A Volume on the Hard Disk is Corrupted

Strange error messages, unusual sounds, a hard disk that sounds like its churning inside the computer case may all be signs of a corrupted hard disk. You may receive an error message that states: A volume on the hard disk is corrupted, file is corrupted or data is unreadable. These error messages are the computer’s way of telling you that something just isn’t right on the inside.

Maintaining the integrity of your hard disk is very important for a good working system. We sometimes just take for granted that things are going to work without us having to maintain them. Everything needs some level of maintenance; so, realistically speaking, it is not unreasonable to expect that we will have to do some routine maintenance on the computer systems that work so hard for us every day.

A hard disk problem can be serious. The hard drive is what makes everything work. The good news is that not all errors that show themselves as hard disk errors are because of a problem with the disk itself. Rather, these errors may be due to external factors, such as corrupted files or a virus, that are affecting the hard disk. These external factors will cause an error to appear, indicating that there is a problem, not with the hard disk, but because of other factors causing the disk not to work properly. Regardless of the cause of the problem, there needs to be some resolution and repair.

To remove simple errors that can be causing issues with your hard disk:

• Scan your system for viruses and remove potentially harmful files. Make sure you have an up to date, reputable anti-virus program on your system. If you do not, you should get one and use it frequently.
• Clean your disk using the disk cleanup utility.

Disk Cleanup

For Windows based programs, disk cleanup can be performed in the following way. Click Start > Programs (All Programs) > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Cleanup. For Apple users, disk cleanup is performed in basically the same way. The disk cleanup utility is located in the Applications folder under Utilities, or you can go to the Disk Utility Help menu to identify how to perform this disk cleanup.

The disk cleanup will then provide an analysis of your disk space and you can follow any additional instructions to clean each of the various categories of files. This doesn’t take long and you will notice an improvement of the performance of your system. If you so choose, you can delete files that you are no longer using by also following the prompts to delete. Be careful not to delete files if you do not know what they do, this could interrupt your system if these files are attached to your operating system.

The disk utility cleanup not only frees up space but it also automatically repairs the startup disk volume that may be having issues. This process is a multipurpose fix that can work wonders for your system function.