Common Causes of Hard Drive Failure

Hard drives are good for two things; storing data and crashing.

Since the technology's existed, hard drive users have been frustrated by the inevitability of drive failure. And, sadly, there's no way to stop your drive from eventually hitting a wall and breaking down.

However, you can slow the process down. There are a few major causes of hard drive damage, and if you know what they are and how to avoid them, you can make sure that your drive lasts as long as it's supposed to.

Vibration

The construction of a hard drive is incredibly sensitive; the drive's heads (which read the information) float a micron above the platters (which hold the data), and when a drive is subjected to a large amount of vibration, the heads can be offset, causing the most literal version of a crash. To avoid this, you'll want to make sure that your computer's on the ground, away from unnecessary vibration. Avoid using computer desks that suspend the tower in a way that can take on any sort of vibration from bumping into the desk.

Heat

Heat problems can cause the delicate electronics of a hard drive to fail, causing a head crash or further problems. Make sure that your computer has adequate ventilation and that it's not located in an enclosed space where heat may build up. Make sure all of your computer's fans are working at all times, as well. Many motherboards will also let you view the internal temperature of your computer from the BIOS or Windows.
Heat is a very big problem for office hard drives, as management often prefers to put towers in aesthetically pleasing cabinets that can cause heat to build up.

Static Electricity