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Maintaining Your mini Pal
& Safeguarding Your Data
A hard drive is a very sophisticated and sensitive device that requires
proper care and maintenance to ensure the longest possible life, reliable
operation, and most of all, the integrity of your stored data.
Backup Your Data
The single most important action you can take to safeguard your valuable
data is to backup the data to another storage device. There are many reasons
why data stored on a hard drive can become corrupted or lost. One of the
most common is human error, e.g. mistakenly deleting or overwriting a file.
If you are using your mini Pal as a general storage device, as opposed to a
backup device, you should backup your data on a regular basis.
Defragmenting and Optimizing a Hard Drive
A hard drive stores data on disks called platters. Each platter surface is divided
into concentric tracks. Each track is divided into sections called sectors.
Sectors are grouped into storage units called clusters.
When data is saved to a new disk, it is written contiguously, one cluster
after another. As old files are erased, clusters that were previously occupied
become available for new data. However, there may not be enough space for
the disk to write a new file in a contiguous set of clusters. The disk uses the
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clusters it can, and if more are needed, it uses other clusters in other loca-
tions. The result is a fragmented file that may be scattered in several places
on the disk.
Over time, as more and more files are erased and new files are added, the
data on the disk becomes increasingly fragmented. The more fragmented a
disk becomes, the longer it takes to read and write data because the drive's
read/write mechanism spends more time moving back and forth over the
platter searching for data fragments or free clusters.
We recommend using defragmentation and optimization software to maxi-
mize the storage efficiency and optimize performance. Optimization soft-
ware re-organizes files so that the files you use most often can be accessed
more quickly. Defragmentation software consolidates file fragments that are
scattered on your hard drive into more efficient contiguous clusters.
Defragging and optimization functions will often be included in one applica-
tion, such that both operations are performed at the same time.
Examining and Repairing a Hard Drive
Regular examination of a hard drive with a quality disk examination and
repair utility is the best way to prevent irreparable disk damage and avoid
data loss.
There are several software packages available that offer a suite of disk man-
agement utilities, including defragmentation, optimization, repair, erased file
recovery, and more. Generally speaking, it's a good idea to examine a disk for
damage at least once a month.
Some maintenance and repair operations can take quite some time, so it is
wise to schedule these operations for those times when you don't need to
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Troubleshooting
