Introduction
Hard drives commonly referred to as hard disk are devices which magnetically store digital information. Generally computer hard drives can be divided into two groups, desktop hard drives and laptop hard drives. Once in a while you will experience desktop hard drive problems like data loss, data corruption or even a complete malfunction. With a typical desktop hard drive reaching capacities in excess of 2 TB, the amount you could store is huge but so is the loss if anything wrong occurs. Here are a few tips that could help you get the most of your desktop hard drive and eliminate any chances of failures or malfunctions.
Step 1
Run a disk clean up regularly. Desktop hard drives have a fixed storage capacity. Cleaning up the hard disk regularly ensures that you never run out of space and only the very necessary files are left in the hard drive. Files in a desktop hard drive are not necessarily stored in a sequence.
Step 2
This creates a problem in that files become disorganised over a longer period of time. A disk clean-up will free up some space and defragment the desktop hard drive reducing time needed to locate the various pieces of a file stored drive. Off the shelf automated desktop hard drive clean-up utilities exist and are installed on most operating systems.
Step 3
They are able to recognize files and programs that have not been used for a long time and recommend their removal or even remove them automatically. Desktop hard drive clean-up can also be undertaken manually.
Step 4
No matter how often you clean up your desktop hard drive, failure is bound to occur. However, these failures can be prevented or minimised using a few tricks. Mechanical failure of a desktop hard drive is common but is mostly caused by improper handling.
Step 5
Desktop hard drives are very sensitive to shock and their moving parts are easily damaged by even a very small bump. Modification of system files on a desktop hard drive is best left to an expert.
Also
Put in place a few desktop recovery measures. Back up any sensitive data and system files that may not be recoverable if a data loss occurs. There exist data recovery tools which are able to recover lost data from desktop hard drives. Their success is however not guaranteed. Recent operating systems have a recovery module accessible by right clicking on any file or folder. It is dedicated to recovering data which is permanently deleted or has been erroneously modified but has to be enabled by users who wish use it.
Conclusion
Partition your desktop hard drive. Partitioning involves division of a large desktop hard drive into smaller allocations of smaller capacity. This can help you organize your hard disk very efficiently. You could create one partition for music or movies, another for programs and another for back up. With several partitions you can easily install a number of operating systems simultaneously. It is also very likely that data loss will affect only a single partition and thus your data may be secure if spread over a number of partitions.
