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Hard Drives Die

What is the Hard Drive? That’s an easy one. The Hard Drive is the part of a device (be it PC, Mac, Android, IPhone, Tablet, IPad) where all of your important data is stored. Today data is everything.  Desktop, documents, downloads, music, pictures and videos to name a few examples. What we don’t realise is how much we rely on these machines and this data until it’s gone. And yes, Hard Drives do die. How do we know when a Hard Drive is dying? Some signs of a dying Hard Drive.
  • Frequent but irregular crashes, especially while booting up Windows®
  • Frequent and cryptic error messages while performing typical activities like moving files
  • Folder and file names that have been scrambled and changed
  • Disappearing files and folders
  • Really long wait times to access folders and files
  • Hard disk is silent for a long period after you request data by opening a file or folder
  • Garbled output from open files or printing
  • Hard drive grinds away constantly because of noisy bearings
Sound can also be an indicator. Noises like the sound of metal on metal, clicking and generally noises coming from inside the computer that weren’t there before. What to do. If you identify any of these symptoms please turn off your PC/Mac immediately and do not use it until you have contacted a technician such as me. Drive failure can be quick, and it doesn’t fix itself. Lastly, please backup your data. In the short space of time you have to backup or clone your Hard Drive critical data can be lost. Drive failure doesn’t take that long and it can mean total loss of data. And it’s at this point that you realise how important that data was. In closing – If you think your drive is dying, contact Jon at PC Assistance immediately.