All hard drives die sooner or later, but that doesn’t mean they all die at the same rate. At this time, the average lifespan of a hard drive is six years i.e. 50% of hard drives make it to the six-year mark. Sometimes an early death is the fault of the manufacturer, but more often than not, hard drives fail earlier than they should because we don’t take care of them.
For some, that might be a strange concept. Hard drives are tucked away within the computer, aren’t they? Do they really need to be “taken care of”? You’d be surprised. Let’s look at the most common causes of hard drive failure and what you can do to prevent them. Don’t want to suffer through the recovery of a dead hard drive, do you?
The quickest way to render a hard drive useless is physical trauma. Sounds obvious, I know, but hard drives are more fragile than you might expect them to be – there are several moving parts that can malfunction even at the slightest disturbance. A simple bump while the hard drive is spinning could be enough to cause a problem.
What can you do about it?
For maximum safety, never remove your hard drive(s) from the computer case once they’ve been installed. If you must take them out – and the only valid reason for doing so would be transferring to another computer case – do it lightly and quickly, and use proper equipment.
Similarly, don’t move or shake or jostle your computer case while it is on. Keep it in a safe location where accidental kicks and knocks are minimized.
That being said, laptop hard drives are more robust than desktop hard drives and external hard drives. You don’t have to feel like you’re walking on eggshells when moving a live laptop, but do exercise caution. Again, a light bump against a desk or a wall while the disk is active could cause corruption of data.
Cause #2: Excessive Heat
Like many computer components, hard drives are built to operate within a specific range of optimal temperatures. This range will differ on a drive-by-drive basis depending on the model and manufacturer, but as long as you stay within your drive’s range, you should be good to go.
The problem is keeping it within the safe range. If you aren’t diligent about maintaining proper air flow through your computer case, heat can build up inside to temperatures far hotter than the ambient temperature of your room. Even if you feel comfortable, your computer components might not be.
What can you do about it?
First things first, you should open up your computer case (after you’ve powered off) and clean out any dust that might’ve accumulated within. Use a can of compressed air to clean out the tight nooks and crannies. Then, make sure your fans are working. They should be pulling in air from one side of the case and expelling air from the other side, i.e., circulating.
Laptops are even worse than desktops. The tiny case means dust accumulates faster, so cleaning is a higher priority. Also, be sure to always place your laptop on a hard, flat surface to minimize dust intake and maximize air circulation. Neglecting this is the