Hard Drives Articles
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Wireless Data Storage Devices
"I've recently heard about wireless portable hard drives, and am thinking about using one as a backup drive. I love the idea of doing wireless backups from all the computers, tablets and smartphones in my home, to a single storage device. If you have any advice on the wireless backup storage devices available, I'd love to hear it..."
Continue reading "Wireless Data Storage Devices"...Upgrade Your Hard Drive To SSD?
"I've read that solid state hard drives (SSDs) are much faster, especially when starting up the computer. But other articles claim they are less reliable than traditional magnetic hard drives. Should I consider upgrading my system with an SSD? I'd appreciate your perspective, thanks."
Continue reading "Upgrade Your Hard Drive To SSD?"...How to Clean Up Your Hard Drive
Are you running out of space on your hard drive? Maybe you're getting that annoying "low disk space" message. Don't ignore it, or your computer could soon begin to malfunction. Here's how to clean your hard drive and make sure your computer is running smoothly...
Continue reading "How to Clean Up Your Hard Drive"...All External Hard Drives are Not Created Equal
“I’m buying an external hard drive for my backups, as you have often recommended. But I’ve bogged down in the details – capacity, transfer speed, USB vs. Firewire, etc. Can you give me some tips on choosing an external drive for backups?”
Continue reading "All External Hard Drives are Not Created Equal"...Hard Drives Are Not Forever
"Yesterday during startup I got an error that said 'Drive Seek Failure' but then it seemed to start up okay. Now I'm worried that my hard drive may be failing. What do you recommend for backing up my files?"
Continue reading "Hard Drives Are Not Forever"...Convert Internal to External Hard Drive
So, you finally replaced your computer's old 80 GB hard drive with a faster, more spacious one. Great! Now, what do you do with the old drive? One option is to convert it into a handy, portable external hard drive. It's easy, here's how...
Continue reading "Convert Internal to External Hard Drive"...Which Portable Hard Drive Should You Buy?
"I'm a commercial artist and need to carry around my work in digital form. I don't want to keep the files on my laptop, because it could be lost or stolen. I'd prefer a portable storage gadget that I can keep in a pocket or handbag. What type of portable hard drive would you recommend?"
Continue reading "Which Portable Hard Drive Should You Buy?"...Which Hard Drive is Fastest?
"I'm building my own home computer from the motherboard up, and I want the best and fastest hard drive available. But the lingo is confusing - should I be looking at RPM, seek time, transfer rate or some other combination of drive specs?"
Continue reading "Which Hard Drive is Fastest?"...Hard Drive Data Recovery
Unlike diamonds, hard drives are not forever. It's very likely that someday you'll start your computer, and instead of the familiar startup screen, you'll see one of these ominous messages: DISK BOOT FAILURE... NO FIXED DISK PRESENT... ERROR READING FIXED DISK... or HARD DRIVE FAILURE. Don't panic just yet, there may be hope for recovery of that damaged hard drive...
Continue reading "Hard Drive Data Recovery"...Should I Encrypt My External Hard Drive?
"I'm a legal consultant who travels with an external hard drive, and it stores a lot of sensitive data. I'm very careful about physical security, but still I'm thinking about using encryption to secure my data, just in case. What do you recommend?"
How To Buy a Hard Drive
You may want to buy a hard drive for any of several reasons. Your current drive may be getting old or overcrowded. Perhaps you want a new hard drive for backup purposes, or for more speed when reading and writing large files. Whatever your reason for buying a hard drive, here are some shopping tips...
Continue reading "How To Buy a Hard Drive"...Securing Your External Hard Drive
"I use an external hard drive for backups, but I'm concerned about the security of my data. If the drive was ever stolen, the loss of my personal documents and sensitive financial information could be a huge problem. Can you recommend any software or hardware options to protect or encrypt external drives?"
Continue reading "Securing Your External Hard Drive"...Reformat Windows 7 Hard Drive
If you need to reformat a hard drive using Windows 7, the method you should use depends on whether you want to reformat a bootable drive or a secondary drive. Here are the steps for both procedures...
Continue reading "Reformat Windows 7 Hard Drive"...Encrypt Your Hard Drive
Protecting data stored on hard drives from prying eyes can take many forms. Encryption, the scrambling of data so that only someone who provides the proper key can read it, is a formidable defense against intruders. Here are the pros and cons of encrypting your hard drive...
Continue reading "Encrypt Your Hard Drive"...Windows 7 Hard Drive Errors
Hard drive errors slow the performance of your computer and may render some data unreadable. Windows 7 includes utilities that can check your hard drive for errors and fix some of them. Here's the scoop on hard drive errors and how to repair them using Windows 7...
Continue reading "Windows 7 Hard Drive Errors"...Hard Drive Maintenance Tips
"I've had two hard drives die on me since the beginning of the year. Can you share some tips that will help me keep my hard drives running reliably?"
Continue reading "Hard Drive Maintenance Tips"...Windows 7 Hard Drive Recovery
Windows 7 users (of all editions) have an ace in the hole in case their hard drives crash. It's called the Windows Recovery Environment (RE), a bundle of automated and manual system tools that can repair a corrupted hard drive to recover data or make the drive bootable again...
Continue reading "Windows 7 Hard Drive Recovery"...Disk Defraggers
"I know I'm supposed to defrag my hard drive, but I'm a little fuzzy on the particulars. What exactly does a defrag accomplish, what's the best tool for defragging, and how often should I do it?"
Continue reading "Disk Defraggers"...Restoring Backup Data After Hard Drive Crash
Your hard drive crashed, but there's no need to panic. You have a backup copy of your data; good for you! Now the only question is, how do you restore your data? Read on for tips on restoring your files from a backup...
Continue reading "Restoring Backup Data After Hard Drive Crash"...Hybrid Hard Drives
A hybrid hard drive - also called a hybrid hard disk drive (HHD) or just "hybrid drive" - combines familiar magnetic media with non-volatile RAM to achieve much faster read/write performance without increasing costs very much. Hybrid drives are an intermediate storage technology between electromechanical hard drives and pure solid-state drives. Here's what you need to know...
Continue reading "Hybrid Hard Drives"...Replace IDE Hard Drive With SATA Drive
"I want to upgrade my computer with a SATA hard drive, because they're supposed to be faster. My PC has only IDE hard drive ports on the motherboard, but I understand it's still possible to install a SATA drive. Can you tell me the best way to handle this hard drive upgrade?"
Continue reading "Replace IDE Hard Drive With SATA Drive"...Clone Hard Drive
To clone a hard drive means to make an exact copy of every single bit on it. This is more than simply backing up data files; even hidden, protected operating system files are copied in a clone operation, and the exact position of every bit of data on the original drive is preserved. Cloning a hard drive is useful in several ways....
Continue reading "Clone Hard Drive"...Replace Laptop Hard Drive
"My laptop has run out of space on the hard drive and I want to replace it, but I've never done anything like that. Can you give me the steps for replacing a laptop's hard drive?"
Continue reading "Replace Laptop Hard Drive"...Hard Drives in Photocopiers
Nearly every digital photocopier sold since 2002 stores images of whatever it copies on an internal hard drive. This enables conveniences like printing copies of frequently needed documents without re-scanning them. But stored documents can also be a security or identity theft time-bomb. Consider what may be on that copier's hard drive when you or your employer trades it in or otherwise disposes of it...
Continue reading "Hard Drives in Photocopiers"...Hard Drive Recovery Tools
"Hard drive recovery" usually means recovery of data stored on a hard drive. If the drive mechanism is damaged, it's usually more cost effective to replace the drive than to repair it. But if the data on a hard drive is irreplaceable, hard drive data recovery is critical. Here's how it works…
Continue reading "Hard Drive Recovery Tools"...How Can I Check for Hard Drive Damage?
How can you tell if your hard drive is damaged before it completely crashes? It's important to detect hard drive damage before it grows into a catastrophic failure. Here's how to check "under the hood" of your hard drive for signs of damage...
Continue reading "How Can I Check for Hard Drive Damage?"...How to Destroy a Hard Drive
"I'm getting rid of an old computer, and I want to make sure the data on the hard drive can't be be accessed. What's the best way to destroy a hard drive and all the data on it?"
Continue reading "How to Destroy a Hard Drive"...Is My Hard Drive Going To Crash?
Most hard drive crashes give some early warning signs, providing you time to backup your data and, in some cases, correct the problem(s) before the hard drive fails completely. Pay attention to your hard drive's behavior and avoid the calamity of a hard drive crash. Here's what to watch for...
Continue reading "Is My Hard Drive Going To Crash?"...Flash Drive Data Recovery
"I have a problem with my USB flash drive. When I plug it in, Windows says 'USB device not recognized' and I can't see my files. Is there any way the data can be recovered? The system does not recognize the flash drive at all."
Continue reading "Flash Drive Data Recovery"...Cheap Hard Drives
Magnetic hard drives are the workhorses of mass storage. Virtually every computer has a hard drive. There are dozens of hard drive manufacturers worldwide. So it's not surprising that competition, along with technology improvements, has driven hard drive prices to all-time record lows. That's good news. But are cheap hard drives truly a bargain? Read on…
Continue reading "Cheap Hard Drives"...My Hard Drive Crashed!
When the hard drive in your computer crashes and all of your digital possessions seem to disappear, have faith. Faith is the ability to not panic. It's very unlikely that all of your stuff is gone forever. Here are some tips on recovering data from crashed a hard drive...
Continue reading "My Hard Drive Crashed!"...Bootable USB Flash Drive
When your hard drive won't boot, you need an emergency backup operating system on a bootable removable medium. CDs or DVDs fill that role most of the time. But optical media has its drawbacks. Here's how to make a reliable boot disk on a flash drive, to use when hard drive problems arise...
Continue reading "Bootable USB Flash Drive"...Best Portable Hard Drive
A portable hard drive is one of handiest inventions ever. But what's the best portable hard drive for your particular needs? Let's look at the various factors that go into making that decision...
Continue reading "Best Portable Hard Drive"...How to Replace a Hard Drive
Replacing a hard drive in your desktop or laptop computer is pretty simple. You just have to pay attention to a few details. Here's a step-by-step guide to replacing your hard drive...
Continue reading "How to Replace a Hard Drive"...How Long Do Flash Drives Last?
Flash drives are an increasingly popular form of portable storage. Some people predict that flash drives will replace hard drives in time, just as optical disks replaced floppy disks. But are flash drives as safe as other mass storage media for long-term archiving of irreplaceable data? Do flash drives ever wear out and have to be replaced? Are all flash drives created equal -- except for their capacities -- or are there differences in quality and durability to consider?
Continue reading "How Long Do Flash Drives Last?"...eSATA External Hard Drives
"I'm getting ready to buy an external hard drive for backups, but I'm confused by all the terminology when it comes to connecting the drive. Should I go for USB, Firewire, or eSATA? What are the pros and cons of each?"
Continue reading "eSATA External Hard Drives"...Completely Erase a Hard Drive
When you replace a hard drive, what do you do with the old one? Most people give their surplus drives away to friends or charities. Some just throw them in the trash. But what about all the data on that old drive? Even if you deleted files or formatted the drive, your data might still be readable. Here's how to securely and completely erase every last bit of data from your hard drive…
Continue reading "Completely Erase a Hard Drive"...External Hard Drive For Backups
"I'm planning to buy an external hard drive to use for backups. What hardware and software do you recommend for reliable and simple backups?"
Continue reading "External Hard Drive For Backups"...Is Your Hard Drive Dying?
How long will your hard drive last? Is it giving you subtle signs that a data disaster is looming? How will you know when it's time to buy a new hard drive? Here are some things you can look for...
Continue reading "Is Your Hard Drive Dying?"...Data Recovery
So you were working on that big presentation for the boss, when suddenly the power went out and your computer shut down. And when you restarted the computer and ran your software it said "Cannot open file; file corrupt" or some equally sickening thing. Now what?
Continue reading "Data Recovery"...Partition Managers
Partitioning your hard drive is like putting up a digital fence, splitting your hard drive into distinct sections, each for a specific purpose. It allows you to install multiple operating systems, or just keep different types of data in their own little containers. Here's the scoop on partition managers...
Continue reading "Partition Managers"...Hard Drive Backup Image
If you do everything just right, you'll end up with a perfect hard drive. Your operating system will be bug-free; your applications will play well together; your data will be neatly organized in folders; everything will be just perfect. And then it will change. That's why you need a backup image of your hard drive…
Continue reading "Hard Drive Backup Image"...Hard Drive Recovery Services
"My hard drive was making a clicking sound, and now it won't start up at all. Should I try to fix it myself, or send it to a hard drive repair service?"
Continue reading "Hard Drive Recovery Services"...Terabyte Hard Drives
"I've been thinking about buying a terabyte hard drive. Right now I have a 500GB drive. Are the terabyte drives as fast and reliable as smaller drives?"
Continue reading "Terabyte Hard Drives"...Solid State Hard Drives
"I'm checking out laptops, and some say they have a solid state hard drive. Is this a good thing? How does a solid state hard drive compare to a regular hard drive?
Continue reading "Solid State Hard Drives"...Partitioning Your Hard Drive
"I just got a new computer and I'm wondering about hard drive partitioning strategies. A friend told me to create a very small C: partition for a swap file, put Windows on the D: drive, and create several other parititions for different types of data. Is this a good idea?"
Continue reading "Partitioning Your Hard Drive"...External Hard Drive Security
"I want to backup my home computers to an external hard drive, but I'm worried about security. If the drive is lost or stolen, all my sensitive personal and financial data goes with it. Is there a way to password protect a hard drive, encrypt it, or protect it with some other security device?"
Continue reading "External Hard Drive Security"...Defrag Your Hard Drive
If you have noticed your computer running a little sluggish and slow lately, it might be time to defragment your hard drive. Your hard drive does need to be cleaned out regularly and defragmented in order to keep everything working better. Here's the why and how of defragging...
Continue reading "Defrag Your Hard Drive"...Converting FAT to NTFS
“A tech support guy told me my system is running FAT, and advised me to convert my hard drive to NTFS. I didn’t really understand his explanation… can you explain the difference and when it makes sense to convert FAT to NTFS?”
Continue reading "Converting FAT to NTFS"...Low Disk Space Warning
"Windows is giving me a warning that says 'You are running out of disk space on Local Disk (C:).' My friend told me this is not important and offered to disable the warning popup for me, but I'm not sure. Can I safely ignore these 'Low Disk Space' warnings?"
Continue reading "Low Disk Space Warning"...What is RAID?
"I've heard that a RAID hard drive is the best solution for automatic backups. What exactly is a RAID, and what are the pros and cons of RAID systems?"
Continue reading "What is RAID?"...Clean Hard Drive
Do you have a clean hard drive? If you're selling a computer or discarding a hard drive, you'll want to clean off your personal files first. Or maybe you're getting that annoying "low disk space" message. Don't ignore it, or your computer could soon begin to malfunction. Here's how to clean your hard drive and make sure your computer is running smoothly.
Continue reading "Clean Hard Drive"...What is a Terabyte?
"I just saw an ad for a Terabyte hard drive. What exactly is a terabyte?"
Continue reading "What is a Terabyte?"...Sharing A Hard Drive Online
"I have photos, MP3s and some Word documents on my hard drive. How can I share my hard drive online so that just certain people can access my files? My colleagues have Internet access but we do not share a computer network. Can I share my hard drive folders and files over the Inernet?"
Continue reading "Sharing A Hard Drive Online"...Hard Drive Recovery
If it hasn't happened yet, be sure that it will... you're working away on an important project and the computer freezes. You reboot, but instead of the familiar startup screen, you black screen with one of these ominous messages: DISK BOOT FAILURE... NO FIXED DISK PRESENT... ERROR READING FIXED DISK... NTLDR IS MISSING... or HARD DRIVE FAILURE. Don't panic just yet, there may be hope for recovery of that damaged hard drive.
Continue reading "Hard Drive Recovery"...Changing Disk Partitions
"I downloaded Cute Partition Manager and was just about to delete the restore partition from the D drive of my old computer. I just want to make sure that doing so won't mess up the info on the C drive. Drive D is formatted FAT32 and drive C is NTFS. I really could use the extra space, but can't afford to lose the files on the C drive..."
Continue reading "Changing Disk Partitions"...SATA and IDE Hard Drives?
"I want to install the hard drive from my old computer as the secondary hard drive of my new computer. The new computer is an HP with a SATA hard drive. My old hard drive is a Seagate Ultra ATA/100. How do I add this hard drive to my new computer?"
Continue reading "SATA and IDE Hard Drives?"...Fix MBR
"I was trying to fix a spyware problem and it seems I messed up my computer. Now when I start Windows XP, I get the 'MBR Corrupt' and 'Error loading operating system' messages. What should I do?"
Continue reading "Fix MBR"...Fiddling While Your Hard Drive Crashes
After reading about the sounds that a dying hard drive makes in Click of Doom, long-time reader MmeMoxie sent me a link to something absolutely hilarious. It's music based on the sounds of hard drive failures...
Continue reading "Fiddling While Your Hard Drive Crashes"...Hard Drive Makes a Clicking Sound
"My hard drive is making a clicking sound. It started recently and seems to be getting more frequent. Sometimes I hear a repeated click-whir sound and then the computer locks up. Does this mean my hard drive is going bad?"
Continue reading "Hard Drive Makes a Clicking Sound"...Add a Second Hard Drive
Adding a second hard drive to a computer system is an easy way to get around storage problems, and also a good way to protect valuable data. With the cost of hard drives dropping well below $1 per gigabyte, it makes good financial sense to increase storage capacity by adding a second drive. But what kind of drive? And are they easy to install? Read on for buying tips and installation help...
Continue reading "Add a Second Hard Drive"...Reformatting Hard Drive
If I reformat my hard drive, will my Windows XP cdrom act as a boot disk and allow me to reinstall all my programs?
Continue reading "Reformatting Hard Drive"...Hard Drive Crash
I have a Maxtor 160GB hard drive that has crashed and won't boot up. So I figured I would put in another hard drive and load up XP on it to boot and make my old hard drive a slave. After booting up, the old drive shows in My Computer, but Windows tells me it has not been formatted yet. I don't want to formate this drive because it has data I need. How do I get this data off the old hard drive and onto my other drive or a CDROM?
Continue reading "Hard Drive Crash"...Copying Old Hard Drive to New PC
"When I buy a new computer, how do I transfer everything from the hard drive on my old computer? I enjoy the Tourbus and appreciate all the information you provide."
If you bought a new computer, or just a new hard drive for your old computer, you'll need to transfer the files. Here's how...
Continue reading "Copying Old Hard Drive to New PC"...Removing Files from Hard Drive
"My computer is 5 years old and it freezes up and shuts down on me at times. So I am considering buying a new one. How do I get rid of any files on it before I donate it to a school?"
Since you asked this question, you probably already understand the fact that simply deleting files on your hard drive doesn't actually remove them permanently...
Continue reading "Removing Files from Hard Drive"...
