Why did my hard drive crash?
As a field service technician, I am often asked “what caused my hard drive to fail?” To add to the confusion, when we think of the word “hard drive” we think: consumer durables like our cars and washing machines that can last a long time. So naturally, something called a hard drive, in our minds, should also last a long time and you should never experience a hard drive crash. What is really unreasonable is replacing a fairly new drive that has failed. But sadly, the number one question from customers is often, “What happens to all my photos and information?” And when I ask them if they’ve backed up their hard drive, all too often I get a blank, ghastly look. It was all gone and could have been prevented with a backup plan.
What causes failure? Can it be prevented?
It’s the old saying: there are two types of hard drives, those that haven’t failed and those that have.
It almost goes without saying that viruses and malware can attack and ultimately wreck your hard drive, so make sure you have good antivirus and antimalware software on your computer to recognize threats early and work to keep you safe on the go. network. Look for products that can let you know when enhancements/updates are available so you can always have the latest threat deterrents.
In the process of handling literally billions of bits of information electronically every second that it is powered on, it is easy for a hard drive to be interrupted by even the smallest external electrical influences such as your cell phone, some speakers, magnets, and also fluctuations in power. the power supply of your utility but of course sudden power spikes and complete outages. USBs, computing jargon for uninterruptible power supplies, provide a continuous, “clean” power source for your computer. Even little ones can start their computer shutdown procedures in a power outage to help prevent hard drive and other power outage problems that computers can have.
Finally, one of the many ways your hard drive can get damaged is simply through wear and tear, fatigue, and accidents. Liquids getting into the drive, accidental dropping of a computer, etc. can damage the hard drive. The fix for this is simple, be careful with your machine when moving and setting it up, and make a rule about drinks near it, try not to! At least have a lid on your drink and when using a laptop keep your drink as far away as possible to avoid oopsies!
Most of these are really easy common sense maintenance for these little metal disks that spin over seven thousand five hundred times a second! And storing virtually all of humanity’s knowledge in the palm of your hand! However, sometimes they fail for no particular reason, so make sure you have some kind of hard drive backup preparation beforehand.