The ultimate safeguard against any data storage device failing is a formally defined and steadfastly followed data backup policy and procedure. A full system backup and incremental or differential backups are our insurance policy for any data storage device's failure. Why do we need an insurance policy? Well, we store one of our organization's most valuable assets (data) on what we believe is a reliable device. We then power it with one of the most unreliable and frequently failing devices in a PC—the power supply. If it avoids power issues, it's subject to viruses, physical damage, bad application software, and erroneous device drivers. On top of all that, there's the human. It's no wonder that data storage devices can develop problems.
In the sections that follow, we look at the common problems of three of the primary...
