A Hard Disk In Good Condition Can Make The Difference

Everybody knows that a computer stores its data primarily on a hard disk, also know as a hard drive. The hard disk is vital for a computer to run. Unless the hard disk is replaced by something more effective in the future, I cannot see why you would not care to know how to maintain your hard disk at home.

The hard disk consists of one or more disk platters, each having a specific number of concentric circles called tracks. Each track is then divided into sectors which store the data. When you format a hard disk, all the tracks and sectors are erased and new ones are written. This also erases the data on the drive.

Now, when loads of data is stored on the surface of the drive and you request for something to be opened, the hard disk heads have to sift through all the data to find the one you asked for.

If the data were arranged in a continuous pattern, meaning that a file is stored in one whole piece on the drive, then it is very easy and quick for the drive to fetch the file. However that is usually not the case.

Suppose you have 5 different files of 25 KB stored on your hard disk in a continuous pattern. You delete the first file, leave the second, delete the third, leave the fourth and delete the fifth. The total space freed up is 75 KB. Now you ask for a new 75 KB file to be stored on the hard disk. The computer will not find a new block of 75 KB to store the new file, but split the latter into blocks of 25 KB and store them in the different places on the hard disk.

If you request the new file to be read, the hard disk has to read the first 25 KB from the first location, then the second 25 KB from another location, and finally the remaining 25 KB from another location, join the three parts up and show you the file. This decreases the performance of your hard disk. The splitting of the file is called fragmentation in computer slang. You need to 'defragmment' your hard disk to make the stream of data continuous. If you avoid this step (defragmentation), you will hear your hard disk making a lot of noise while reading file. This is called thrashing. To reduce the noise, do a disk defragment.

Hirvesh Marshall maintains a web page on FREE hard disk tools (http://www.codefusionlab.co.cc/freedisktools.html) at Codefusion Lab. Codefusion Lab is a site dedicated to provide free and useful software to other persons. You can get more software at Codefusion Lab: Free PC Tools and Webmaster's Resource (http://www.codefusionlab.co.cc).