Laptop no longer saving files
Q: My computer, an HP laptop, will not save anything to the disk drive. Why? It does not have a floppy. What should I do?
A: If your computer is not saving to the hard disk, you could be experiencing a hardware failure. But I’m not convinced this is the case based on your question.
The reason I say that is because if your hard drive truly failed, you most likely would not even be able to turn on, or boot, your computer. The hard drive is used for all kinds of computer activity, not just saving files.
Your issue could be caused by a hard disk that is near capacity or one that has a bad segment. In either of these cases your computer could continue to operate but you could experience errors when you attempt to save a file.
If you are running Windows XP, try going to the Start Menu, selecting All Programs, Accessories and then System Tools. There you will find a couple of disk utilities. One is Disk Cleanup and the other is Disk Defragmenter. Run each of those to see if one of them fixes the problem.
As for saving files without a floppy drive, if your laptop has a USB port, you have a couple of options. One option is to purchase a USB flash drive. These are very tiny, plug right into your USB port and can hold upwards of 2 gigabytes of data on them.
Another option is to get an external USB or Firewire hard drive. These generally sit on your desk and connect to your computer through a USB or Firewire cable. Because of their size these drives can hold as much as 350 gigabytes of data or higher.
Lastly, if you are feeling a little retro, you can actually get an external floppy drive. Again, these connect to your computer through your computer’s USB port and will set you back anywhere from $20 to $60.
This post was originally broadcast Friday, March 16, 2007 on Tech Talk with Noobie, a weekly radio show on WCBK 102.3 FM in Martinsville, Indiana. Tech Talk with Noobie airs every Friday between 11:30 a.m. and noon. If you have a question you would like Noobie to answer on the air, simply e-mail your question to .
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