Hard Drive Failures

Over the course of the past year, we have seen a marked increase in the failure rate of 2.5 inch hard drives used in Apple PowerBook G4, Mini, MacBook and MacBook Pro models. All of these drives have been in service for 2 to 3 years. Brand names we have seen fail are Toshiba, primarily used in the PowerBook G4; Seagate and Western Digital, used primarily in the Mini, MacBook and MacBook Pro.

Most of these drives have failed in the same manner and have exhibited the same symptoms described below while a few have just died immediately. Some have been brought to our attention promptly and complete recovery has been possible. Others have been brought to our attention after the point of complete failure. In the latter case the story has been the same. The owner either kept trying to run a disk repair utility or simply tolerated the symptoms hoping the problem would fix itself.

If your Mac suddenly takes a lot longer to boot up, this is an early warning sign that complete hard drive failure is imminent. Listen carefully with your ear right on the palm rest area. During a normal boot up, the hard drive activity is erratic in nature. A failing hard drive that is taking an inordinately long time to boot up will make a repetitive sound as it tries over and over to read data. If this repetitive sound is heard and your drive is not 100% backed up, the worst thing you can do is to try and back it up or run a disk repair utility.

First, understand that this is failing electronics. There isn’t any software utility in the world that can fix this type of failure. Time is very much of the essence. If left to run in this state, the drive will fail completely, locking up your data for good. Your best option is to shut down the computer and seek competent professional assistance immediately.

Obviously when the drive contains files that are not backed up, one would naturally think the proper course of action would be to go in and retrieve just the most important files. This requires that the filing system on the logical volume be free of corruption. If you can guarantee the filing system is corruption free, then this course of action would be correct. Experience has shown us that 100% of the time, a failing hard drive does have filing system corruption that must be repaired before file access is even possible. Repairing the filing system on a failing hard drive wastes precious time that more often than not leaves one with a completely failed hard drive. Your data is gone for good.

If you think this sounds like a catch 22, you are absolutely right and any professional that fails to understand this and insists they can get your files back with software alone just isn’t being honest with you. The best case scenario is to have a raw sector copy made of the failing hard drive onto a new hard drive and then attempt repair of the filing system. Raw sector copying is the fastest method possible as it “images” a failing hard drive, errors and all, before it fails completely. Raw sector copying is many times faster than copying individual files from the hard drive. And since the drive is going to fail completely, this is the only competent approach to take. Once your hard drive starts down this slow boot up path, every single minute counts. Complete failure and loss of all data is very imminent.

Don’t let this happen to you, back up, back up, back up. Remember there are two types of hard drives: those that have failed and those that will. And you will experience a hard drive failure someday. If you are not prepared with a back up when this happens, turn off your computer and call us. Time is of the essence.

Should your laptop be a mission critical business tool with a hard drive that is 2 to 3 years or older and you can appreciate the value in heading off the inevitable failure, replacing the hard drive now would be prudent.