The first thing I'd look into is if you're still using the original hard drive. These machines are 5-7 years old and laptop hard drives usually begin to fail at 5 years. If the drive is original, check the power on hours to get an idea how heavily used it is. Original drives with higher hours are common.
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If the drive is original and has high hours, stop using the laptop and replace the drive. If you need to move your data, the easiest way to do it is to put the old drive in an external drive enclosure for data migration. You can either save it for low risk data or destroy it at that point.
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If the drive is original and has high hours, stop using the laptop and replace the drive. If you need to move your data, the easiest way to do it is to put the old drive in an external drive enclosure for data migration. You can either save it for low risk data or destroy it at that point. [https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/ThinkPad+T420+Hard+Drive+Replacement/78827|This guide covers hard drive replacement].
If the drive is newer, the first thing I'd try is running '''SFC /SCANNOW'''. You need to be an administrator to do this, but this will replace any damaged system files. If it detects bad files and can't replace them, make a backup and wipe the system so you can start over with a clean slate.
The first thing I'd look into is if you're still using the original hard drive. These machines are 5-7 years old and laptop hard drives usually begin to fail at the 5 year mark. If you're using the original hard drive, check the power on hours. If it's on the high end, it's likely a failing hard drive. If your drive is the factory original, I'd suggest you stop using the laptop, purchase a new drive and an external drive enclosure for data migration. Once you get everything you want off, wipe the drive with a tool like DBAN (if you want to) and smash it. Using the factory original drive is fine even if it's a few years old but once they start to cause problems it's time to replace the drive.
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The first thing I'd look into is if you're still using the original hard drive. These machines are 5-7 years old and laptop hard drives usually begin to fail at 5 years. If the drive is original, check the power on hours to get an idea how heavily used it is. Original drives with higher hours are common.
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If the drive is newer, the first thing I'd try is running '''SFC /SCANNOW'''. You need to be an administrator to do this, but it should repair any damaged system files. If it detects bad files and can't replace them, you will should do a wipe and reload to ensure the problem is fixed.
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If the drive is original and has high hours, stop using the laptop and replace the drive. If you need to move your data, the easiest way to do it is to put the old drive in an external drive enclosure for data migration. You can either save it for low risk data or destroy it at that point.
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If the drive is newer, the first thing I'd try is running '''SFC /SCANNOW'''. You need to be an administrator to do this, but this will replace any damaged system files. If it detects bad files and can't replace them, make a backup and wipe the system so you can start over with a clean slate.
The first thing I'd look into is if you're still using the original hard drive. These machines are 5-7 years old and laptop hard drives usually begin to fail at the 5 year mark. If you're using the original hard drive, check the power on hours. If it's on the high end, it's likely a failing hard drive. If your drive is the factory original, I'd suggest you stop using the laptop, purchase a new drive and an external drive enclosure for data migration. Once you get everything you want off, wipe the drive with a tool like DBAN (if you want to) and smash it.
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The first thing I'd look into is if you're still using the original hard drive. These machines are 5-7 years old and laptop hard drives usually begin to fail at the 5 year mark. If you're using the original hard drive, check the power on hours. If it's on the high end, it's likely a failing hard drive. If your drive is the factory original, I'd suggest you stop using the laptop, purchase a new drive and an external drive enclosure for data migration. Once you get everything you want off, wipe the drive with a tool like DBAN (if you want to) and smash it. Using the factory original drive is fine even if it's a few years old but once they start to cause problems it's time to replace the drive.
If the drive is newer, the first thing I'd try is running '''SFC /SCANNOW'''. You need to be an administrator to do this, but it should repair any damaged system files. If it detects bad files and can't replace them, you will should do a wipe and reload to ensure the problem is fixed.
The first thing I'd look into is if you're still using the original hard drive. These machines are 5-7 years old and laptop hard drives usually begin to fail at the 5 year mark. If you're using the original hard drive, check the power on hours. If it's on the high end, it's likely a failing hard drive. If your drive is the factory original, I'd suggest you stop using the laptop, purchase a new drive and an external drive enclosure for data migration. Once you get everything you want off, wipe the drive with a tool like DBAN (if you want to) and smash it.
If the drive is newer, the first thing I'd try is running '''SFC /SCANNOW'''. You need to be an administrator to do this, but it should repair any damaged system files. If it detects bad files and can't replace them, you will should do a wipe and reload to ensure the problem is fixed.