Data Backup Solutions

As more important data than ever before is now stored on our home computers the consequences of a major system crash are potentially catastrophic. Until quite recently it was only really a problem for business users, but now we live in the age of email, digital cameras and music downloads. What would you do if you switched your computer on one morning and got the blue screen of death?

There are three main questions:

How long does a computer hard disk last?

What causes disk failure?

How much warning do you get before your hard disk fails?

Exactly how long a hard disk lasts depends on a number of things. Examples include whether it is a laptop or desktop computer, what temperature extremes it has been exposed to, what amount of shock and vibration it has been exposed to, how long the computer is run for on a typical day and how many read/ write cycles there have been.

Hard disk manufacturers are not particularly open about how long the disks will last before failing and some of the data supplied can be confusing. It is generally accepted that mean-time-between-failure (MTBF) data from the manufacturers is over optimistic and the 40 - 50 years predicted by these calculations are way off the mark.

There are two simple figures provided by the hard disk manufacturer that will give you an indication of how long they really think it is going to last - Service Life and Warranty Period. The Service Life is, typically, 3 to 5 years and the Warranty Period something like 2 to 3 years. It varies depending on the manufacturer, but you can be certain that the Service Life claimed is always longer than the Warranty Period.

It is also important to note that any failure data provided is an average over a manufacturing batch. Some will fail before this time and others will last for longer. Hard Disk Drives have a tendency to have quite high 'infant mortality' rates (drives failing when they are quite new), less failures around the middle of their service life and then quite a wide spread towards the end of the stated service life - some failing just before the end and others lasting quite a bit longer.

Hard disks consist of a spinning platter with one or more magnetic disks and a series of heads moving over this performing read and write operations. There are also control electronics along with a power supply and data interface. Electronic faults are rare, but any failure in the mechanical, moving parts will result in the disk being unusable. At the time of manufacture it is critical for the disk surface to be as flawless as possible, but it is never quite possible to achieve this 100%.

As the disk ages, minor imperfections in the surface start to spread and this results in read errors. The Disk Error Check in Windows can scan for this problem and identifies any bad sectors that cannot be read. It prevents any attempts to write to those areas of the disk.

Extremes of temperature outside the rated tolerance can also accelerate disk failure. This usually happens if the disk gets too hot, typically more than 122°F/ 50°C. Common causes of this are having a badly ventilated desktop case, or keeping the computer in an enclosed space without enough air circulating.

Shock and vibration can also affect hard disk drives adversely. 2.5" Hard Disks - the type normally found in notebook computers - usually have better resiliance against shock and vibration than their 3.5" counterparts typically used in desktop computers.

An important point to remember with notebook computers is that the hard disk has much greater resiliance against shock and vibration when it is powered down completely than when it is running. If you are in the habit of simply closing the screen on your notebook, or putting it into standby, before transporting it you can expect to seriously shorten the life of the hard disk.

Disk failure can often be sudden and catastrophic - the 'blue screen of death' scenario. The best way to make sure that your disk will not fail is to combine planned maintenance with regular disk error checks. Plan to replace the disk anyway every 3 to 5 years and get into a routine of running regular disk error checks.

In most versions of Windows the Disk Error Check is started by right-clicking drive 'C' under 'My Computer' and selecting 'Properties'. Next, go to the 'Tools' tab and select 'Error Checking'. Make sure that you select the two checkboxed to automatically fix file system errors and attempt recovery of bad sectors. If the check finds any errors, treat it as a serious warning - back up all your data immediately and take action to replace the Hard Disk as soon as possible.

We have discussed some of the reasons why every computer user needs a backup strategy, so what is the most practical approach to go about it?

Offsite backup is the most secure method. If a fire destroys your home or office any backup tapes and disks are likely to be destroyed together with your computer.

We live in the age of fast Internet and there are a number of companies offering online backup solutions for your critical data. Which one is the most secure and trustworthy?

One name stands out from the rest as a secure and reliable brand with a good track record for restoring data for many of their clients. This name is Carbonite.

The choice is yours: $1500 hard drive recovery OR $54.95/year for unlimited backup. Choose the Carbonite Online Backup! Subscribe Today!

User Data

You can also use Norton Ghost to back up your user data and configure it to update the backup at regular intervals (daily, weekly and so on). A lot depends on how you use your computer and how frequently you update your information. It is also possible to make manual backups of all your documents and personal data to CD or DVD, but why not let Norton Ghost automate the process and give you peace of mind?

Recovering files from the backup is also easy with Norton Ghost. You can recover anything from a small number of accidentally deleted files to a complete disaster recovery where your whole computer has crashed.