A regular client contacted me yesterday, saying their pc ran into some major error. They said an error appeared on screen, something about a Primary Hard Disk error, and that they don't see Windows appearing.
I went to check, and at a short distance (an inch) from the pc, I would already hear a strong "clik-clak" sound. That's a sound I don't like to hear coming from a harddisk, it's the sound of a dying (or dead) harddisk. After a more thorough examination, I made my declaration: it's DUMA (Died Upon My Arrival). My client, still unsure of how to react, requested an explanation on what possible cause killed it.
Well, let me describe it: After opening the Systems Unit enclosure, there's dirt all over, the entire silvery colored flooring is now covered in black dust. Even the cooling fan of the processor is so dirty you could hardly see the heatsink beneath it. I also noticed the interior is a bit hotter than normal, specially the power supply unit.
Finally, I opened up the power supply unit, push the cooling fan blades a bit, and presto, it could hardly move! The cooling fan is dead also. Without the cooling fan spinning, the entire power supply almost got fried from the excessive heat, which might, in some way, have affected the overall functionality of the systems unit. It's hard to say with finality that this may have directly cause the harddisk to fail, but it's still a factor. The harddisk may have already been manifesting signs of impending failure (The operator mentioned to me that in the morning, the pc already hanged, then return to normal after a reset, then failed again after two hours, permanently).
This is where computer maintenance plays a vital role. Had there been a regular maintenance and checkup of the pc. Dirt might not have accumulated too much as to clogged the cooling fans and to cause it to fail. A regular maintenance would mean the problem might have been detected (or ultimately prevented) at an earlier time, and data would have been backed up.
Oh well, they immediately bought a replacement harddisk, I replaced the cooling fan, had the systems unit given a general overhaul, and of course, installed a new copy of the operating system. But there's one thing you can't replace: the data and files that have been inside the dead harddisk for almost a year.
Considering a computer maintenance for your pc today? Think about it. :)
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