There used to be a time when hard disk real estate was a prime but very scarce PC resource. During the mid 1990s, hard drive manufacturers were hard pressed in keeping up with the growing size of applications. The only safe solution to lack of space at that time was to buy another hard drive. But this is a very expensive remedy. Hence, many resorted to DriveSpace.

DriveSpace doubles up hard drive space by compressing files in the disk. While this program effectively frees up 30%-40% of disk space, it slows down file access and even endangers the integrity of many applications. Take note that DriveSpace increases breathing room by squeezing files and not expanding space. Hence, any error on the manner by which files are compressed and decompressed could very well mean the corruption of the file.

DriveSpace has long been extinct. It was still recognized by Windows 98, but the utility was entirely scrapped in XP. At present, hard drives is as cheap as any other media storage device. Well, not really, but it’s very affordable nonetheless.

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If you’ve been following the entries in my blog since its inception, you would notice that I couldn’t seem to emphasize enough the importance of defragging your hard drive. I guess any computer analyst or aficionado, both budding and established, shares the opinion that this method of optimization is sometimes the only option as far as improving the performance of your disks is concerned.

The hard disk is the most important storage device in your PC. It houses the most important application in your system (the OS), and the other programs that you frequently access. Windows also frequently resort to it in case your actual physical memory is too small. I have no reservations then in saying that the hard disk is an indispensable PC component.

You may contend though, that your DVD drive could easily take the cudgels for your hard drive in case the latter decides to take the day off and conks out on you. Indeed, the capacity of current optical drives could already rival the size of a standard fixed disk. However, it cannot match the role or functionality that hard disks offer. For one thing, the capacity of their latest models is exponentially larger than that of their optical counterparts’.

A disk cannot be considered as a primary storage device if it doesn’t have the size and speed to store and read all the applications that you’re using or may want to use. Sure, other disks could match the fixed ones in this category by adding numbers. The numbers here don’t refer to their capacity though, but to their quantity.

I was fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to have been able to live during the time when it was a luxury to have a drive. Old PCs didn’t automatically come with hard drives. All they usually have is a floppy drive slot. The applications weren’t that large then, so shuffling floppies to load and run programs were not so frustrating or impractical. Everything changed when programs bloated. DOS was dethroned as the OS king, and Windows paved the way in making hard drives a staple in every PC package.

While a DVD disk is fairly large enough to house several software, it cannot conveniently serve as the primary storage device because it’s simply just not big enough. You may contend that you could always imitate the disk shuffling of old, but this is inconvenient and time-consuming. The fact that multi-tasking is the order of the era makes that old practice impossible. Doing several things at the same time would then require you to have several optical drives. People just don’t have the time or the patience for this.

I don’t see the hard drive being replaced by a new type of storage media anytime soon. I know it’s an old technology. But then again, so is the monitor. Of course, there will definitely be new innovations as far as its architecture is concerned. However, the concept would still be the same. The primary storage devices of the future would still be more or less permanent. It would still remain fixed no matter how big or efficient other portable media would become.

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Too much data? Overused? Virtual memory too large?

I’m sure you already know what I’m talking about. My hard drive has been making weird noises lately. A friend of mine told me that my disk is telling me something. I wonder what it is.

Well, I’m not entirely clueless as to what it is. When your hard disk starts clicking or grinding, it’s definitely telling you that something’s not right. But the thing is, my PC not even that old. It’s practically new, so how could its components turn cuckoo coo this early?!?

I tried to check several Web sites over the Internet to seek clarification on my problem and suspicion. True enough, many of them confirmed my fears. The noises that my hard disk is emitting are symptoms of an impending crash.

I guess it’s not enough that I keep the files in it defragmented. Optimization alone won’t keep one’s PC in tip top shape. You have to take care of it physically. Don’t subject it to unnecessary abuse. Yes, even when you are really having a bad day…

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