One of the biggest problems facing computer users today, besides viruses, is hardware failures – specifically Hard Drive failures. Hard drives (HD) are the one point of failure of a computer that can have the greatest impact because when a hard drive fails you can lose all of you data.
This data can include the documents – business documents, school homework and/or papers, personal tax information, etc. – photos, operating system – Windows and Apple, etc.
Losing all of the information on a hard drive because it failed and the data wasn’t backed up is one of the worst feelings. The situation is especially difficult in that most of the data kept on computer – like photos and many types of documents – can’t be replicated. For instance, in the past when you took a photo, you would get picture and a negative that could be re-developed if needed. However, with digital cameras, once that file is gone, there is no way to re-develop the photo and recover the image; it’s just gone.
First, you should always be listening to your computer and/or laptop and you should take a catalog of the sounds its moving parts makes. Sounds like the fan coming on at different speeds – a light to moderate hum – and the sound the hard drive makes as it spins up – a very light hum and depending on the type, a very light crackle as information is accessed.
Noises that are warnings:
Fan:
- A loud squeaking or squealing noise that changes throughout use.
- A grinding noise that may or may no change throughout use.
Any of these noises is a good indication that one or more of your computers fan needs to be replaced as soon as possible. Lastly, if you notice that there is no noise coming from your fans and the systems is getting very hot, it’s a good indication that you fan has failed and in needs to be replaced. Your computer needs to be shut down immediately to avoid permanent damage and not used until the issue is fixed.
Hard Drive:
- A noticeable/loud clicking noise.
- A noticeable/loud ticking noise.
- A noticeable taping noise like taping your fingernail on a surface. You may even be able to feel the taping through the case of your computer/laptop.
- A repeating loud startup whine followed by a load beep.
There are also, less noticeable, ways to identify a failing hard drive.
- Inconsistent performance.
- Random lockups.
- Frequent crashing and stop errors (Blue Screen of Death)
- Very long program startups
- Very slow Internet performance despite increases in bandwidth.
What to do next:
If you hear any of these noises coming from your hard drive, it’s a good indication that your hard drive is beginning to fail. You will need to backup all the information on your computer immediately; however, because you can’t be sure that the hard drive will be able to handle the very intensive backup process, you should backup your most important data first; data that can’t be replaced like photos, documents and finical information. Once your most important data is backed up, a full backup can be performed. Once the full backup is completed, it’s time to have the failing hard drive replaced and all of the data transferred to a new hard drive.
The data transfer during a hard drive migration can just as intense as a full backup but the process can be far more difficult. When a hard drive fails, it begins to create data errors that can’t be fixed (the cause of the less noticeable issues above) and for this reason, and the integrity of your data, it’s important to replace a failing hard drive as soon as possible.
One thing to always remember about hard drives: It’s never about if it will fail, it’s when!
Thank you for reading and stay tuned for my next post: Online Backup: What to use it for and is it a good solutions for you.
Eryk Voelker
Home Network Security
eryk@hnsecurity.com
(408) 829-4995
