Computers Run On Hard Drives

A computer cannot run without a hard drive. Hard drives store all the data the computer needs to be up and running, like the operating system, commands, and executions. Program files are also stored on the drive and so are personal computer files.

A hard drive is very fragile. The disc inside is always spinning when powered up and can be damaged if dropped or if something magnetic is close to it. It can be erased if that happens.

Anywhere from a hundred to a thousand gigabytes of space are on hard drives. A thousand is called a terrabyte. It depends on what types of files the user has. If it's a photo collection or music they may only need a few hundred. Graphic designers will likely need much more.

Internal hard drives are stored inside the computer and mainly used as the main drive for the computer to run on. External drives are stand alone and can be easily hooked up to an existing computer by USB and used for extra storage or for backup.

It's common for a hard drive to die after long term use. Some will last for years upon years, and others may burn out after only a couple years. Regardless, they need to be replaced every now and then. Be sure you have your data always backed up on something else.

A good way to take care of your hard drive is to perform maintenance every so often, such as defragmenting. This deletes old and obsolete file fragments that are cluttering up the drive and will free up space and memory.

A drive can also be reformatted which means it is wiped of all data and can be started anew. This erases all previous data, however, and anything else that is stored on it. Be sure to back up first before doing this.