As they're not particularly long-lasting (most reports claim a 3 to 5 year average lifespan), you might want to occasionally ...

Check symptoms like slow loading and strange noises to identify failing drives. Use manufacturer's software like SeaTools or third-party utilities like CrystalDiskInfo to assess hard drive health.

If your hard drive is playing up on your laptop or desktop PC, see our expert guidance on how to check for errors Windows has a handy feature called CHKDSK (Check Disk) that you can use to analyse ...

TIP: USBDriveFresher is a Junk file and folder cleaner for USB Drives. You can also try to use the Show Hidden Files option to check all the hidden files that are taking up space on your hard disk.