Hard Drive Failure – How Does One Deal With It?
Hard drive failure is one thing that a computer owner or user will have to face. Because of its mechanical nature, it’s bound to just stop working one day, and it’s just a matter of when. No matter how long your hard drive has been in use, you can never rule out the possibility that it can one day just quit on you. To prolong the life of your hard drive, it’s important to know what causes the failure, recognize the symptoms of a failing drive, and what you can do to help prevent it.
A hard drive that’s been making ticking and grinding noises for a few days now is a likely candidate for failure. When you add strange noises to that mechanical clicking, you can be sure trouble is quite near your digital paradise. If you haven’t done any backup of the data stored in your computer yet, there’s no time to waste. Backup your files immediately. And if your OS is also located in that drive, it would be a good idea to transfer it to another location to prevent it from crashing as well.
But whatever you do, do not attempt to fix the problem yourself. Some people think they might be able to correct whatever is wrong if they just open the drive up. This is especially true for new drives, which people cannot imagine are failing already. But the second you open that hard drive, you have taken the situation from bad to much, much worse. Assembled in clean rooms, hard drives are susceptible to damage from even the tiniest microscopic particles. Opening the case is just asking to completely ruin the drive.
If you backup your files on a regular basis, then a failed hard drive may not really be a big issue. A common method of backing up data is through the use of online backup services like MozyHome backup. All you have to do is replace the drive and put all data back on. In cases where no data back up was made, there are several remedies. Some specialists may be able to help you recover all information inside your drive. Just keep in mind; however, that this may not always be a very affordable process and that, this does not happen overnight. It needs a clean room, a very knowledgeable person and a set of specialized tools.
Never try any do-it-youself solutions for hard drive failure. Never freeze the drive in your refrigerator or try to repair it yourself. These quick fixes are complete myths and will likely only exacerbate the problem. If you cannot get the drive to respond at all, you may have no choice but to send it off to a professional to get the data from it. While it is not ideal, it is typically the only option. Unfortunately, that also means that the drive will be unusable again. But often even the largest price tags are a small price to pay for what is on a hard drive. Pictures and recipes and old e-mails from loved ones don’t come with a price tag. The best way to avoid these issues is to learn how to take better care of your drive.
