All our documents, photos, audio files, videos and personal information will be stored on a computer’s hard drive, which is why you can feel so many emotions when a hard drive starts to fail. Unless you have backed up your files, there is a potential you could lose a significant amount of data. If you are concerned about the health of a hard drive, or want to spot a failure to ensure you can swiftly act, here are 4 signs to look out for…
- An Old Hard Drive
A computer’s age will determine its health, which means your data will become more vulnerable with each passing year. The average hard drive has a lifespan between five to ten years, but the rate can vary depending on the hard drive model and your computer’s manufacturer.
Environmental factors may also determine the hard drive’s lifetime, because they can become affected by changes in motion, humidity and temperature. Unfortunately, an ageing drive could pose a significant risk to your data, so it is essential to backup files as soon as possible.
2. Slow Performance
A slow performing computer is one of the biggest signs of hard drive failure. Not only can the speed dramatically reduce, but your computer may regularly freeze or experience a blue screen. As soon as this starts to happen, ensure you have all the files you need backed up onsite, offsite but local and on a cloud based system.
3. Corrupted Files
A computer may provide a warning stating a file has been corrupted after saving, which could be a sign your computer is facing hard drive failure. As soon as you spot the warning sign, you must take the necessary steps to back up your data. One advantage of hard drive failure caused by a data corruption is that you may have the time to identify the problem, so you can act to prevent the loss of critical data.
4. Unusual Sounds
One of the first signs of hard drive failure could be a repetitive clicking sound from the drive. The noise has been coined “the click of death” by many data recovery experts, because it is only a matter of time until the computer comes to the end of its life. The noise occurs when the hard drive head attempts to write data and recover any errors. However, if you hear more of a grinding, screeching sound, the noise could be due to an issue with the computer’s bearings or the internal motor.
It is vital a company addresses any hard drive failure signs as soon as possible; otherwise, you could lose valuable data that could help your company grow, and you may even face legal consequences for the loss of employee and customer information. If a hard drive sadly suffers a failure, you should contact an experienced data recovery company for effective data retrieval services so you can continue running your business.
