It would never happen to us, or so we think, but it has happened to so many of us that is worth repeating. You should back up your data at least once a day, and more often if your time and schedule allow.
While the technology for making hard drives are getting better, it’s still way behind the technology for other computer related parts. So hard drives will fail often and this means you could lose valuable data.
Hard drives fail because of the high speeds at which they run, reaching around 7200 rpm (revolutions per minute). Compare this with 500 – 1800 rpm at which a washing machine’s drum rotates during the spin cycle. A washing machine moves fabric around while a hard drive sorts out bits of electrical impulses. The main difference between the two is a hard drive must work from a stable base, while a washing base can rock all-night without tearing to shreds its contents.
Also, other electronic storage holders do have their own peculiarities, so it is important to back up any data you don’t want to lose. You can accidentally lose information on a computer as quickly as it would take your eye to blink. This means there is a 50-50 chance of losing data every time you work on your computer, listen to your ipod, or watch a movie on your DVD player.
Making regular backup copies of your important files and storing them in a separate place, will ensure you have a starting point should the worst case scenario happen. If you don’t have a backup to start with, then you have on your hand a serious case of data recovery. You can avoid the worse case by investing in some backup software, or hiring it out to an online service.
