hard drives over the years
One of the most important components of laptop computers are the hard drives. These components store all the valuable information that the computer carries and serve as the long-term “memory” for its applications and documents. Some people may describe it to you as part of the computer’s brain. That is not strictly true. Think of it more as the computer’s library. When it needs to think about something it takes a quick peek in the library to find the information it needs.
In the past few years the price of hard drives has tumbled and their capacity has surged. It was only a few years back when people used to measure the size of hard drives in terms of megabytes. Now it is gigabytes and even terabytes. What’s more, even as capacity has gone up, prices have largely come down. This has allowed us to completely change the way we use data and interact with it. Cheap storage means we can now rip our compact disks to our computer hard drives or iPods or store films on the drive, rather than just on DVDs. This trend will likely continue with ever more data being stored and manipulated. It also allows us to create far more data than in the past. Now instead of shooting a roll of 24 or 36 photographs on film, we can shoot hundreds and often we end up keeping them all. The same is true with video cameras and now even HD video.
Yet this also places a greater premium on having a reliable hard drive and backing it up regularly. Previously you might have just had a few important files to worry about. Now you may have your entire music collection, all the photographs and videos you have taken of your summer holiday and perhaps a couple of films that you have bought and downloaded. When you look at the value of all that data, it is worth far more than the cost of the drive that it is stored on.
Caring for a laptop hard disk is a very important task. One of the most common ways you can care for you hard drive is to limit its movement while operating. Traditional hard disks use physical movement to access the data. They consist of an actual disk that spins at high speed to process the data that being read. Speeds can vary between 3,600, 5,400, 7,200, 10,000 and 15,000 RPM. The faster it goes the more heat it produces and will require more fans or cooling mechanisms. If a disk is working and a sudden or rough movement happens the disk might lose stability and get damaged. They can get scratched or broken, depending on the amount of movement. Usually, for this to happen the movement needs to be really drastic. Normal laptop movement is supposed to be safe for hard disks.
Like laptop batteries, drives tend to have a limited lifespan. This is usually due to their constant use and unstable setups. It is a good idea to always have a backup of your data in case something happens to your information. Recovering data from damaged storage devices can be a very difficult an expensive process. You will need to hire a company that specializes in repairing data. They will charge you high fees and they will not guarantee that the data is going to be recovered in full. In some cases they are not able to recover any data and your information gets lost forever.
Another important aspect about notebook hard drives, is that they are usually hard to replace. Portable computers house their drives inside the computer. This makes replacing the hard drive mayor surgery. Upgrading you hard drive is possible in most computer setups. You can try to do the procedure yourself following the laptop’s manufacturer instructions on how to open the computer and replace the drive, but your best bet is to go to a computer specialist. They will do the job quickly and will offer guarantee the on their service. It is advisable to purchase the new drive form them. They will usually add an extra warranty for the equipment and service that can be very handy in the future.
Right now most laptops carry between 160 to 300 GB of memory on their factory 5,400 RPM installed drives. This is a considerable amount of storage space for the common uses a portable computer gets. If you require extra space, there are some options you can evaluate if you don’t want to replace the internal drive.
External storage drives, are a great alternative if you need to expand the storage capacity of your computer. They come in a great variety of sizes and budgets. The newer drives are usually bus (otherwise known as USB) powered. What this means is that they don’t need an external power source to be turned on. They use the computer’s power source as their own. If you are connecting one of these drives to your laptop, be aware that they use your laptop’s battery as their power source. This can cut up to half the battery time you are accustomed to. Bus powered drives do have an advantage. They are substantially smaller and can fit easily in you laptop bag. They are great for schoolwork and also serve as a great alternative to portable media. In the past I’ve owned several Western Digital Passport external drives and have had no trouble with them.
A smaller option is to use USB Flash drives such as the Kingston Data Traveler or SanDisk Cruzer. These are pretty cheap if bought in small sizes of 32 gig or 16 gig. For more storage than that you get better value for money using a hard drive.
The other alternative you have is to have a virtual storage device. The Internet serves as a great source for virtual storage. Some services offer up to 10GB of free storage space that can be used from any computer at any time. They also let you share files with your coworkers and even play slideshows on the road. I’ve recently signed up to SugarSync and am a great fan. I use their free service which offers 2 gig of storage. The best thing about it though is that it painlessly synchronizes files across multiple computers. I use it at work and on my laptop so I know I’m always working on the most current document but also that I’m always backed up.
In conclusion, drives are sensitive storage devices that need to be taken care of. They carry all the information a computer needs to function and serve as home to the operating system the computer uses. Recovering data from a damaged drive is very hard, so you always need to have a backup of your information
