What Are the Likely Results of a Hard Disk Crash?

Though modern disk drives are more resilient than their predecessors and are expected to last longer, they too crash, for the life span of any media is finite.

A Hard Disk Crash - Cause and Identification

Hard disks fail due to logical or physical reasons. File system corruption, virus attacks, accidental deletion of files and electro static discharge can be categorised as logical failure of the drive. Logical failures get indicated when the drive is recognised by the BIOS but it does not boot. Recovering data from the logical failure of a drive is comparatively easy and can be attempted by downloading the data recovery software.

Physical failure of the drive can be indicated by the system BIOS not detecting the presence of a hard drive. Physical failure can either occur due to the mechanical or electronic failure of the hard disk. Mechanical failures occur due to component failure, while electronic failure occurs due to the failure of the circuit board. The computer interfaces the hard disk at the circuit board and its failure results in data loss. Electrical failure can occur unexpectedly at any time and it either occurs due to faulty components or electro static discharge.

Physical problems of the hard disk are indicated by:

Peculiar noises that emerge from the hard disk drive

Crashed hard disks might also become dead silent

The pc might restart on its own

The BIOS may not recognise or access the disk

The hard disk might also show a boot failure and indicate that the boot records have to be updated.

Hard disk crashes occur due to varied reasons. It can be a power surge, software corruption or other hardware failure of the system that has caused the crash. Natural calamities (though rare) lead to a failure of the maximum number of computers simultaneously, while human error accounts for the maximum number of data loss situations.

After a hard disk crash, the prime fear of any computer user is that of losing valuable data. Quite frequently, the data contained in the disk is much more valuable than the monetary cost of the computer. However, the vast innovative strides in data recovery industry are making it possible to recover inaccessible data from crashed hard disks.

Recovering Data from Crashed Hard Disks

Data from crashed hard disks can either be recovered using the data recovery software or soliciting the services of data recovery professionals. At times, wrong handling by the computer user might damage data permanently.

A few precautionary measures by the user prevent permanent data damage.

Hard disks should never be opened, to retrieve data.

Data recovery software should not be used in event of a head crash

No new software should be installed on the damaged drive

Panic reactions like hitting, shaking or dropping the system should be avoided

These precautionary moves will enable recovery work; however, it is better to prevent data loss situations rather than searching for a recovery expert. Though we cannot prevent a hard disk crash, we can prevent data loss scenarios by creating a regular backup for all the generated data.

Computerised offices usually lack hard copy versions of their data. Even if they have a hard copy backup, it is not an effective protection against data loss due to natural disasters. For adequate data protection

Important data should be identified

A backup must be created on a regular basis

These reliable backup devices should be placed off-site to be really effective

Creating a data backup every night is highly recommended. Encrypting the information enhances the security of it. The right backup media should be selected according to each individual requirement. Though tape drives have been traditionally in use, the optical disks are fast turning the most favoured data storage devices as they have a long life and enable random data access.

As hard disks crash, usually due to events beyond our control, it is necessary that we protect the digital data we generate by creating adequate backup. In the absence of data backup, the crashed hard disks can be retrieved from the computer and shipped to the data recovery experts.

Data Recovery Articles: http://www.internetionalmedia.com/Category/Data Recovery/

James Walsh is a freelance writer and copy editor. For more information on computer crime and Computer Forensics see www.fieldsassociates.co.uk

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