I dropped my Dell Inspiron 15

[lizzie417]

It dropped about 9 inches (maybe a little less) onto a hardwood floor. The laptop was powered off. I turned it back on to assess any damage. It powered on and began to load but took longer than usual. When the desktop screen finally appeared my settings were gone and so were all of my programs and apps (windows 8.1). I tried to do a system restore (which failed) but my settings and programs did return. However, now even though it is quick to load initially when I turn it on, getting any of the programs to open takes well over 5 minutes and it will freeze often. From what I've read it seems it could be the hard drive is damaged? Any ideas or suggestions?

 

[InvalidError]

Use HDTune or similar tool to check the HDD's SMART status. You can also download the HDD manufacturer's diagnostic tools and see if they have anything to say.

If both have no problems to report then the HDD is most likely fine. Laptop HDDs are rated for 100+ Gs when their heads are parked, which makes them fairly difficult to damage during shipping.

 

[V1ctor89]

If HDTune detects some bad sectors due to damage, i recommend you use HDShredder. It's a zero-fill software that helps repair some o the bad sectors, if not all, and it restores the functionality of the hdd. Make sure you save any precious data, because this software wipes everything.