HDD Lifespan: How Much Left?

by Yaroslav Lyssenko

[ 02/09/2006 | 10:12 PM ]

Sad, but true is that computer components do not last forever. Even though a burnt down central processing unit (CPU) or graphics card is always an unpleasant thing to happen, nothing could compare to a broken hard disk drive (HDD). If the data had not been backed up from time to time and it could not be extracted from the broken hardware, the cost of such failure may be incomparable.

Apart from constant data back-upping, it is also good to know when your HDD is about to fail. There are a number of actions described by hddsaver.com web-site, which should help to diagnose HDD’s condition and evade the damage that could be done by a suddenly unworkable HDD.

“While there are few sure-fire signs of impending disk failure there are some warning signals that give us the hint. Watch out for: disappearing files, very long wait while accessing files, files/folders whose contents appear to be strangely scrambled, reoccuring error messages while moving/copying/deleting/creating files, and strange but frequent crashes of your OS. A telltale sign is any loud, low, irregular, clicking, or grinding sound which is emitted from the drive,” says the article.

“Programs like fsck (Linux), chkdsk (DOS), and scandisk (Windows) are not specifically designed to find hardware problems, but they are useful for identifying bad sectors which may be indicative of bigger problems,” adds the author.

• Hddsaver.com: Diagnose a Failing Hard Drive.