Although cloud storage systems are gaining ground as a place where we store part of our digital life, local storage continues to dominate, whether in internal / external hard drive or USB / SSD memory format. Barring catastrophe, one trusts that the useful life of our hard drives is high enough to not worry. But in reality, for one reason or another it is not like that.
That an internal or external hard drive (even the SSD) fails and we start to worry about how to external hard drive recovery can be possible the information are multiple. But it is in our power to take easy and simple precautions. Take note of the tips, tricks and instructions to prevent a hard drive from crashing or crashing and thereby losing valuable information.
Tips to take care of a hard drive and improve its useful life
Classic hard disk, USB memory or SSD, the appearance of these units sometimes transmit to us that they are immune to everything that happens to them. But it’s not like that. The useful life of a hard disk is not eternal, but we can take into account a series of actions and cares that will help us keep a hard disk in good condition, whether it is our computer or any external model.
Here we refer first of all to the hard disk but we should not limit ourselves only to this element. A common failure in hard drives has to do with power, so we should ensure the quality and suitability of the power supply of our desktop computer.
It is also necessary to prevent power outages from causing hard disk failures, and for this there is nothing better than protection strips or better, UPSs that perform a key task to keep the hard disk in good condition.
If we are working with a tower-type desktop computer, taking care of where and how the hard disk is placed will not take time. Mechanics should adopt a horizontal position, which are well anchored and protected against vibrations. If we can also prevent it from being very surrounded by other elements or cables that impair its ventilation and cause it to work at a higher temperature than adequate, much better.
The cleaning of the components is key and in a mechanical hard disk it is perhaps even more so, so try not to accumulate dust or foreign elements. And don’t forget that static electricity is one of the natural enemies of electronic components.
As in the case of internal hard drives, in external drives we must make sure that the cables are in good condition and correctly connected. And also avoid falls, more common since they are usually placed on the table or shelves, as well as placing it in places that at certain times can offer extreme temperature conditions.
Taking care of the hard drive to avoid failure includes not only physical tasks but also at the software level. The most immediate is defragmentation, available to all users through the tool that Windows includes, and which can not only improve the performance of the computer but also reduce the accumulation of elements that facilitate some failures that can cause us to not be able to access information on a hard drive.
Do not forget to enable modes on your computer that put the hard drive to sleep when it is not being used so that we can scratch the life of its most delicate components while saving energy.
Know the Status of your Disk and Anticipate Failure
In addition to the care / maintenance of the hard drive, most of the current hard drives let us know its status in a simple way to anticipate a possible failure. If we are able to detect it, we can start a recovery process or make a new backup if we have not done it in a while.
Hard drives have for years included the so-called S.M.A.R.T. With it, the hard drives themselves have the tools and information necessary to monitor themselves in search of possible errors of different kinds. These errors can be corrected themselves or notify the user so that he can take the necessary measures.
In our case, we are going to take advantage of that information that S.M.A.R.T. provides us with programs such as Crystal Disk Info to track the status of the hard disk. This free application gives us various information on the status of the hard drive, including data on the temperature of the hard drive, hours of operation … The best thing is the simple color code with which to know the status of the hard drive in every moment. It is not necessary to be looking at it all the time but from time to time. The moment it goes into risk mode and there is the possibility of upcoming problems, we can start or accelerate the solutions that we have.
Think about where you keep the most Valuable Data
Given the many options that exist today to have our most valuable information stored physically and offline, there is a general recommendation that you should take into account: do not save the information in one place or anywhere.
Since hard drives tend to suffer a lot from drops, shocks and vibrations, especially if that hard drive is currently in operation, you should have the most valuable information on computers that you travel little. If you do it on a computer, it is better that it is on the desktop rather than on the laptop, which will be more often in motion and of course more exposed to a fall, vibrations or accidents.
If we prefer to use external solutions, it is better to have backup copies on NAS or desktop disks than on external portable ones. If despite everything you need to move valuable information often, do not forget that there are external solutions specially designed to withstand falls, shocks, high temperatures or even water.