Does your computer take too long to copy or move smaller files? Do the programs on your hard disk take longer to open? Do you keep seeing lower read/ write hard disk speed in the Task Manager? If yes, it’s time to spare some time to take a look at your hard disk’s efficiency.
If you think the reason might be duplicate files (because of the hard disk read/ write issues that arise out of low disk space, give Clone Files Checker a try. It is software that can detect duplicate files even with different names and will be a pleasant surprise!
Use Clone Files Checker to Delete Duplicates on the hard disk
Clone Files Checker adheres to Clean Software Association Guidelines
Read on as we discuss simple steps to identify the root cause and take appropriate measures.
- Hard Disk Bad Sectors
The data stored on your hard disk is located inside tiny clusters. When one or more such clusters become defective, your hard disk fails to load the data. Your operating system, installed applications fail to read data from the file, or save any data to the faulty clusters.
What Causes Bad Sectors?
- Physical Damage
Your hard disk contains physical moving parts. The read/ write heads of your hard disk may get into contact with the spinning platters, causing disruption to the magnetic coatings on the platter. There are also chances of a clash between the heads and platter of your hard disk, technically called a Head crash. When a head crash occurs, full or partial data on your hard disk may not be accessible.
For Windows 11:
- Double-click on This PC shortcut on your desktop.
- Right-click a drive you want to check for damages.
- Click the Tools tab > Check Now.
- Check the box Automatically fix file system errors.
- Click on Start.
Note: If you’re trying to check the system drive (usually, drive C:\) for errors, you’ll be prompted to schedule the disk check on the next restart. Click on Schedule disk check as Windows can’t check the disk while it’s in use.
- Frequent Power Failures & Sudden Spikes
Does your computer shut down unexpectedly due to frequent power failures? Power failures or sudden spikes in the electricity can cause the control boards to short out and platters to become physically damaged. Eventually, your hard disk may accumulate bad sectors and the quality of such clusters can increase the data read/ write performance.
You can use the same Disk Checkup utility, as explained above.
- Lack of Adequate Storage Space
Another issue that impacts your hard disk’s read/ write performance is the storage space. If your computer is running low on storage, free-up some storage by uninstalling unneeded programs, deleting duplicate files, removing temporary files, etc.
Here are a few solutions that might be helpful:
Delete Duplicate Files
Using a small but powerful program, Clone Files Checker, you can dedupe your computer and reclaim hundreds of GBs of storage occupied by unwanted duplicate file versions. The steps are as follows:
- Download Clone Files Checker.
- Install the software and then launch it.
- Click on the Add button and choose a drive/ folder you want to scan for duplicates.
- Click on Start Search.
- Once the scan is finished, select Review & Fix.
- Use the Select Duplicates button to automatically select duplicate files in each group.
- Use the Select Action button to delete the duplicate files permanently or move them to a custom folder of your choice.
Uninstall Unneeded Programs
Make room for new files by uninstalling the programs that you don’t use. You can get a list of all programs installed on your system using the Settings page.
For Windows 11:
- Click on Start, select Settings.
- In the new page, click on Apps > Apps & Features.
- One by one, uninstall the programs that you don’t use.
- Upgrade to an SSD
Solid State Drives (SSDs) are much faster than traditional Hard Disk Drives (HDDs). Upgrading to an SSD will improve the performance of your computer by at least 8-10 times. They are increasingly popular these days because they perform read/ write operations faster.
Eventually, your computer boots faster, applications load faster, files are copied/ moved faster, your applications perform the task faster, and you experience a seamless, lag-free experience.
- Inadequate Power Supply
If you’ve connected your hard disk with the DVD Caddy, USB port or any other method, chances are that the hard disk is not getting sufficient power supply required to work efficiently. You may want to use a SATA Cable to power up the hard disk and improve data retrieval and writing speed.
- Your Hard Disk is Fragmented
Disk fragmentation is a real problem when it comes to hard disks. The data on your hard disk should be ideally stored in a consolidated manner to improve the read/ write performance. Our regular activities such as creating, deleting or editing files results in fragmentation of the hard disk. A hard disk is said to be fragmented when the data is broken into pieces. Thankfully, you don’t need to buy a third-party solution. Windows is equipped with a disk defragmenter program Optimize Disks that does this job brilliantly.
For Windows 11:
- Click on Start, type Control Panel and open it from the results.
- Open up the following:
- System and Security > Administrative Tools > Defragment and optimize your drives
- In the newer window, select the partitions on your hard disk and then click on the Optimize button.
Warning: If you’re using an SSD, DO NOT defragment it. The process of defragmentation will reduce the lifespan of your SSD.