. With their help, you can find out the parameters of certain components you need. nine0003

The normal operating temperature is 30 degrees, the maximum allowable is not more than 45. If you have it higher, that is, the screw overheats, in this case, you should urgently take measures to improve the cooling system:

First, carry out preventive cleaning PC or laptop from dust and dirt.
Replace all non-working coolers with new ones.
Use more powerful cooling with a hard drive heatsink.

Power supply unit (PSU)

Its unstable operation or lack of power often leads to problems with drives and to the fact that it periodically turns off. This is usually accompanied by frequent involuntary reboots of the computer.

If you have this symptom, try changing the power supply. Why is it necessary to do this? It is likely that the whole problem is in it.

Drive failure

If all of the above did not help and the hard drive still periodically disappears, then the reason may be in itself. First of all, check it for errors and bad sectors. If they are not found, go to the next step. nine0003

HDD health. To test this, connect it to another computer. If nothing changes, then the hard drive is broken and needs to be replaced. In the situation that has arisen, the first thing to do is take care of the information that is stored on it. Try to copy it to another medium while yours is still working a little, otherwise you may lose it. Of course, experienced professionals with relevant knowledge will help you restore it if something happens, but you should not risk it.

If the hard drive fully works on another PC, then the problem may be in some other component. Pay attention to the motherboard, which affects its functioning and, in case of malfunction, can prevent it. In this case, its repair or replacement will fix everything.

Windows power settings

It also often happens that the drive turns off spontaneously when the computer is actively working. To fix this, you need to set the shutdown time value to «Never» in the Windows settings. nine0003

Instructions for changing the value on Windows 7/8/10:

Go to the Start/Control Panel/Power Options menu. You will see a window with information in which you will need to find the installed profile.
Change profile. Click «Meal Plan Setup». A full settings menu will open.
Next, click Change advanced settings.
Select the «Hard disk» section, open the «Disable hard disk via» menu and set the parameter that suits us in the «Value». To make it stop turning off, set to «0». Apply the changed settings. Thus, the problem is solved in just a few minutes. nine0010

Now you know what could be the problem if the drive periodically turns off or disappears, and how to fix it yourself without the help of third-party specialists.

This topic is discussed in more detail in this video. However, even the most advanced users, not to mention beginners, cannot always find the reason for such behavior. nine0003

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

Content of Article

Unstable Winchester Work
Standard Windows
third -party programs
Overheating
Controller compatibility
Contacts and slopes
Contacts

009 Disk fragmentation

A few more effective methods are discussed in this video
User comments

Unstable hard drive operation

If the computer freezes when connecting a built-in or external hard drive, this may indicate problems with the hard drive or other symptoms its failure.

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

Loading failures.
A blue screen appears.
A large number of bad sectors.
Low read/write speed.
Errors occur during operation.
Frequent hang of the entire system.

If at least one of the causes is present, a full check is recommended. There are many programs with which you can do this, but we will only touch on the most basic ones.

Windows Standard Tools

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

We go to «My Computer», right-click on the desired section and go to «Properties».
Next, move to the «Service» tab and click on the «Perform verification» button.
Check all available items and start the process. nine0010

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 way to diagnose a hard drive using the free Victoria or MHDD programs. They are distinguished by great functionality and are used as the main tool for getting rid of bad sectors by professional craftsmen. nine0003

If, in addition to the fact that the hard drive often freezes, works slowly, other problems are observed: constant errors in programs, drivers, 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.

Overheating

If your computer freezes due to the hard drive, it may be due to overheating. 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. nine0003

If the operating temperature of the drive is exceeded, the system starts to slow down and runs 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 the BIOS or using the additional AIDA64 utility.

For this you need:

Download the program from the official website or any other trusted source and install it on your computer. nine0010
Run it, open the «Computer / Sensors» section and go down to the «Temperatures» subsection.

The normal working temperature of the hard disk 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:

Lots of dust and dirt.
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. nine0010

First, thoroughly clean the device from clogging, removing all dust and dirt. If this does not help, then you need to check the performance of the cooler. If it does not work at all or periodically creaks, buzzes and makes other uncharacteristic sounds, then it should be cleaned and lubricated, and if necessary, completely replaced, 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. nine0003

Compatibility of the controller and hard drive

A 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 does not support the 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. nine0003

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 cables

Oxidation of contacts

If, when copying this or that information to any of the hard disk partitions, it freezes, then oxidized contacts can serve as the reason. Due to the oxide layer formed at the contact point, the current flow is disrupted and, as a result, the entire system hangs. nine0003

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

Cable

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

As a rule, with any physical malfunction of the internal mechanism of the hard drive, third-party sounds appear, 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). nine0003

In the first case, the only right decision is 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. In this case, only replacing it with a more powerful one will help. nine0003

Disk fragmentation

Another reason why the computer takes a long time to boot 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. nine0003

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

To defragment the 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:

Enter «My Computer», right-click on the disk and open its properties.
Go to the «Tools» tab and click «Defragment». nine0010
In the window that appears, you need to select local drives and select the «Analyze» item. Defragmentation should be performed if the fragmentation level is above 5-10%, at a lower level, you will not notice the desired effect from it.

To improve system performance, it is recommended to save at least 20% of free hard disk space.