 | Bill Emmerling operates 'the Rescue Tech' out of the Homer Cole Community Center at 3003 N. Joplin, Pittsburg. A 'CompTIA A+' and 'Network+' certified technician, Bill has serviced computers since the 1980s in a variety of environments including homes, schools, offices and retail operations for over 20 years. Bill may be reached at info@the-Rescue-Tech.com or by phone at 620-308-6448. |
Computers & Software
2012-08-02 12:22:03
Hard drive failure! What to do?
Q- The hard drive in my laptop just failed and I lost all my pictures. What happened and what can I do to avoid losing my files in the future?
A- I am sorry to hear about your devastating loss, as I know pictures are often irreplaceable.
Hard disk drives (HDD) are a collection of spinning disks on which data is stored, heads on arms which read/write your information on the disks and a circuit board that moves the data back and forth from the disks to the rest of your computer. These disks ride on very small bearings similar to the ones you might find in the wheels of our car, and like the ones on your car, they can fail, making your HDD inoperative.
Additionally, the heads float on a cushion of air as the disks spin very rapidly. If the HDD is moved while the disks are spinning and the heads are moving, it is possible that the head will 'crash' on the disk causing damage to the data on the disk and perhaps the disk itself. For those who remember the vinyl record, it is something like dropping the needle on the record, causing scratches.
Finally, the components on a circuit board might fail as well.
With all of this in mind the life of an average HDD is about 3-5 years, those in desktops sometimes lasting longer, laptops shorter. For this reason it is important to make sure you back up your data in a manner that is appropriate for your situation.
I recommend a layered approach to protecting your data.
Layer 1: If the computer is mission critical to your everyday operations, I recommend periodically making a ‘clone’ (an exact duplicate) of the HDD, so that in the event of failure, you can simply replace it with the copy and you are back up and running with minimal loss in minimum time.
Layer 2: Periodically you should backup data to a USB drive, CD/DVD, or even to the ‘cloud’ service on-line.
Layer 3: Maintain copies of data at multiple off-site locations (esp. if a business) to provide protection in the event of a fire or other catastrophic events.
