When your system crashes!
Did you know there is a difference between an operating system crash and a hard drive crash?
If your operating system crashes, whatever system you are using that is what is called a Logical Failure. If the hard drive itself malfunctions, that is a Physical failure.
Whichever type of failure you have it is a pain and it means your data is not easily accessible. The good news though is that it is still there. You need to have a backup plan so that if it does happen you don't just panic! Make sure you have an image of your computer. There is hope for your data through a data recovery solution.
The best way to prevent damage from a hard disk crash is to take a proactive approach. Do regular back ups of the data stored on the drive. There are lots of options available. You should speak to your IT got to person for advice on their recommendations.
Find out what is Causing the Crash
The first thing you (or your IT Specialist) needs to do is figure out if the crash is caused by a physical or logical failure. That is the tricky part. There are however programmes that monitor your hard drive and lets you know about potential problems before they happen. If your computer crashes, it won't start up. You can get the same errors if the crash is caused by a physical or logical failure. If your computer will not boot and you hear a grinding, clicking or whirring noise, that is a good sign that it is caused by a physical drive failure. At this point, you should stop trying to boot the computer and do not try to reload the operating system.
If it is a Physical Hard Drive Failure
There is good news if your hard drive crash is caused by a malfunction of the hard drive itself. There is a very good chance that the data is still intact and accessible. You will know if it is a physical failure by the noise the drive makes. You will hear a clicking, clunking, grinding or whirring sound coming from the hard drive. Do not mistake the sounds for a malfunctioning cooling fan. You can open the case (carefully) and listen to the drive.
If you can still boot the computer but the drive is making a lot of noise, you could still get an image of the drive or clone it to a new hard drive. That can be risky though. Don't try to start the computer and copy the files to an external drive. That may cause too much stress on the failing hardware. The best bet is to remove the hard drive and put it into a different system to retrieve the important data from the drive with a Data Recovery Solution.
If you can retrieve the data, great – problem solved right? Now all you have to do is buy a new hard drive and reinstall your operating system. Then you reinstall all of the applications. That is not a fun task. If you were able to retrieve the data, you may still be able to take an image or clone of the drive. You can then transfer the image to a new drive.
It is a fact that today’s hard drives are many times more reliable than they were 25 years ago.
If the physical hard drive crash is so bad that the computer will not boot or another system cannot see the hard drive, then it could be more complicated. You may need to send the drive out to a data recovery solution or get a real expert in. It is not cheap but how much is your data worth?
Logical Hard Drive Failure
A logical failure occurs when the hard drive is healthy but you cannot boot into the operating system. This can be caused by a variety of different factors. A virus, system driver conflict, human error or a software malfunction can cause a logical hard drive crash. When this type of failure happens, imaging or cloning the computer will do no good.
Just because you cannot access your data on a crashed hard drive does not mean that it is not still present on the drive. What you do from here depends on the importance of the data that is stored on your computer.
If like many people a huge part of your life is stored on your computer then that data is important. I hope that if you have a hard drive crash you can retrieve your precious data. Hard drives do crash and the best way to protect your data is with a proactive approach that is to backup, image and backup some more.