Understanding a Hard Disk Crash

The most important part of a computer is its memory or data stored in the hard disk.

Hard Disk

A hard disk is the soul fitted in the body of a computer. All the data in the computer is saved in it and without a hard disk a computer is nothing more than a casing. This digital recording device is based on a very reliable technology which has been developed and made better over the years.

It allows for data to be deleted, created, replaced, and modified by the operating system innumerably. Also, they have huge memories ranging from 80 GB to 240 GB in normally available hard discs. Hard discs are based on sequential access technology. This user friendly feature makes it possible for the operating system to gain instant access to any information randomly.

Hard disc is really a set of stacked up discs just like phonograph records which have data recorded on them in concentric circles (tracks) electromagnetically. A fixed head records (writes) and reads the information on these concentric tracks. Two heads suspended just a hair breadth above each side of the disc read and write the data as the discs spin with great speed.

Hard Disk Crash

Known for their ease and efficiency, hard disks, like other devices are prone to having problems leading to damage or loss of data .These can be grouped under three main headings. They are user errors, software problems or hardware problems. The hardware problems in the hard disk are related to physical damage to its various components. One of the most dreaded of these errors is the hard drive crash.

This happens when the closely suspended read\write head becomes loose and crashes on the rapidly spinning platter. This platter is the recording surface on which the data is stored. The head severely scratches the platter surface, grinding away the thin magnetic film leading to data loss and damage. This is characteristically accompanied by a scratching sound emanating from the hard disk.

It is important to remember that the read and write heads are so close to the fast spinning platter that even a tiny fleck of dust can disable the spinning movement. Head crashes can be caused by external contamination, electronic failure, sudden power failure, physical shock, wear and tear, corrosion or poorly manufactured platters and heads.

Truth Behind Hard Disk Crash

A user often thinks that his data is lost forever. Contrary to popular belief, deleted files though not available to the operating system of the computer are still on the drive. Only the names of the files are deleted from the table of contents which results in operating system’s failure in locating the files. This makes the system mark the space occupied by these files on the drive as vacant. Vacant space can always be used to store or write new data leading to deletion or overwriting of the files.

What Not to Do

While facing a hard disk crash the user should under no circumstances work on the computer, run software program, type mails or even browse on the net. All these activities create and store new files (temporary or permanent) on the hard disk. These can be stored or over written in space presumably marked vacant by the operating system due to deletion of data causing permanent loss of data.

What to Do

The user should fight any urge to do something. Any attempts to do so can cause further damage. It is important to contact a professional data recovery company. Their experts will open the hard disk in a dust free clean room and try to repair the damage. It needs expertise and experience to retrieve any data from a crashed hard disk and only professionals can do a good job of it. They will copy the recovered data to another disk and hand it over to the owner.

What can be done by you is to immediately take a back up of your important files if you find that your computer is running despite the screeching sound. Also, any DIY software should be run from another computer and the hard disk accessed through a network.

The perfect foil to the damage and loss caused by a hard disk crash is to maintain a regular backup of important files and documents. A properly stored backup will serve you well in times of need. This is the best solution to brave a hard disk crash or any other type of damage to the data.

Article Source: http://www.my-article-dashboard.com

James Walsh is a freelance writer and copy editor. If you are concerned about data loss and would like more information on Data Recovery see www.fields-data-recovery.co.uk

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