Happy Hamster Portland Computer Repair Talks About Sleeping Hard Drives
Hey Everybody in Portland Computer Repair Land,
Every once in awhile somebody will bring in an old computer to get their data from it, pictures, music, etc. Often these computers have sat in the basement for years, or in the closet. Always they worked when last shut down. Unfortunately, many find themselves surprised when we tell them that their data is now damaged and difficult or impossible to retrieve. Hard drives, like cars, do poorly when sitting for a long time. Even when not in use, they and their data continue to degrade. Try sometime putting your car on the street and not turning it on for a year, the next time you go to use it, it will not start, and likely will have additional issues beyond a dead battery.
If you are storing a computer somewhere and want the data, make sure you constantly back it up to new sources, and always back up in two locations. Burned CD’s will degrade after 2 – 5 years, floppy discs are already dead, and external hard drives have a shelf life of about 5 years. Unfortunately, at this time, there is no good/permanent long term way to store data, you just have to keep it moving!
Thanks,
-Zac
Owner
Happy Hamster Portland Computer Repair