Six Helpful Habits That Can Extend the Life span of Your Hard Disk
A hard disk is an essential part of a computer. It is where the operating system, programs, and many other important files that the computer needs to run are stored. In addition to that, it is also the storage room for the user’s data, which can range from pictures, documents to things like passwords. What this also means is that once your hard disk is damaged, you stand a great chance of losing all the files on that system. Their sizes can range from as small as 160 gigabytes to as high as 1 terabyte.
So as a computer user, it is very important that we take proper care of this essential part of our computer.
Below are some little habits that can help you prolong the life of your hard disk.
Keep your hard drive cool.
High temperatures are one of the biggest factors that can affect the lifespan of your hard drive. Hard drives are designed to operate within a certain temperature range, and when they get too hot, they can start to experience problems like decreases in read and write speeds.
To keep your hard drive cool, try to keep your computer in a cool, dry place, and make sure that the ventilation or cooling system is working properly. Avoid placing it in direct sunlight or near a heat source. If you use a laptop that is constantly overheating, consider investing in a laptop cooler pad to help keep the temperature down.
Avoid physical damage.
Physical shocks and vibrations can also cause damage to your hard drive considering that it has moving parts, with the exception of SSD’S (Solid State Drives). To avoid physical damage, handle your computer with care and avoid dropping it or exposing it to excessive shaking or vibration. If you use a laptop, consider getting a protective case to help cushion it from impacts.
Run regular maintenance tasks.
Just like a car, your hard drive needs regular maintenance to stay in good working order. One of the most important maintenance tasks you can do is disk cleanup, which helps to remove temporary files and other unnecessary data that can clutter up your hard drive.
Disk defragmentation is another important maintenance task that helps to rearrange the data on your hard drive so that it can be accessed more quickly and efficiently. Both of these tasks can be easily performed using the built-in tools on your computer.
Use power management settings.
Power usage can also have an impact on the lifespan of your hard drive. To minimize the amount of power your hard drive uses, make sure to use the power management settings on your computer. Set your computer to go to sleep when inactive, and unplug any external hard drives when you’re not using them.
Avoid unplugging your system while it is still running.
Going through the normal system shutdown is very important, as it makes sure that the hard disks properly store the last bit of information before coming to a stop. Unlike when you just unplug the system suddenly, I will also recommend that you get a UPS if you don’t have one. This mostly applies to desktop users.
Back up your data regularly.
This might be a bit off from the scope of the topic, but just in case the undesirable happens Regular data backups will save you a lot of time and effort. By creating backups of your important files and documents, you’ll be able to recover them if something happens to your hard drive.
There are many different ways you can back up your data, such as using cloud storage or external hard drives. Whichever method you choose, it’s important to create regular backups to ensure that your data is always protected.
