Never Ignore that Hard Drive Clicking Noise

There are times when you put off something on your to-do list and somehow it magically works itself out. This usually happens when someone else picks up the slack and takes care of what you needed to get done. Then there are things on your to-do list that, if you don't get to in a timely manner, will end up costing you in the long run--like PC maintenances.

Computers are machines that need to be cared for and maintained. If a PC is left totally unattended to and it's used regularly, it will wear down after each use and eventually experience the dreaded crash. The primary piece of equipment responsible for this risk is the hard disk drive. A computer hard drive contains disks called platters that have data written on them. These platters spin at thousands of RPMs and tiny moving parts are used to read the data off of the spinning disks. The intricacy and design of all the tiny moving parts lends itself to product degradation.

It's difficult to know for sure when a computer hard drive is going to kick the bucket and crash on you. Every hard drive experiences different amounts of wear and tear, and each model of hard drive is designed differently. For planning purposes, it's recommended that you replace your hard disk drive every five years before you experience a crash and your data is lost. This figure is based off of hard drive lifespan averages; actual hard drive life spans vary. Any hard drive can crash within the first year and you may even still have a working hard drive that's more than ten years old.

You can help extend the life of your hard drive with proper PC maintenances. This means checking for and repairing bad sectors, running disk defragmentation, keeping the interior of your computer free from too much dust, and much more. Computerware would be happy to set you up with a complete PC maintenance to-do list. Not doing any PC maintenances would be much like buying a new automobile and welding the hood shut. The car would run great when you first take it off the lot, but after a month or two of driving, it would start to show signs of deterioration.

Unless these signs are looked after, your car will end up broken down on the side of the road. Moreover, thanks to this thing called Murphy's Law, the car is most likely to breakdown when you need it most, like when you're in rush hour traffic or driving a pregnant family member to the hospital. When the tow truck arrives, you would look like a big dummy when they see that the hood is welded shut, and it's discovered that you've done zero maintenance on the car since you got it.

Your computer hard drive works the exact same way. Before a hard drive ends up dead on the side of the information superhighway, it will begin to show signs of deterioration. Here are a few common things to look for to find out if your PC is due in for a tune up:

• The hard drive is making clicking and grinding noises.
• System hangs.
• Random file deletion.
• Decreased performance.
• Prolonged boot times.

These are warning signs that should not be ignored. When you start noticing any of these signs you need to write "check hard drive" on the very top of your to-do list. Otherwise, your computer may experience a crash, and when it does, it will take your data with it down to its silicone grave. And like the car stalling out in rush hour traffic, a computer crash is most likely to happen at the worst possible time, like when you're putting the finishing touches on a major project that a client needs for the next day.

If you're noticing these deterioration signs on your workstation, then you can call Computerware at (703) 821-8200. We can "look under the hood" and give your PC a needed tune up, and with our managed IT services we can remotely take care of many of these hard drive maintenance issues for you that take place on your company's PCs. This is about as close to having the issue "magically take care of itself" as you're going to find.

Last but not least, hard drives have been known to suddenly crash and fail without warning. Sometimes it's due to a poorly-built drive, other times it's because of an exterior threat like a power surge or a natural disaster. Whatever way your hard drive chooses to face its timely or untimely death, you will need to have a data backup and recovery solution in place to protect your business from the consequences of data loss. Computerware can backup your entire network with our BDR solution. Give us a call at (703) 821-8200 to learn more about BDR, managed IT services, and all the other ways that we can help to keep those hard drives of yours humming along.

With Computerware taking care of your computers, you will swear that more things on your to-do list are magically getting done!