Small Dog is a hardware and software seller that’s been in the Mac space for many years, and has always had great prices and reliable service. Their blog, written by employees, covers a number of topics useful for home and small business Mac users, so I read it regularly.
Last week’s blog post by Glenn Brensinger is called Why Did My Hard Drive Die? It’s essential reading, because it talks about how hard drives work and therefore how susceptible they are to the slightest environmental changes–whether that be temperature fluctuations or a bump at a bad time or a power surge. Plus it talks about how most drives are made as cheaply as possible nowadays, which means failures due to malfunctioning parts are frequent.
Most importantly, the post should scare all readers into realizing how fragile hard drives are, and thus how important it is to have a backup strategy. Not just “I copy stuff off my computer when I think about it,” but a PLAN for onsite AND offsite backup that doesn’t require you to remember to do it to be successful.
As I’ve mentioned in numerous recent blog posts, we have seen many more hard drives fail this year than ever before. I attribute this to the push towards lower costs and increased production that’s just as prevalent in the tech sphere as it is everywhere else.
So go read the Small Dog post now. And if you’re not backing up your computer religiously, set it up before it’s too late. We generally recommend Time Machine for onsite Mac backup, and CrashPlan for offsite Mac backup.