Overview

M.T.B.F. is an acronym for Mean Time Between Failure and is often seen in product specifications for hard disk drives. The M.T.B.F. is normally quoted in hundreds of thousands of hours. With hundreds of thousands of hours between failures it is easy to become assured that your hard disk will not fail in ten years or longer and that your data is safe. 

NO. 

The acronym starts with the word mean or average which tells us that some fail earlier and some last longer!

If you do not have 2 copies of your data, one on the hard drive and one on a backup then you are at immediate risk.

Hard drives are particularly susceptible to sharp knocks while the drive is running. This often causes the drive head to physically hit and damage the drives data surfaces because the normal distance between these items is microscopic.

Typical Resulting Problems

Loss of all data on the hard drive or very expensive recovery by specialist hard drive data recovery companies.

What to Do About Reducing the Risks

1.Always have 2 copies of your data - see the Backups section.

2.Turn computers off before moving them.

3.Package computers thoroughly before transportation - it is best to keep the original boxes for this purpose if you can.

4.Don't throw  your laptop around, treat it like porcelain.  There is a small hard drive in it somewhere fighting to survive.

5.Don't locate the system unit of the computer in the users well of a desk (i.e. where they sit) as it is very easy to kick, use as a footrest, or knock with the chair. All of these actions cause sharp knocks to the drive unit. Tell tale marks where shoes and chairs have scuffed the system unit are often visible.  

6.If when running Scandisk (look it up in Windows Help)  it starts to mark blocks as bad then keep an eye on this PC. This is usually a clue to physical damage and if the number of bad blocks continues to grow it is an indication of an imminent hard drive failure.

6.As a related issue some users continue to use the older technology of diskettes to store their data. Diskettes are far more susceptible to damage and wear and tear than hard drives. A diskette should only be used for an original in confidential cases where you cannot afford to have that data on a hard drive should someone see it. Even then you should ensure that you have 2 copies of the diskette.

Golden Rule. Diskettes may be used for backups but not for originals. 

How We Can Help 

We can replace suspect disks before they fail and copy the data over.

We can arrange for specialist data recovery companies to recover data from damaged hard disks.

Provision, installation, and configuration of backup systems - to tape, CD, DVD or other computers.

See our Services and Products section for details.

Copyright © 2003 Richard Dunn

Last modified: November 28, 2000