Please help?.... I/O device error

[mimmi]

HI, I'm unable to access my 3rd hard drive on the computer....it says "the request can not be perform because of an I/O device error"....it say this when I'm trying to open DRV3 icon on the desk top....also say the same when I open up "my computer" and try to access it there....any help will be really appreciated....I want to get my things back on the hard drive if it's still possible, if I have to reformat the drive, is it possible?....and what is I/O anyway? ....lol, i"m laughing at myself ....thanks in advance if anybody can help me with this ....

[abcd99]

Looks like the hard drive is either defective or permanently damaged. Does any strange clicking sound happen lately? If not, try to turn off the computer for one full day. Hopefully the hard drive is only overheated and has minor damage.

[mimmi]

Thanks abcd99 for your suggestion....no, there wasn't any strange sound coming off the computer lately....so I"m gonna turn it off completely for a full whole day and see what happen, since this computer is been running ever since I bought it last January lol, never turned off....ok I'll close it down as soon as I'm done down loading Yi San .... and thanks again ....

[abcd99]

No problem. BTW, make sure your hard drive gets enough cooling (from air) during the downtime.

Once you're done with your downtime, download Hard Disk Sentinel (Standard version):
http://www.hdsentinel.com/

Install it and let it detect the health of your hard drive. If the meter is low (red or yellow color), your hard disk is mostly a goner.