Hard Disks will crash

Today’s hard disks should provide many years of trouble-free service. They
rarely fail, butwhen they do the results can be catastrophic. Therefore it pays
to be aware of potential problems before they become a real threat.

1) Back up data regularly. Store backup sets in a fireproof safe, and off-site
wherever possible.

2) Use anti-virus software and maintain regular updates.

3) To help safeguard against boot sector infections, disable the “boot from
floppy” option in the system BIOS.

4) Store important files in a single location such as the My Documents folder.
Then use subfolders to help organise data by project or category. Old data
can be moved across to a specially created Archives folder.

5) Windows users should maintain an up-to-date Emergency Repair Disk.

6) Format windows volumes as NTFS. The NTFS format includes transaction logging
capabilities to help prevent data errors.

7) users to report any unusual noises immediately. Tapping, clicking
or humming sounds are early signs of disk or controller failure.

8) Avoid excessive heat. The latest hard drives spin almost twice as fast as
their older counterparts, so make sure the system fan is up to the task.
Consider fitting an additional fan.

9) Store an emergency installation of the OS on a different drive.

10) For optimal server setup, use mirrored boot drives with all data maintained
on a hardware RAID5 system. Depending on the nature of the data
involved, consider RAID 5+0 for increased speed.