Go to Control Panel and open up your hard drive by double clicking on it. Then inside the window that opened, right click once and select properties. Then select tools and click on scan disk, or error checking. They mean the same thing. You will need to reboot and then the check will start.
SCANDISK
ScanDisk Utility
Microsoft Scandisk is a computer tool that is used to scan a hard drive for errors. Utilization of the tool has the potential of speeding up an individual's computer.
Scandisk is a utility program that checks and repairs file system errors on a computer's hard drive. It scans the disk's file structure, looking for errors such as bad sectors, lost clusters, and cross-linked files.
When it becomes necessary to recover a dead hard drive, one can turn to the techradar website which has easy to follow steps which outline the process to recover the hard drive.
ScanDisk checks for and repairs errors on the hard drive in Windows-based computers. The CHKDSK of today is different than the version from the MS-DOS days, which was similar but is now mostly used for NT and XP systems.
Scandisk is a Microsoft utility that checks and makes corrections on the hard disk drive. It was first available in the Windows 98 operating system.
Most likely the hard drive is damaged and you'll need a new one. There should be proprietary hard drive diagnostics available since scandisk is not a good tool for hardware diagnostics.
Run Scandisk that will fix some of the bad sectors or files. Then run defrag, that will get rid of the spaces between data and make it run faster. If those two progams don't do it then you probably need a new hard drive.
The maintenance tasks for hard drive deal more with optimising its storage than cleaning. The preventive maintenance tasks for a hard drive involve the following:Back-up the dataRun diagnostics like Scandisk and manufacturers' diagnostic tools.Defragment the drive;Disk Defragmenter ->> right clicking the drive in Windows Explorer and selecting Properties, then Tools
ScanDisk is a fake defragmenter and system optimization tool. It means that your computer is infected. And yes, this fake program actually states that your hard drive is missing. Do not fall victim to this scam. You should scan your computer with some sort ot anti-malware software. I recommend Malwarebytes Anti-malware, SUPERAntispyware or Hitman Pro.
How many gigabytes you can download on to your computer matter only how much free space is on your hard drive. For windows xp and below go follow these steps. My Computer - Right Click on your Hard drive- Properties- Then you see how much free space you have. For Vista if you go under my computer and you can look at your hard drive and it will show you.