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You might have noticed your computer performing slowly, becoming unresponsive, or even ‘hanging’ and restarting itself. This can be due to an excessive amount of bad software that loads at startup. However, most people don’t realise, until it is too late, that it is their hard disk drive that is failing. One of the most telling symptoms can be excessively long file transfer times—when you copy the data, the progress bar tells you it will take several hours or days to copy.
Over a period of time, the hard disk starts losing its magnetism, which may cause bad sectors. In such a situation, the damage is severe, and you cannot recover your data from it. Below is a list of the most common causes of bad sectors:
On a hard disk, the address mark contains the number and location of the sector. In addition, it provides status information about the sector. When an address mark gets corrupted, the hard disk fails to find the requested sector. Although the data is still present there, your hard disk cannot locate it without the proper ID.
The hard disk uses an EEC (Error Checking and Correction) algorithm to verify the data integrity. If the data is corrupted, your hard disk will try to recover it with the same error-checking and correction algorithm. If the correction is successfully done, the hard disk will return the data stored in the sector without reporting any error. But if the correction fails, the hard disk will report an error and no data will be returned.
ECC stands for Error Checking & Correcting or Error Correction Code, and the ECC memory is basically a data storage type that can possibly detect some of the most common internal data corruption types and even correct them. ECC is used for checking the integrity of the data being read by the hard disk. When data is being read, the hard disk calculates its ECC and then compares it. Sometimes the error-correcting code (ECC) can also get corrupted due to any reason, and, as a result, there will be no way to verify the integrity of the data. In such a situation, when the hard disk reads the data from the sector, the ECC will not match, and the hard disk will not return with any data but an error.
The ideal operating temperature of a hard disk is between 35 and 45 degrees Celsius. A hard disk can get very hot when in use for a long duration. Overheating is a serious issue that can cause physical damage to the hard disk and system crashes. Long-time overheating can cause bad sectors in the hard disk, and, as a result, the data stored in those sectors will become inaccessible.
Dust can be one of the leading causes of bad disk sectors, although it is generally overlooked. Since the drive head is very close to the hard disk, sometimes the dust particles can be stuck between the head and the platter surface. As a result, the hard disk fails or it starts causing bad sectors. Dust is also considered one of the important factors for overheating the hard disk.
Remember, the hard disk failure rates steadily increase with age. An old hard disk is always at high risk of physical damage. Do not forget that every electronic device has a limited lifespan. Overusing the hard disk for a long time can cause bad sectors and put your data at a high risk of loss.
Remember, the hard disk failure rates steadily increase with age. An old hard disk is always at high risk of physical damage. Do not forget that every electronic device has a limited lifespan. Overusing the hard disk for a long time can cause bad sectors and put your data at a high risk of loss.
