Six Common Hard Drive Storage Mistakes

In Backup & Archiving Workflow by joseph gilbertLeave a Comment

Improper hard drive storage

If you want to know what hard drive storage mistakes to avoid, let us help.

You have followed the experts’ advice and have archived all of your digital information onto a hard drive. Now you need to be sure to take the necessary precautions to keep your hard drive safe and sound. Whatever you do, DO NOT make the following mistakes.

Dust and Your Hard Drive Storage

Dust is not your hard drive’s friend. In fact, it is bad for all electronics and can affect your hard drive storage. This is common knowledge, but most people don’t realize why it is a problem. Dust is a great insulator, creating excessive heat in the unit. This additional heat causes your hard drive to work harder than it should; this wears it out and shortens its work life.

Harsh Handling and Your Hard Drive

Obviously, banging your hard drive around is not a good thing. However, even something like exposing it to the vibrations of a plane flight can cause corruption and/or loss of data.

Turning Your Hard Drive On and Off

It seems counterintuitive to leave your hard drive on. However, continually turning the hard drive on and off causes excessive strain because of its spin down action. When you leave the hard drive on, it will automatically spin down to a stop when not in use with the intention of keeping the unit cool. However, if you are turning it on and off, it is heating up and cooling off every time, which causes excessive strain that prematurely wears the unit out.

Improper Ejection of Your Hard Drive

If you unplug your hard drive without properly ejecting it first, you are risking the loss of data. In addition, you may damage the hard drive. If you have to turn off the machine, make sure you use the proper “eject” feature, and listen for the drive to properly shut down before you unplug it.

Heat and Your Hard Drive

Keeping your hard drive in an area that gets hot and has little ventilation will decrease its life and affect the hard drive storage. If the unit gets physically hot, it will generate too much heat; this causes excessive wear and tear. If there is no airflow, the heat will generate that much more quickly.

Water and Your Hard Drive

Getting your hard drive wet is pretty much a no brainer for not being a good thing. Take care to store the unit in a dry place. If an accident happens and the hard drive gets wet, do not try to dry it by using a blow dryer. You will only cause more damage. The best thing to do is wrap it in a paper towel, put it in an airtight bag, and take it to your nearest hard drive specialist.

Why Choose ProStorage to Protect Your Hard Drive storage for Data Archiving?

ProStorage can help you protect your hard drive storage; it can then do its job by protecting your data. Our specially designed closed-cell cases feature anti-static foam and are shock-proof. They will protect your hard drive from wear and tear such as dust, vibration and heat.

Visit our ProStorage website to see our products, and contact Image Mechanics for more information on keeping your hard drives safe and secure. If you have more questions about the proper care of your hard drive, continue browsing our blog for more information.