A year and a half ago, I upgraded my main drive from an HDD to an SSD, and I used the old HDD as a secondary storage drive. Unfortunately, it just died and has been causing issues I didn't realize. Now, when I start my computer, my desktop is completely empty except for the recycle bin. Every time I open file explorer or try to add anything to my desktop, I get the same error message saying my desktop location is unavailable. I took the HDD to a repair shop and was told it's likely done for, with recovery costs way too high. I've accepted that my data is probably gone, but I need help fixing these constant errors and restoring functionality to my desktop. Any advice would be appreciated!
2 Answers
If you're unable to create new folders or shortcuts without getting that error, it’s likely because your system is still trying to pull data from the HDD. After you disconnect the old HDD, you might want to look for any desktop configurations that still reference that drive and remove them. You can also create a new user profile temporarily to see if that fixes the issues you're experiencing. If so, you can transfer your personal files to the new profile as a workaround. Good luck!
It sounds frustrating to be dealing with those error messages! Since your HDD has failed, the first thing you should do is remove it from your system. Once it's disconnected, check if your desktop and file explorer behave normally. If they do, then you know the issue was the HDD. You might also want to navigate to your desktop settings and ensure it's not still trying to access the old HDD for any shortcuts. Going forward, consider setting up cloud backups or external drives to prevent data loss. Hope that helps!
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