14 February 2011
Sooner or later, almost every computer will experience hard drive failure in some way, shape or form. Like any other item of hardware which has moving parts, a hard drive used long enough will eventually fail. But before a hard drive gets irreparably damaged and the data irrevocably lost, there are ominous tell-tale signs signaling its demise. If you are able to recognise these symptoms early on, chances are the data on the failing drive can be saved or, even better, you will have ample time to back up important data.
If you suspect your hard drive is failing, back up critical data or replace the drive early on
So while working on your computer, try to be alert for any of these warning signs:
- The drive disappears from the operating system
- Files suddenly disappear
- You have to wait very long while accessing files
- Contents of files and folders are scrambled
- Error messages recur while moving, copying, deleting or creating files
- Strange and frequent crashing of your operating system (blue screen of death)
- sounds coming from the drive (either loud, low, irregular, clicking or grinding)
If you have determined that your hard drive is failing based on the above signs, shut off the computer as soon as possible. Chances of effecting additional damage to the drive is significantly decreased with the computer shut down. If the hard drive is physically damaged, it may be that it can no longer be fixed but some, if not all of the data can be retrieved before the drive dies completely.
There are actually a number of programs which offer disk diagnostics to help you detect early signs of hard drive failure. Smart Utility, for instance, can identify a failing and yet technically functional hard drive. It will alert you of your drive’s impending demise even if nothing seems wrong. And if you are thus alerted, you can back up critical data or replace the drive early on. In so doing, you save yourself literally a fortune in data recovery costs.
