Hard Drive Recovery Group's Blog Offers Tips On Failing Hard Drives, Data Safety

Hard Drive Recovery Group continues to use their blog to publish weekly posts on developing technologies, security issues and hard drive data recovery.

The company's post from October 17, entitled "Failing Hard Drive", details some of the symptoms that can come as a computer ages and its mechanical hard drive begins to fail.

Maureen Davis of Hard Drive Recovery Group said, "Many customers simply shrug off a lot of the signs their computer is giving them that a hard drive crash may be imminent. One of our main messages to almost every customer is to encourage them to create and stick to a weekly drive backup plan so that a catastrophic drive failure doesn't leave them hanging."

The post also references the oft-seen yet rarely understood S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) warning systems for hard drives. Almost all computers use this technology, which can sometimes predict drive failures soon enough that the customer can backup any data before it is lost.

"S.M.A.R.T. data is far from a catchall, to be sure, but it is a fine tool to help determine the overall integrity of your hard drive," said Davies. "We like to recommend its use in combination with other tools that can identify file and partition system errors to ensure the drive is in the best condition possible."

One of the key items that PC and Mac users should watch for always in their system is for strange noises. Particularly in today's quieter systems, a new buzzing or clicking sound can typically warn of a catastrophic failure to come.

"Whenever a computer system starts making a sound that was not there an hour or day ago, there can be trouble," said Davies. "We always recommend to users to power down any computer or external hard drive that experiences these noises in order to protect them from further damage."

Addressing Future Tech Issues

Not all of Hard Drive Recovery Group's blogging focuses on hard drive recovery and repair. In another post, entitled "AI Is The Future", the blog briefly looks at the growing issues of machine learning and the influence of AI (Artificial Intelligence) in today's technology.

AI has recently been in the news, partially because of an interview with Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, by popular Youtube talk show host Joe Rogan. During the interview, Musk suggested that by the time that AI could be properly regulated by governments, it may already be too late, with AI potentially creating problems for its human creators.

"Addressing key tech issues like AI may seem almost science fiction, but when looking at advances in smartphones alone, it's easy to see that the technology is getting smarter by the week," said Davies. "Understanding that these issues are always at play when using computers is critical for anyone who seeks to best use their technology."

Dangerous Components

A third post, entitled "Computers Make The World Go Round", warns consumers of "botnets", which can be used to spread malware to other users by using unprotected devices such as PCs, Smartphones and even basic networking equipment like routers. These Botnets are typically controlled by cyber-criminals from afar and enable them to control often tens and hundreds of individual systems in order to propogate things like viruses, malware and ransomware.

"Like almost everything Hard Drive Recovery Group does, informing customers on how to keep their data safe from the dangers of the Internet pays off in the long run," said Davies. "While recovering data from hard drives remains the company's key focus, stressing prevention has helped save customers thousands of dollars over the years."

Hard Drive Recovery Group has recovered data from hard drives, RAID arrays, servers and other storage media for over 25 years. The company's data recovery rate is one of the highest in the industry, even in cases where there has been severe electrical damage, fires or flood. And, when the company cannot recover data, there is never a charge to the customer for data recovery services, no matter the circumstances.