Hard disk error 301: how to fix it?

Unfortunately, the error 301, which at the start of the computer system fails to initialize the hard drive, the problem is quite serious, and it is for some reason found mostly on HP laptops. Of course, the appearance of this malfunction may indicate the failure of the hard drive, but in some cases the error can be eliminated without replacing the hard drive.

HP Notebook PC: Error 301. What does it mean?

So, before you start to solve the problem directly, you need to find out what its essence is.

The hard disk error 301 indicates that there are so-called broken sectors on the hard drive itself, which is why when you access them the system starts to catastrophically slow down and hang, sometimes even giving out a blue screen. But this only applies to the operating mode when the OS is already loaded.

When the OS starts, after checking the hardware in the BIOS, when it loads the components necessary for its operation, accessing the failed sectors also leads to the fact that the system can not read information from them. At first, as evidenced by the feedback of many users, you can get used to the constant appearance of messages when downloading. But after all, it is possible that error 301 will continue to prove fatal in the future, when an old hard drive will simply have to be discarded. Therefore, it must be fought with.

Causes of the failure and its consequences

But, regardless of how to fix the error 301, all owners of HP notebooks are primarily interested in the question of why the hard disk appears broken sectors.

It is impossible to answer it unequivocally. But most often this is due to errors on the hard drive, which usually appear due to the incorrect operation of the cooling system.

There are cases when the CPU temperature when trying to access the failed sectors reached about 90 degrees Celsius. It is easy to guess that if the elimination of this failure is left to itself, it can go as far as the fact that both the processor and the motherboard are out of order.

Disk check

Now directly on how to fix the hard disk error 301. The first thing in a working system is to check it for the presence of broken sectors, using for this purpose the standard system tool in the properties of the main and virtual section on the service tab. It is desirable to specify automatic error correction.

But this method may not work, so it's best to use the command console with the chkdsk command with additional parameters like / x / f / r. If this does not work properly, you can try to boot from the installation or recovery disc, and then do the same operation on the command line, called by the combination Shift + F10. In the event that the system denies access or attempts to initialize, it will be suggested to perform a check on the next OS startup. You will restart the laptop and wait until the end of the procedure.

Using the Victoria program

However, it is impossible to identify all the bad sectors. The main way to fix the problem when error code 301 appears is to, if not correct, isolate bad sectors if the hard drive starts to crumble.

At the first stage, for this, you will have to sacrifice space, about 5-15% of the total. But in fact it is required to reveal, from which sector braking begins.

To do this, use the universal program Victoria. In its results and statistics of accesses to the hard disk it will be possible to find out the exact volume that will have to be cut off so that the system will not simply address them to them in the future. By the way, you can often find feedback that the error is more related to virtual partitions, not to the system part.

Deleting and re-creating a virtual partition

Now, in order to answer the question of how to fix the hard disk error 301, the virtual partition needs to be removed, after which it must be created again, taking into account the minus the volume that the Victoria program detected.

Note that if there are failures not in the system partition, you can format the virtual disk, but to avoid losing information on the primary drive where the system is installed, this is not the case.

You can perform such operations in the disk management section, which is located in the administration (administration) menu, which is called via PCM on the computer icon. By the way, in Windows 10 it is in the "Explorer", not on the "Desktop".

After that, you need to create a new volume (a simple virtual partition), again taking into account the deduction of a previously defined space, and to initialize and activate it.

Disabling the paging file

Another method that sometimes fixes an error 301 is to disable the swap files for both the system and virtual partitions, because when the virtual memory is enabled, the system accesses the pagefile.sys file, but it can either be located in an area with bad sectors, or Reserve this area in the failed section.

To disconnect through the PCM on the computer icon, the system properties menu is called up, the transition to additional settings and the tab with the same name is performed. Here you should use the button for changing the size of the paging file, remove the check box from its automatic detection and check the deactivation line for its use. This operation is performed for each section listed in the top.

Defragmentation

Finally, when all actions are completed, so that error 301 probably did not appear again, it is necessary to defragment the system and all virtual partitions.

This operation can be performed by standard tools of Windows-systems accessed on the service tab from the disk properties section.

Provided that any program for optimization and acceleration can be used in the system, the maintenance command (defragmentation) can be integrated directly into the PCM menu of the "Explorer". I must say that the defragmenter in such utilities looks much more preferable than the built-in Windows tool. Therefore, if there is such an opportunity, it is better to give preference to optimizers (they use a slightly different principle of ordering in the system, and in particular on the hard disk).

When all the actions are completed, you can run the same Victoria utility as a control tool and perform a test. As practice shows, in 99% of cases out of 100 "cut off" bad sectors will be ignored, and the error test will not reveal.

Instead of the total

As can be seen from the above material, it is quite easy to fix the error with code 301. True, we must bear in mind that its appearance is the first bell about the fact that the hard drive began to fall and it will soon have to be changed, having copied the most important information to removable media or even another hard drive. In order not to re-install the system, you can create its image with all the data and place, for example, on an external USB HDD drive. This option looks much more efficient than copying individual files and directories to flash drives, even if it is large enough. All the same for the time it takes, it will take longer.

In case of emergency, if it does not help at all, you can use the unique HDD remagnetization program called HDD Regenerator. But for an ordinary user it will be too complicated to understand and use, in addition, the lack of a Russified interface and the work exclusively in DOS mode will complicate the process.