Your mind is racing at a mile a minute, and you keep a to-do list for all of the things you are supposed to do. Unfortunately, that to-do list is often forgotten about. You save it as a .DOC text file on your computer, which has been making a strange clicking noise lately. But one day, the clicking sound gets worse, and worse, and worse, until your computer stops working completely. Just like that, all of your data is gone, and that's when it hits you.

The computer's strange clicking noise was the first thing to look at on that to-do list. So, now you have no idea what needs to be done, and have no computer. All of this could have been taken care of with regular maintenance. The hard disk drive of a computer is not a sturdy thing. It contains disks called platters that have data written on them, and they spin at thousands of revolutions per minute. These tiny moving parts read the data off the spinning disks, so it's no wonder that something so intricate degrades with time and use.

It's hard to know when your hard drive is about to die out on you. Every kind of hard drive goes through different amounts of use. Generally, you want to replace your hard drive at least every five years before you experience a devastating crash and lose all of your data. This is a vague figure, though - as is the case with anything, expect the unexpected, because a hard drive can crash within the first year of its life, or survive for more than ten years.

Proper maintenance is key to extending the lifespan of your computer. This entails checking and repairing sectors, running disk defragmentation, keeping the interior of the PC dust-free, and much more. Network Synergy can provide you with a computer maintenance to-do list that will prolong the life of your PC. It's simply a waste of money to not take care of something expensive after you buy it. Think about PC maintenance like buying a brand new car and welding the hood shut. It works fine for a few months after you buy it, but it will start to show subtle signs of problems as time goes on.

This is when we meet the famous Edward Aloysius Murphy, Jr, and he slaps you in the face with Murphy's law. This states that anything that can go wrong will go wrong, so basically, your car will break down when you need it the most, such as when you're rushing your pregnant family member to the hospital. When the tow truck arrives, you'll have to find a way to explain to him why you welded the hood shut and have performed no maintenance whatsoever on your car without looking like a fool. Good luck.

Unfortunately, your computer's hard drive works the same way, and could break down on the side of the information superhighway at any given moment. Keep an eye out for these common degradation signs:

• The hard drive sounds like it has a something stuck in it (clicks and grinding noises).
• System hangs.
• Your computer files start disappearing.
• Poor performance.
• Longer boot times.

Do not ignore these warning signs. When you start to notice any of these symptoms, you need to check that hard drive before it's too late. Otherwise, your computer will crash and all of your data will be lost in a fiery blaze of glory (not really, your computer just won't work). Just like the car, your system could crash just as you're putting the finishing touches on a project for a client that's due the next day.

If you are noticing these warning signs on your workstation, call Network Synergy at (203) 261-2201 before it's too late. We'll take a look at the machinery under the hood and give your PC a checkup, and our managed IT services will be available to you remotely whenever you need our assistance. We'll work hard so you can too!

Hard drives have been known to crash and burn without warning; sometimes it's because of a poorly-built drive, and other times it's because of an external threat such as a power surge, tsunami, volcanic eruption, sinkhole, or all of them at once! Whatever way that your hard drive decides to face its demise, you will want to have your data backed up properly, or suffer the sometimes deadly consequences of data loss. Network Synergy can backup your entire network with our BDR solution. Call (203) 261-2201 to learn all about BDR, managed IT services, and other ways we can remotely solve all of your technical needs. With Network Synergy running behind the scenes, you'll finally be able to keep track of your to-do list and get everything done.