Mac Hints & Tips

If you have not had a hard drive die on you yet, just wait. Eventually, when you least expect it and can least afford the data loss, your computer will turn on you and give you some variation of the Dead Mac. Remember backups! Having a problem with your computer all becomes a lot less important if you take regular backups, either to CDs, DVDs, other hard drives on the machine, networks or external, even Google or Yahoo, email etc. We currently use and suggest Prosoft Engineering Data Backup 3 that, if you don’t use Time Machine, is great for keeping everything on your computer backed up.

While you may be able to repair software errors caused by bad sectors and in some cases you may be able to repair the bad sectors themselves, if your drive has begun to fail mechanically nothing will stop the process.

The key is to detect the imminent failure of your drives before they give out on you and data is lost. Let’s look at some common warning signs of impending hard drive failure:

• Frequent but irregular crashes, especially while booting up
• Frequent and cryptic error messages while performing typical activities like moving files
• Folder and file names that have been scrambled and changed
• Disappearing files and folders
• Really long wait times to access folders and files
• Hard disk is silent for a long period after you request data by opening a file or folder
• Garbled output from open files or printing
• Hard drive grinds away constantly because of noisy bearings

Sound can be an excellent indicator of disk trouble. Sometimes it is your only indicator. If you previously didn’t hear a peep from your hard drive, but now you do, don’t wait for the drive to die. Check it out. You spend many hours unconsciously listening to your hard drive. You will notice if it suddenly sounds different. If it seems much louder than usual or makes occasional clicks or grinding sounds, check it as soon as possible and be prepared to backup your data and replace the drive.

If your drive is suddenly making new irregular clicking or grinding sounds, chances are you have a mechanical failure within the drive. Turn off your computer as soon as possible because continued use may damage the platters (data storage area) and make your data unrecoverable. The longer the drive is powered on, the more damage you may be doing to your data.

If you want to know what it is like to hear something suspicious check the Data Centwebsite: http://datacent.com/hard_drive_sounds.php

This is a website with a vast collection of spooky audio files, typical sounds recorded in a data recovery lab. If your hard drive makes noises like these and you are still able to access your files backup immediately. To listen to the sound simply click on the Play button. Click on the drive manufacturer next to the sound button to learn more about common problems these drives experience. The Data Cent website is a great resource and just visiting it may induce you to backup your files. Some of the howls, screeches, knocks, banks, clicks, and crunching noises that come out of dying hard drives can really spook people who have never had a drive chug itself into a state of total mechanical dissolution.