- Home
- Hard Drives
- Hard Disk Crash Recovery
Hard Disk Crash Recovery
The best hard disk crash recovery procedure is the prevention of hard disk failure in the first place. Provided below are some prevention tips for hard disk failure.
Buy Good Quality Hard Drives
The first general tip for preventing hard drive failure is to purchase only good quality hard drives. Avoid cheap and no-name or generic hard drives as these will fail quickly and usually do not function well when they are running.
Backup Hard Disk Drives Often
Another basic tip to avoid the need for hard disk crash recovery is to always back up your hard drive. This is attainable using several different types of media such as data tapes, optical disc media, USB flash drives, or an external hard drive. With a thorough up-to-date backup of your hard drive, hard disk failure will cause no or only minimal loss of information. Verification of a proper hard drive back up is also a critically important step.
Defragment Hard Drives Often
To facilitate hard disk crash recovery, it is a good tip to defragment the hard drive often. If a hard drive is defragmented, then when failure does occur, information retrieval will be easier because defragmenting rearranges files so that they are back in order. This makes the files easier to reconstruct during a recovery situation.
Use Computer in a Dust-Free Environment
Use and house a computer in an area that is dry, away from sunlight, and clean. Avoid dusty areas as much as possible and ensure the area around the computer is clean and free of debris. Also, avoid hot areas. It is best not to use the computer in an enclosed warm area with improper ventilation.
Do Not Move Computer When it is On
Never move a computer when it is on and especially when the hard drive is in use. The movement may cause the read heads to contact the hard disk surfaces leading to physical damage to the disk and loss of data.
Virus Protection is Very Important
Hard disk crash recovery procedures are often a requirement because of viruses that find their way onto the hard disk of the computer. Therefore, a very important prevention tip for hard disk failure is to have good quality and up-to-date anti-virus software on the computer. Always ensure the virus scanning of incoming emails and any portable media (flash sticks, flash cards, optical discs, etc.) prior to downloading information to the hard drive from them.
Hard Drive Scan and Bad Sectors
When a bad sector warning appears on a hard drive scan or during normal use, it is an indication of problems with the hard drive and replacement is necessary.
Avoid Using a Damaged or Malfunctioning Hard Drive
If a hard disk drive is visibly damaged or not functioning properly, it is a good idea to stop using it. Also, avoid using hard drive recovery utilities when a hard drive is failing because this will make hard disk crash recovery more difficult.
Leave the Hard Disk Drive Repairs to a Specialist
If problems are encountered with a hard drive, then leave the hard drive disk recovery to a specialist. Attempts to repair a hard disk without the necessary expertise will likely lead to complete loss of the hard drive and information stored on it.
Hard Disk Crash Recovery End of Life
When a good quality hard drive is about 3 to 5 years old, consider replacing the drive because the hard disk is approaching the end of its trouble-free period.
Hard disk crash recovery can be a very expensive process. By following the tips presented above, information loss is preventable with very little cost.