Whether you’re using an internal or external hard drive, WD solid-state drive, or LaCie HDD, data storage devices of all makes and models eventually die. The average lifespan of a normal hard drive is 3 to 6 years. But most hard drives fail before completing their average lifespan because of certain factors.
The common causes of early hard drive failure can be the drive’s exposure to extreme temperature or physical trauma. Your drive may also get virus-infected or die sooner due to a manufacturing error. However, of all the possible causes of a hard drive failure, rough use is the primary cause of hard drive failure.
Even the best hard drives fail sooner or later. There is no way to prevent the hard drive’s imminent death but there are certain ways to prolong its life. As long as you follow safety measures and take good care of the drive, it is possible to extend its life and avoid a sudden crash.
However, if your hard drive has completed 3 or more years then it’s safe to replace it to avoid sudden failure and data loss. Now, let’s take a look at some useful tips to extend the life of your hard drive and avoid premature HDD failure.
Avoid Frequent Turning On and Off
Instead of frequently turning your system on and off, use sleep mode. Frequently booting up and shutting down your system puts pressure on your drive. It causes unnecessary wear and tear because the drive needs to repeatedly spin up and spin down.
So, if you have to leave your laptop or computer unattended for a few hours, then use hibernation and sleep modes to avoid causing excessive attrition on the drive. But remember to properly shut down your computer if you’re not going to use it for a day or more.
Practice Cyber Hygiene
To your computer and hard drive safe, make sure to exercise caution when browsing the internet. Avoid installing untrustworthy software programs that may contain a virus or malware. Also, don’t install unnecessary programs because downloading more programs means less space on the drive. This will increase the load time and slow down your computer.
So, delete unwanted programs and always have a solid backup plan. Moreover, keep updating your operating system regularly.
Control Heat, Vibration, & Dust
Extreme temperature like system overheating is one of the major reasons for premature drive failure. So, make sure your system has adequate ventilation and drive is not exposed to extreme temperature or moisture.
To ensure proper ventilation for your computer, you should also keep cleaning the dust buildup in and around the computer so that the fans can work normally. Also, a knock, hit, bump or shock, can damage the drive, so handle your laptop safely. When an external hard drive gets broken, a company that offers services like LaCie hard drive data recovery may help you.
Defragmentation
As the hardest-working component of your computer, its maintenance is crucial to keep the computer system functional. With continuous use, HDD suffers wear and tear and ultimately fails. To improve the performance of your drive, you may use defragmentation that can significantly reduce the workload of your drive and extend its life.
