I suspect something is wrong with my hard drive because anything that tries to access it becomes unresponsive, including Command Prompt, folders, disk-wiping software, and antivirus tools. I mainly want to determine whether the drive is still functional and wipe it if possible. I am not particularly concerned about recovering the data. The drive occasionally makes clicking or grinding noises, and I use Windows. What should I try?
2 Answers
This sounds much more like a failing hard drive than malware. When every program that accesses the disk hangs, the drive itself is usually having trouble reading sectors. Clicking or grinding noises are especially concerning and can indicate mechanical failure.
Boot the computer from a Linux live USB or another independent recovery environment and check the drive's SMART health information. You may also be able to view SMART status in the firmware settings. If the drive is still readable, make an image as soon as possible; tools such as ddrescue are better than ordinary copying for a failing disk. Avoid repeatedly trying to wipe it if the drive is making unusual noises.
I have Windows, and the drive does occasionally click or grind. I do not need the data, so I am mostly trying to find out whether the disk itself is still usable.
I mainly care about whether the drive can still be used, not recovering the files. Would testing it confirm the exact problem?