The hard drive may be one of the weakest components of a computer; coincidently it’s also one of the most important. Your data is stored in this electronic brain and it is extremely important that you take good care of it – failure to do so may result in the failure of the hard drive! We’ll talk about some tips that can increase the life of your hard drive and avoid the most common issues associated with hard drive failure.
Drive Defragment – Here is an easy one, defrag your drive regularly. The longer your hard drive runs, the more fragmented files – this causes more physical stress to the internal components. When you defragment a drive, it moves your files sectors into a more organized structure which decreases the load required in retrieving bits of a file resulting in higher performance. Try scheduling a time each month to defrag your disk and use other tools like Windows free “Disk Cleanup” which can help lighten your drive weight.
Control Heat & Vibration – While newer computers now have good fan & ventilation features, heat can still build up when a computer is stored in a closed compartment (i.e. a desk drawer or on a padded rug). Heat can be a hard drive’s worst enemy, be sure that all vents of the computer are unblocked so that your computer can breathe. Also watch for vibrations (i.e. large copy/fax machine) which can throw off the delicate internal mechanisms of a drive. Storing a computer on a hard surface at a good room temperate should be your priority in assuring 100% ventilation and reducing heat buildup.
Proper Shut Down – This is a no brainer, but you should also be careful of a proper shut down of your operating system. Killing the power to your computer without a proper shutdown of the operating system can be damaging.
The above are just a few simple but important maintenance suggestions in assuring a healthy hard drive life. If you do need assistance with a damaged / failed hard drive causing in loss of data, please be sure to speak with our data recovery specialists at Cyber Electronics.