Every hard drive will eventually fail – that’s a fact. But that doesn’t mean you have to lose your data! As the saying goes, the best defense is a good offense. Don’t let your computer maintenance get out of hand. If you take good care of your computer and hard drive now, your chances of avoiding catastrophic data loss are greatly increased.
Some good regular steps that Mac, PC, and Linux users can take to keep their computers in top condition include:
- Use antivirus software (yes, even if you have a Mac!) – By running comprehensive scans on a regular and ongoing basis, you will keep your computer free of malware and other harmful viruses that can cause your system to crash, data to become corrupted or deleted, put your identity at risk, and more. Keep your system free of viruses.
- Schedule regular defragmentation (or defrag) of your hard drive – During normal use, files are stored on your drive in segmented pieces, which means your computer has to search for the files in order to use them. This slows down your computer performance, and can increase the amount of wear and tear. By defragmenting your drive, your files are moved next to each other making the read and search time much faster.
- Establish a regular backup schedule for your data – There are countless computer programs and hardware that can help you do this effortlessly, so you are assured your data is always there when you need it.
- Backup up your data with cloud storage offsite – This is a service where your data is maintained, managed and backed up remotely and made available to users over the Internet. There are many companies that offer this service.
These tips should help your computer and data stay in top shape for as long as you need it. However, if your computer or laptop is making any sort of clicking, grinding, or beeping noises, or giving you error messages, immediately turn off the computer and call a professional data recovery company. Any further use of the drive (even to attempt a backup or virus scan) can permanently damage your drive and make your data impossible to recover.
Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici at FreeDigitalPhotos.net