Don’t slap it, freeze it, spin it or smother it in peanut butter. Computer users are often frustrated and concerned that necessary data has been permanently lost when a hard drive gives up. To follow are a few facts that you need to remember when facing situations of data loss.
On formatting:
The hard drive won’t die if you format it. Formatting will not magically cause it to gather dust and/or lint on the platter surface. Formatting doesn’t worsen bad sectors nor does it stress the machine. You can format it every day and probably not change the unpredictable lifespan of the drive.
On power supplies:
The information placed on a hard drive has very little to do with its lifespan. The same applies in the case of power supplies. Cheap, low-power cables do not slowly choke your hard drive to death, although a power surge may fry it. Check the connectors carefully, and ensure that you turn off the device and unplug it when it’s not in use. Hard drives recalibrate (spin up and down) to regulate temperature, or when they can’t properly read data from the platters. This may be a symptom of a dying hard drive, but it is not caused by insufficient power. A drive with insufficient energy will simply power down.
On bad sectors:
A bad sector is a part of the drive that can’t be read or written properly. In most occasions logical data recovery will restore misplaced information. In other words, simply reformatting the drive won’t work. Bad sectors are a sign that something is wrong with the drive. You may be able to avoid bad sectors by re-routing and using previously spare sectors – but this pressurises the performance of the heads. Always back up data before attempting to delete bad sectors. Don’t ignore bad sectors in the hope that they’ll go away, as they are a sign of problems to come.
Don’t be misled by zany data recovery myths that have “reportedly” been successful. Save your data and the use of your hard drive by sending it to professionals for reliable and safe data recovery services.