If your hard drive seems to “spin up,” but your computer can’t recognize it, you’ve got a problem — but in many cases, the solution is fairly straightforward (the quickest and most likely solution is to check your data connections)....

External hard drives (HDDs) are commonly used for backup and for additional storage. They provide more control over data than cloud storage services, and they’re significantly less expensive than external solid-state drives (SSD). But while external HDDs are inexpensive and...

Seagate Technology has announced a new hard drive architecture utilizing a “nanophotonic laser,” which leverages heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) technology to allow for extremely high capacities.  HAMR isn’t brand-new tech, and many other manufacturers are experimenting with similar lasers. If...

If you need data recovery, but you can’t quite afford it, you might consider putting your hard drive (or solid state drive, or other device) into storage until you’re able to get the money together.  Clients often ask us whether...

If a hard drive can be plugged into your computer, it should work in most circumstances. You’ll need to format the drive to use a filesystem that is compatible with your operating system. For example, if you use Windows, the...

Recently, we had a client ask whether data has a physical weight. This isn’t a bad question — although if you understand the basics of magnetic data storage, there’s an obvious answer. A hard drive filled with terabytes of data...

Hard disk drives (HDDs) can function in a fairly wide range of conditions, but high operating temperatures can lead to mechanical issues.  Generally, manufacturers recommend that hard drives operate within a range of 77-133 degrees Fahrenheit (25-45 degrees Celsius). Your...

Hard drives store data magnetically — the read/write heads float above platters, which are disks coated with a thin layer of magnetic material.  The actuator heads rely on magnetism, so it’s logical to wonder whether another magnet could interfere with...

When we treat water-damaged hard drives, solid-state drives, and other storage devices, we often receive the devices in plastic bags filled with white rice — which tends to complicate the data recovery process. Of course, “put it in a bag...