Your Hard Drive is Going to Explode - Why a UPS is Essentia
by Kevin Souter
Published on this site: July 16th, 2005 - See
more articles from this month...
It's most peoples worst computing nightmare. You wake up in
the morning, flip on the computer, and it doesn't boot. Sometimes
the problem rears its ugly head as a horrific clacking noise.
Other times it simply gives a read error.
At this point, most people panic. The first thing you wonder
is whether or not the data is recoverable. There is no universal
answer to this. In some cases, a simple scan with some data
recovery software is all that it takes to retrieve the contents
of the drive. In other cases, if you want it badly enough,
it will take thousands of dollars and a shipment of the drive
to a clean lab where they will pull the platters inside of
the drive and access them that way.
Now you're probably wondering if there's a way to prevent
this from happening. Well, you're in luck. Getting a UPS (Uninterruptible
Power Supply) is the very best and most effective way to prevent
your data from pulling a disappearing act.
While it is not fool-proof, having something that regulates
the electricity flowing into your computer can reduce the
risk of a drive failure by up to 70%. This figure goes up
to around 90% if the computer is being used while in an electrical
storm. (My computer repair business always gets a little boost
after a thunderstorm, courtesy of the lightning wreaking havoc
on people's hard drives.)
Don't just run out and get any UPS. You want to get an intelligent
one. The "intelligent" UPS will regulate the power
without having to hit the battery every time the voltage takes
a dip which greatly improves battery longevity. They also
include options to hook the power supply up to your computer
via a serial or USB port so you can monitor what the power
is doing. This also gives the option to allow for a soft shut-down
if the power goes out and you are away from your desk.
You can get an Uninterruptible Power Supply at most computer
stores. Best Buy carries a fairly wide selection of them.
As for brands, I've personally used APC with much success.
Opti-UPS is another excellent brand. In fact, I have an Opti
that is 6 years old and still works fine, although the batteries
now have no life to them. (That's to be expected. Rechargeable
batteries only last so long)
Now that you know of the importance of a UPS I would strongly
encourage you to invest in one. It is far better to spend
$100 now on some preventative maintenance than having to spend
much more later on data recovery.
Kevin Souter is a full time computer technician and
operates a http://TweaksForGeeks.com
computer repair site, as well as a http://EradicateSpyware.net
free spyware removal site. http://TweaksForGeeks.com
has articles and tutorials on all sorts of computer problems
from internet issues to hardware defects, for the novice and
the expert. http://EradicateSpyware.net
has been set up to teach you how to remove annoying Spyware
/ Adware / Malware from your computer.
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