[X4U] Lifespan of Harddrives?

[Randy B.Singer]

Michael Winter said:

>Others have pointed out the unpredictability in determining when a  
>hard drive will fail (usually takes years). So the corollary to that  
>is if you have hard drives dying at similar times it could be  
>coincidence, or maybe its not.
>
>Zane mentioned cooling, but power spikes or lows may be another  
>source of trouble.


That is an excellent point.  I've notices that offices that use a UPS on 
each computer tend to have hard drives that last indefinately.  (Their 
Macs tend to be more reliable also.)

If you get a UPS, make sure that it has "automatic voltage regulation" 
(AVR).  This will protect the computer (and hard drive) from sags in 
power, as well as from surges.  I like the Belkin UPS units personally.



Randy B. Singer
Co-Author of: The Macintosh Bible (4th, 5th and 6th editions)

Routine OS X Maintenance and Generic Troubleshooting
http://www.macattorney.com/ts.html