Don't Mac it Worse! What Not to Do When Your Hard Drive Crashes

Mac computers may be known for their reliability, but that doesn't mean that they're immune to hard disk and logical failure any more than their PC counterparts. A hard disk crash occurs when the physical components of your system's hard disk malfunction and fail to work properly. All hard drives eventually fail (some sooner than others) because they are mechanical devices and the parts wear out over time. To the contrary, a logical drive failure occurs when your machine's operating system fails. Logical hard drive failure is manifested in a variety of ways, such as failure to boot and corrupted drive partitions.

Before you begin the tedious process of Mac hard drive recovery, follow these important don'ts to avoid causing further damage to your drive.

Don't Install New Software – Installing new applications on a failing drive can obstruct any chance of future data recovery. This is particularly true if you're dealing with logical drive failure. In many cases, your data still exists on the drive, but the directory, or path, to access it is corrupted or missing. You run the risk of overwriting the data you want to recover and making it permanently irretrievable if you install any new applications.If you need to recover missing data from your drive and opt to use Mac disk recovery software, install it on a secondary drive, not on the drive from which you need to recover data.

Don't Run Non-Essential Applications – In a similar vein, only run applications that are essential for salvaging data from your drive. If your machine is showing symptoms of impending failure (freezing, slowing down, bad sectors, etc.), it's best to turn it off immediately. Extended use can also cause further damage to your drive and potentially limit your ability to access your data.

Don't Freeze It – Of all the creative ways out there that allege to repair failing drives, the so-called freeze myth seems to be the most widespread. This method purports that you can restore your hard drive to working condition by placing it in the freezer for several hours. The logic behind this assumes that because heat can cause the metal components of your drive to expand, freezing it can cause them to constrict and theoretically fit back together again.

The problem with this theory is that it's not proven to work. In fact, it can do more harm than good, causing condensation buildup on your platters and resulting in irreversible data loss. Although some people may claim this method has worked for them, these are unique exceptions to the rule. Likely, freezing the drive in these cases didn't help or harm the drive because there are myriad other factors in play.

Don't Tinker with the Drive – Whatever you do, do not fiddle with the drive. This (as with every other don't we've outlined) can cause further and perhaps irreversible damage. The mechanical parts of a hard drive are extremely delicate and sensitive to movement, temperature, dust and environmental contaminants. Thus, you should never open, tap or shake your hard drive.

Don't Procrastinate – If you suspect that your drive is headed towards the grave, don't put off cautionary measures to protect your data. The longer you wait to deal with the issue, the more you risk losing valuable data. On the other hand, you may become panic-stricken at the thought of losing all your important files when your drive starts to malfunction. Don't be too hasty about how to proceed. If you need to recover your data, use reliable Mac hard drive recovery software or a reputable data recovery service.