[ The PC Guide | Systems and Components Reference Guide | Hard Disk Drives | Hard Disk Performance, Quality and Reliability | Hard Disk Quality and Reliability ]

Hard Disk Quality and Reliability Issues

Quality and reliability specifications are theoretical numbers that reflect the drive's quality characteristics under average--or in some cases "ideal"--conditions. In actual operation, however, the reliability of a hard disk depends as much on how the storage subsystem is implemented as it does on the characteristics of the drive itself. No implementation factors can make the drive more reliable than it is specified to be, but mistakes in the way the drive is used can sometimes make it less reliable. There are several different issues that impact upon this "real world" reliability.

In this section I will take a look at topics related to reliability such as cooling, noise and vibration, and power management. I will also discuss determining when a drive is failing, and also look at some software causes for reliability problems (which are often mistakenly blamed on hardware!)

Next: Hard Disk Quality: Luck Of The Draw?

Home  -  Search  -  Topics  -  Up