With the rate of technological advancements, many people have data stored on various devices. While storing your data in your device is convenient, it has its fair share of pitfalls. Data loss occurs frequently, especially when the hard disk malfunctions or is damaged.
Causes of Data Loss in Hard Drives
Many people store vital documents on their hard drives and only face the nightmare of unprecedented data loss if their hard disk crashes or is damaged. This happens in various ways, including:
Wear and Tear
Hard drives, like any other mechanical product, are not built to last forever. They are bound to spoil after some time of use.
Manufacturing Defects
There are many parts that ensure a hard drive works properly. Sometimes the manufacturer can incorporate a faulty component, which in turn affects the performance of the hard drive, leading to premature failure.
Overheating
A damaged CPU fan cannot regulate the heat within your computer system, including the hard drive. Excess heat damages the components of your hard drive.
Virus
Files from various sites or other external devices like borrowed SD cards can introduce viruses and other corrupting elements to your hard drive, damaging it in the process.
Accidental Dropping
Everyone cringes at the thought of a laptop or computer dropping and rightly so. Dropping your device will easily damage your hard drive.
Power Failure
Power surges and cuts have the potential of damaging some mechanical components of your computer, including your hard drive. When these components are destroyed, your hard disk won’t work.
Accidental Fire
Though the risk of fire is minimal, hard disks are lost in accidental fires each year, making fire a significant player in hard disk data losses.
Disk Corruption
There are various scenarios of disk corruption. For example, the hard disk is not showing up on your computer, or you can’t open the files within. What’s worse, the files are all gone.
Ways to Recover Your Data
While little can be done about hard disk failure, there are many ways to recover data already stored in them. Here we’ll introduce three ways for you.
Recover files from Trash
On Mac devices, you may notice it’s unable to Delete one specific file. You can only move the file to Trash. Therefore, the first thing you should check is the trash when you want to recover deleted file. If you don’t empty the trash or select Delete Immediately… option, luckily, you can Put Back the file to its original place.
Data recovery software
There are various types of software available in the market to make data recovery easier for everyone. These data recovery software will help you retrieve data in multiple ways, including:
- Carrying out repairs on corrupted videos and images. Good software should be able to repair a wide selection of video and file formats.
- Recovering your data from crashed systems
- Detect missing partitions in files and incorporate them to restore data
Data recovery experts
Unfortunately, it is difficult to recover data from a hard disk crash. If you cannot achieve recovery with software, consider hiring a data recovery expert to help you recover your data. An expert will assess your hard disk and initiate recovery after your permission. However, look for professionals who won’t charge you when the data cannot be recovered.
Avoiding Hard Drive Data Loss
To safeguard your information from hard disk failure, here are a few guidelines:
- Unusual sounds like grinding are tell-tale signs before crashing. Avoid using a drive that behaves this way.
- Store your device in appropriate places, away from moisture and extreme temperatures that can damage your drive.
- Always back up your data to give you a headstart in case you need to make a recovery.
- Install and use reliable antivirus software to protect your device from malware.
