April 13
In the technology industry a hard drive failure is fairly common. Under normal use hard drives rarely fail without telltale signs. Spotting the initial symptoms of a hard drive failure can often mean the difference between saving your data or losing it. Here are a few things to look out for.
The computer just seems slow.
This can be caused by a number of things. Most commonly this will mean your computer has been infected with viruses. However if your computer is a few years old, this could indicate that your hard drive has developed bad sectors. You may even notice files disappearing or becoming inexplicably corrupted.
The hard drive makes noises.
Normal noises include the fan, one or two beeps at the BIOS screen, the operating system jingle, the spinning motor of the hard drive. Abnormal noises include clicking followed by the sound of the motor spinning down or grinding or screeching.
The computer sometimes fails to detect a boot disk.
This can point to electrical issues with the hard drive. You may think everything is ok after hitting the reset button but this could mean your hard drive is about to fail.
Keep in mind here that computer problems do not always mean hard drive problems. There are many components that can go wrong, so if you notice any odd behavior it is generally a good idea to consult your local computer technician. It also doesn’t hurt to back your data up the first chance you get.
Category: data loss prevention, helpful hints
Tags: computer crash, damage, hard drive failure, symptoms
