Causes Of Hard Disk Failure And How You Can Prepare For It
It is a sad fact of life that all hard drives are destined to fail eventually, but if you learn to recognize the signs and causes of hard disk failure you can avoid losing all your data from a sudden crash. While learning to recognize a failing hard drive is important, you also need to know what you can do to prevent a sudden and catastrophic failure. While most drives will simply wear out over time, some are damaged in very specific ways that can easily be avoided. Extending the life of your hard drive is far better than simply buying a new one.
The first thing to know is what exactly can cause a hard drive failure. There are any number of different specific things, but some of the more common ones are pretty easy to avoid. Many drive fail due to vibrations or physical knocks to the drive. They are delicate machinery and even the smallest bumps, such as vibrations from a loud subwoofer, can cause scratches. Extreme heat is another avoidable reason many drives fail. While most BIOS setups come with the option to shut the computer down if it gets too hot, even that may not prevent your drive from burning out. Electrical shocks may also destroy a drive. Anyone who has had lightning hit their house and shut off their power knows that a sudden jolt can destroy most electronics.
You may have heard that the key to a successful relationship is to be a good listener. Well, it’s no different for computer hard drives. If you listen carefully, it will tell you just what you need to know. There is no specific sound that a failing hard drive makes, but nearly all suspicious noises indicate a problem. If you hard drive is running happy and healthy, you shouldn’t even notice it. But when you have to start asking yourself what that clicking noise is, something is wrong. It’s time to back up your information and get a new drive.
But you can do quite a bit to keep that from happening and extend the life of your drive. Just as important as learning the causes of hard disk failure, you need to know how to care for your drive so that it lives as long as possible. Most importantly, protect your computer from the daily bumps and dings that so many go through. Keep it in a place where it will not sustain any knocks because that can easily damage the hard disk. Always make sure the temperature is low because heat can quickly damage a drive. And finally, always keep it connected to a surge protector. Never have your computer plugged directly into the wall. Even when it is turned off, this still leaves it in danger.
It’s much easier to spend money on a new drive because you want to rather than because you have to. And you don’t have to worry about losing all your vital information in a sudden crash if you take care of your drive. By being gentle with the computer and by always paying attention to the causes of hard disk failure, you will help your drive live as long as possible and you won’t lose everything on it when it eventually does need to be replaced.
