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AOL User Email Address – Top and Easy Ways to Lookup Or Search For an AOL Email Address
The modernized way of communicating with friends and loved ones is making life more peaceful and easy to thrive in. Gone are the days when you keep track of your friends through snail mails which would take like 2 weeks or more before your friend gets the message. Today, you can chat and email your friends online in order to keep updated with each other’s whereabouts. AOL, short for American online, is one of the popular email providers which provide services in order for users to have the top and easy ways to lookup or search for an AOL email address.
How do you do the search? We must all be guided with the steps so that the search will be faster and easier. Be aware of the advantage of AOL over other domains. AOL was established in the mid 1990s and has been a good competitor in the online market.
There are unavoidable circumstances when you lost track of your friends and so you need to know the top and easy ways to lookup or search for an AOL email address that can be of great help in your search.
1. Learn the basics
-Know the basic and simplest step in doing the search. Keep in contact with your other friends in your list who might have the email address of the person you are looking for.
2. Verify the person’s name
- Check if the data you have is really that of the person you are looking for. Some online users use screen names in order to hide their identity which confuses or alters the searching process.
3. Make use of the advance search
-This involves lists of sites that can help or guide you to numerous results that can trace the email
Address of the person you are looking for like anywho.com, emailfinder.com, or WorldEmaildirectory.com which charges at an affordable rate but the results are worth the money spent. It has a wide selection of significant lists that can help you find the person in your search.
4.Use the reverse lookup and search engines
-This can be the last option but the most effective when searching for lost contacts. Just obtain the necessary information that would best fit the person you are looking for including the complete first, middle and last name.
However, these steps will defeat the purpose if used in a bad way or for the destruction of somebody else’s identity.
Photo Montage (or Slideshow) Tips and Ideas
If you’re anything like me, you’ve got old photos in boxes, scattered pictures in various scrapbooks or albums, a computer hard drive with photos saved in places you don’t even remember, maybe even some undeveloped film (who knows what could be on there!). If you’re looking for something to do with all of it, why not make a photo slideshow on DVD replete with music and specials effects? It is a great way to keep a permanent record of all those photos as DVDs can last up to 100 years. There are plenty of companies that will perform that service for you (including the author’s) or you can do it yourself. If you want to do it yourself, here are some ideas to help you out.
Know Your Audience
The most important aspect in creating any photo montage is in knowing your audience. Ultimately, what you are doing with your montage is telling a story. To tell it effectively, you have to know who you are telling it to. The audience will play a large part in how many pictures you want to include, the type of music you want, and the length of the presentation. Here are a few specific ideas:
* If you plan on showing your montage to a larger audience (like a birthday, wedding reception/rehearsal dinner, or anniversary party) make sure you consider how you are going to present it. Is your slideshow going to be a backdrop for the party or is there going to be a time to sit down where everyone will gather to watch? If it is a backdrop, you probably want to use more pictures. That way, people can watch parts as they please, mingle, and then come back to watch different parts as the party moves on. If your montage is going to be displayed with the expectation that most people will stop what they are doing to watch, keep your presentation limited to about 4 songs (about 125 to 175 photos). This is a good length to create some nice emotions yet short enough that it will not interrupt the event.
* If you plan on showing your slideshow to a small and intimate audience, the best bet is to make it short and sweet. One to two personal songs with about 75 photographs makes a great surprise gift.
The Importance Of Order
There are a variety of approaches you can take in ordering your photographs (thematically, chronologically, etc). What usually has the best flow is a chronological order. Chronological order allows you to encapsulate all facets of a person’s life in a way that everyone will understand. It also creates a great nostalgia effect early on which will grab your audience’s attention right away.
Music
Generically speaking, songs with lyrics are best. Since the majority of your DVD will be pictures, having lyrics really helps to attach the photos to the music. If a particular lyric matches up to what is going on in a particular photo that is even better.
As to musical genre, that is a matter of personal taste. From experience, though, a mix is usually the most powerful. If you are making an upbeat, light-hearted presentation, then matching music is appropriate. If you are looking for something engaging and emotional, then think of your presentation like it is a great movie. You want a lighter side, a dramatic part, and a great ending. Depending on the number of photos you have, probably one or two up-tempo songs, one or two slower songs, and then the homerun song for the end.
When picking specific songs, it is a good idea to think beyond the more common popular songs. What is the person’s favorite song? How about a song from their childhood? Maybe one version of a song works better than another (like acoustic versus electric)? There is an amazing amount of music available online; it is a good idea to explore. You will know when you see it in your presentation if it really fits.
Photo Quality
A big issue related to creating a photo montage is photo editing. There is plenty of software that can clean up cracks, fix lighting, adjust color, remove spots, etc.; some works better than others (check out http://www.cnet.com for product reviews). The one problem no software can fix, though, is a grainy photo. Unfortunately, an out-of-focus photograph is going to remain an out-of-focus picture in your slideshow. When you are selecting the photos are going to include, you should choose the clearest ones you have. Keep in mind that your slideshow may have lots of transitions, backgrounds, pan and zooms, etc. so you want photos with a focal point that is as clean as possible. Clean photos help keep the flow of the presentation.
Video
A good way to add some flair to your montage is to add video. If you can find and isolate some good video clips, they add a great touch. If you do decide to add video, don’t make the clips too long. Remember, you have a story to tell and need to keep it moving. Keep the clip down to about thirty seconds and consider using video as a break point between “chapters” or songs.
Narrate It
Another great touch is to use personal voice recordings in your slideshow. If your presentation is a gift, hearing your voice makes it that much more personal (and memorable). Voice recording can be done on most home computers. Turn on the microphone and go for it!
Quotes and Poems
If you are really looking to create an emotional montage, use photo captions. They can be personal quotes, famous quotes, short poems, etc. Whatever your preference, a good quote can help to convey the true meaning behind a certain photo or draw out deep emotions.
Personalize It
What makes any gift special? The thought of course — especially the thought that comes from you. Since that is the case, some piece of personalization, however small, is critical. Think of it as your signature on a painting. Whether it is a song, a caption, or even a certain photo make sure to make it your own.
The End
Sometimes one of the best parts of a movie is the highlight reel at the end (think “Build Me Up, Buttercup” at the end of There’s Something About Mary). If you can come up with your own “bloopers reel,” it would be an excellent finishing touch to your slideshow.
Back-Up Plan
Once all of your pictures have been scanned, catalogued, and you are ready to start on your montage, don’t forget to create a file with just your originals in case you need to go back to them for some reason. It is a good idea to also create a separate folder with your edited photos. That way you have copies of both for a “Doomsday scenario.” This also provides you a way to preserve all your print photos which can degrade over time (cracking, turning yellow, etc).
Hopefully, these ideas are helpful to you. Creating a photo slideshow is a lot of work but it always turns out to be worth it in the end.
Tweaks to Speed Up Internet Streaming Video
The birth of “Guerilla Video” sites, such as Peekvid.com, Alluc.org and Youtube.com have given users instant access to a plethora of free media files. Although streaming video technology offers instant access to video files, zero loading time is not always possible. There are many factors that attribute to your computer’s ability to start videos immediately. Other factors such as choppy PC video playback and slow video streaming also hinder your viewing experience. There are easy fixes to these problems. Sometimes choosing another site for the source of the video streaming or a lower quality version of the video can award you with instant play. These alternatives are not always available. However, there are a number of tweaks that help speed up your streaming video startup times, eliminate choppy PC video play and stop slow streaming video.
Before we start with the tweaks to speed up slow streaming video, lets get a basic understanding of streaming video technology in order to stop choppy video. Streaming video is a prerecorded video files that can be distributed as part of a live broadcast “feed.” The video signal is converted into a compressed digital signal and transmitted from a Web server. This server is able to be multicast the same file to multiple users at the same time. When you click on the on the video it is partially loaded before you can access it. This is known as “buffering”. This helps you to load and play the video instantaneously. Now lets take a look on how to cut down on buffering time, stop slow streaming video and eliminate choppy PC video playback .
Common Streaming Video Problems
Problem #1: Choppy PC Video Playback–Choppy video is usually a PC performance related issue. Here are a few things you can try to stop choppy playback and improve computer performance.
Solution A. Turn Off Hardware Acceleration-All media applications require different aspects of your computer’s hardware. Depending on the task, the requirements may change. Turning off hardware acceleration allows the application to set the requirements itself and not be forced to use one universal setting. Hardware acceleration has been to known to cause choppy PC playback, application crashes and slow streaming video problems.
You can eliminate the problem below:
1.Click on “Start”
2.Click “Control Panel”
3.Select the “Settings” tab and click on the “Advanced”.
4.Click on the “Troubleshoot” tab.
5.Disable the hardware acceleration completely by dragging the slider to the extreme left.
Solution B. Turn off Video Acceleration-The reason for this tweak is the similar to hardware acceleration. This act frees up resources in your media player and not your hardware. However you will need to decrease video acceleration in your chosen player. Some sites like Youtube.com don’t offer this option. However, Windows Media Player gives the ability to easily alter this problem, follow the steps below. Other players’ instructions will vary.
1. In Windows Media Player
2. Click the “Tools” menu tab
3. Click on “Options”
4. Select the “Performance” tab.
5. Move the Video Acceleration Slider to “None”
Solution C. Adjust your Windows Desktop Visual Effects-You computer will get a significance boost in
speed. This tweak will also free up more resources for your media player and PC performance.
1.Click “Start”, and then click “Control Panel”.
2.Click “System” and Choose “Display”.
3.Find the “Advanced” tab and Click
4.Under “Performance”, Click “Settings”
5.Under “Visuals Effects”, you may choose from a list of options such as “Adjust for best performance” or custom. If you choose Adjust for best performance all the features will be unchecked.
For more performance tips check the “Speed Up PC” to free up more resources to stop PC choppy playback.
Problem #2: Slow and Constant Buffering-This problem can be attributed to two factors internet speed and your media player. You can tweak your PC setting in both areas to cut down on slow streaming video. Remember that each player has its own buffer settings. Below is an how to change buffer setting in Media Player.
Solution A. Adjust Buffer Settings– To change the default buffer settings in Windows Media Player, use the following steps:
1.Start Windows Media Player
2.Click the “View” men
3.Click “Options”
4.On the “Advanced” tab, click “Streaming Media”(Windows Media)
5.Click “Change” to alter the buffer settings.
Remember that the higher you set the buffer the more of the clip will be loaded. The waiting time before you can see or hear the file will be longer, but there should be fewer interruptions once the clip begins to play.
Solution B. Use a Video Specific Proxy-A proxy allows for popular files to be loaded onto its servers. This eliminates the need for your computer to load the files. For example if you use the proxy, YouTubeProxy.org, you will not have to wait for your computer to download popular YouTube.com content because it may be already loaded in the server. This is a great way to stop slow streaming video.
These are just a few tips to eliminate choppy PC video playback and slow streaming video. However, there are more advanced ways to stop this problem. Depending on the site, there may be independent software developed specifically to speed up slow streaming video. Also, remember the general maintenance is a good way to avoid choppy PC video playback.
4 Ways to Stop Computer Freezes and Game Lag
If you are an avid online gamer, you most certainly have suffered from game lag and computer freezes. Many have spent hours trying to tweak in-game graphical settings in order to increase the frame rate and boost the performance of their favorite games. However, in more case than not, those efforts award the player with only a slight improvement in overall game play. Your system might even meet the recommend hardware specs for optimum performance but the game causes computer freezes when the action gets heavy. However, tweaking the in-game specs and upgrading hardware may not be the best way to overcome game lag and computer freezes.
This irritation may be attributed to conflicting software that is competing for your system’s resources or improper configuration. Most online games such as World of Warcraft should run smoothly on an average setup. Game manufacturers assure us that their recommended specs should run the game smoothly. However those recommendations are calculated when the games are tested on PCs that were optimized for those particular games. There are very few who are willing to dedicate a whole computer specifically for a single game. Nevertheless, there are a couple steps that you can take to free up more resources for your game play. These tips will allow you to better optimize your PC for smoother game play booth online and off-line. .
Stop Game Lag and Computer Freezes Tip #1: Get more bang out of your bandwidth.
There are literally dozens of services running on your Windows operating system. These programs have no respect for your online play. They need bandwidth and system resources just as much as your online games. Many of the programs automatically startup when you log on to the net or at the moment Windows loads. Windows service programs can perform a host of operations from searching for updates, downloading, and even sharing applications with your games. The task is to cut down on the amount services running while your are playing the game in order to free up bandwidth and resources. This is a great tip to stop game lag and computer freezes. Here is how.
1. Click on “Start”
2. Click “Run”
3. Type services.msc
4. Select “Extended” from the Services Window to view a detailed description. Also note the status of the service in question.
5. To stop the service, select “Stop the service” or right click the service, choose “All task” then click “Stop”
6. Click “OK”
Stop Game Lag and Computer Freezes Tip #2: Turn off your Anti-virus/Anti-spyware programs during play.
I am sure the suggestion scares you. However, these programs are very taxing on your computer. They can cause game play lag and computer freezes by initiating a host of small applications and processes during game play. Turning these programs off during your game play is not entirely risk free but you will be amazed at the results by doing so.
Stop Game Lag and Computer Freezes Tip #3: Making sure hardware and software can “communicate”
This an extremely important step that many gamers tend to miss. DirectX is essential to most next generation Windows games. High multimedia graphics and sound cards require lighting fast APIs, application programming interfaces, to deliver high end graphics and sound. The API acts as a kind of bridge for the hardware and the software. In essence, APIs provide the language for hardware and software to “communicate” with each other. If there is some “miscommunication” caused by improper setup, you will suffer from game lag or computer freezes. The task here is to make sure that your audio and video hardware is properly configured with Windows DirectX technology by using DirectX diagnostics tools. Here is how:
1. Click “Start”
2. Click “Run.”
3. Type dxdiag and press enter to load the “Direct X Diagnostic Tool” menu.
4. Click the “Display” and “Sound” tabs.
5. Verify that DX features are enabled and there are no problems.
Perform the test were need. If there are any problems reinstall Direct X and update your hardware drivers. Also you can open the Task Manger by pressing Ctrl-Alt-Delete and viewing the process tab to gauge which services are taking up the majority of system resources. Visit the “Cause of High CPU Usage” page for more details
Stop Game Lag and Computer Freezes Tip #4: Clean and Organize your Hard Drive.
A simple yet overlooked necessity to stop game lag. The faster your game can find files the less you have to worry about game lag and computer freezes. By defragging you help to cut down on the amount work the hard-drive needs to find files. Cleaning your registry cuts down on the errors and will create more free space for your RAM and CPU to work more efficiently. These two steps are a necessity to stop computer freezes. The link “4 Ways to Speed Up Your Computer” will show you how to perform these steps.
Without a doubt the habit of upgrading your computer’s hardware for the next generation of games will allow take advantage new graphic and sound card technology. However, this act makes PC gaming a more expensive hobby than it really needs to be. Hopefully, the tips above rewarded you smoother game play and will help to end your days of computer freezes and game lag.
Advantages of A Laser Printer
Does a laser printer have enough advantages that it is worth a splurge or should you spend your hard earned money on a cheaper inkjet printer instead? Before you make your decision it might be worth your while to look at some of the advantages offered by laser printers.
First of all laser printers are known for their speed. A laser can move very quickly so it can transfer information incredibly quickly to the paper. Rather than just print a section of a page as an inkjet printer does, a laser printer allows you to print an entire page at a time. This makes it much easier to print graphics mixed with text that are designed with a computer program.
Another benefit of using a laser printer is that it is more precise then other types of printers, but especially inkjet and impact style printers. This is because the laser beam transfers the image to be replicated very precisely on to the paper, which saves the spilling of any extra ink.
Another benefit of laser printers is that many of them are very modern and energy efficient. It doesn’t cost as much to keep the machine running. In terms of cost, the use of toner in a laser printer is much cheaper than the ink cartridges that are used in inkjet printers over the long run. This is because expensive ink cartridges can be used up very quickly, especially if you are printing in color.
Yet another convenience when it comes to using laser printers is that they are less messy to deal with this. You can easily refill or replace the toner cartridges that are filled with a fine powder. This fine powder is much easier to clean up then ink that can be spilled everywhere as you attempt to fill the cartridge from an ink jet printer.
In general laser printers can often hold more ink and can go longer without needing any kind of toner cartridge change or paper filling. This means that it is a lot freer and that it can practically serve more people at one time if they are all working together in a small office.
Color laser printers also offer their users more potential for creativity and design then a simple black and white printer. Suddenly it is possible to brand every piece of stationary you have with your own logo or colorful promotional designs. Formerly expensive printing jobs such as the printing of posters, postcards, business cards or invitations can now be simply done in the office instead of being farmed out.
Laser printers also give designers and artist a lot more control over their final product before it is submitted to a printer as the pages that are spewed out of a color laser printer can closely approximate the finished product. This makes the reading, correcting and approval of any final proofs a much simpler and easier job!
Another perk to owning a laser printer is that you can buy them as part of an all-in-one type machine that also includes a copier and fax in one unit. This is a great innovation as it allows you to streamline a couple of major appliances into one appliance. As this one machine now uses the same paper and cartridge for many different uses and functions you also find yourself saving on computer ink and paper as you do not have to buy as many different brands or types of supplies for it as you would for three or four machines. Thankfully these types of laser printers are dropping in price so that they are now not that much more expensive then a quality inkjet printer.
Best Collagen Product – Discover the Best Collagen Supplement
You can find collagen in various forms such as serum, cream, lotion, drink, capsule, filler,tablet and the rest of other forms. But there is the type of collagen form where most of its constituents are retained for long. During the process of the production of collagen supplement, some of its nutrients are lost in one form or the other either as a result of the flavor, preservatives or other form of product used for making it.
As a health researcher, I will recommend you to get the best form of collagen product which will give you the full benefits of taking this product. The best form of collagen supplement which you should go for is the capsule form. The most final product of collagen is still in its pure form. This does not imply that the statement made earlier implies to all.
Health Spark carries one of the best and affordable collagen product. It is approved by two popularly known health agencies like FDA and EPA. This should give you the perception that the product is of high standard. There may be other stores that carry collagen supplement, but I am yet to learn of any one that surpasses health spark. Not only does the form of ingredients used for making pure collagen stand out, but the price is also attractive. It sells pretty lower than most online stores. The best collagen supplement is the pure collagen which can be found at the Health Spark official store. It contains all the needed ingredients in collagen and it is safe to take.
How To Lose Belly Fat With A 10 Minute Workout
Are you looking to change the shape of your body or trying to lose belly fat without joining a high priced gym? If so, try this high energized cardiovascular fitness routine that that was developed by Keli Roberts.
With this 10 minute exercise routine you can burn up to 150 calories every single day.
The first two minutes of this fat burning routine is: Jump Rope – Begin by performing two jumps for each turn of the rope. Safety: Use the correct size jump rope and always land softly on the balls of your feet (that is the upper part of the bottom of your foot). Keep thinking I am losing weight.
Minutes two to three: Squat Thrust into a Push Up. The proper technique for this exercise is to stand with your feet shoulder width apart and your arms strait down next to your sides. Slowly squat down with your head forward and bring your hands to the floor just outside of your feet. Your hands should be pointing forward as well. Then in one movement, push your legs back and out behind you (into a pushup position). Perform one strict pushup and then jump back into your squat position and then stand back up. Keep thinking, the fat is vanishing.
Minutes three to four: Jump Rope with only one jump per turn. Keep thinking, The fat is melting away.
Minutes four to five: Back to the Squat Thrust and Push Up only this time you are going to add the Side Plank. After completing your squat thrust and push up, you are going to lift and rotate your left arm off of the ground and over your head. Your left foot will rotate and rest on top of you right foot. And you will rotate your neck so you are looking up at your ceiling. Rotate back to the center and repeat on the other side. When finished, hop back into your squat position, stand up and start again. Keep thinking, no more belly.
Minutes five and six: Jump Rope. Same as minutes three and four. keep thinking, I am losing body fat.
Minutes six and seven: Back to the Squat Thrust and Push Up only this time you are going to add the Leg Lift. This is the same as minutes two and three only this time you will lift the toes of one foot about twelve inches off of the ground only after you have performed your push up. Lower your foot and repeat on the other side. Hop back up to your squat position, stand up, and start again. Keep thinking, goodbye belly.
Minutes seven and eight: Jump Rope. Same as minutes three and four. Keep thinking, my belly is getting smaller.
Minutes eight and nine: Back to the Squat Thrust and Push Up only this time you are going to add Mountain Climbers. Repeat everything as in minutes two and three only this time after your push up, you will quickly jog in place from your push up position. Make sure you bring your knees up to your chest on each rotation. Perform 5 jogs and repeat this entire process. Keep thinking, I am going to lose weight.
Minutes nine and ten: Jump Rope. Same as you first two minutes. Keep thinking. If I do this everyday, I will lose belly fat. Good luck to everyone.
Free Junk Removal Versus Junk Removal Services
When you have to have junk removed from your property, you do have several options. However, there are only two options on the minds of many people. Those options are to take advantage of a free service or to take advantage of a pay service. What you choose depends on what kind of junk you want to get rid of and how much of it you have.
Free junk removal services
If you have junk that is nothing but recyclables, then you can take advantage of a free junk removal service. The reason for this is because a free junk removal service obtains their money by recycling the goods they pick up. If it is not recyclable, then they cannot take it. It would cost them to have to get rid of it and they’re not going to take on that cost. They’re not going to take it on because they get nothing in return.
Fortunately, most items can be recycled in some way, so that will work in your favor when using a free junk removal service. However, you also have to take a look at how much junk you’re looking to get rid of. If it is above a certain amount, then they may charge you for the additional or not take it at all. That doesn’t make it so free, does it? It doesn’t. They also may not take those things that can be donated because they do not make a profit from it. This can include such materials as soil you have left over from planting your flower bed.
When choosing a free junk removal service, make sure you look at it from every angle. That way you know if they can take all or most of your junk. If they can take most and you can deal with the rest, then it might be a good deal. Otherwise, you may want to employ a pay service.
Pay junk removal services
When you pay a junk removal service, you can get rid of those things that a free junk removal service won’t get rid of at all. You may have old garden junk that you can’t do anything with. You might even have old furniture that can be donated to a family in need. A junk removal service will make sure the furniture is sent to the right place for refurbishment so that it can be turned into a usable piece again, if it isn’t already usable.
There are a few things, however that no junk removal service will remove and those things are chemicals and other hazardous wastes. Anything that is considered toxic must be disposed of in another way. The best way to find out is to contact the waste department within your city and see how they suggest certain hazardous materials be disposed of.
The reason why they cannot haul off hazardous chemicals is because these chemicals can spill in their trucks, the employees can become hurt, and they may not have the proper venue to dispose of those materials. Make sure you check with your local junk removal service regarding whether or not they can haul off certain materials. If they can’t, you need to consult with your city.
Which one?
Which one is entirely up to you. Just keep in mind that free services tend to take less care. They do make money off of your material, but they may not be quite as convenient as your commercial junk services. Remember that they give items to charities and they recycle as much of the materials as they can. It is rare you’ll find your things in a landfill.
The Growth of Technology
It is hard to believe how much the world has changed in the last 30 years ago. Three decades ago, a day in the office involved poring over files and printed statistic pages that had been mailed from another office. Today, a similar day would involve reading these same statistics from the screen of a digital device such as a laptop or a handheld device. Thanks to the rapid evolution in technology, modern business results and relationships are achieved differently. Today, people are more likely to be concerned with acquiring essential iPhone parts or MacBook parts to their respective device than they are with buying a new suit.
The emergency of the enhanced digital age has provided many options that were previously unavailable. In colleges for example, students are now able to pay better attention to their classes and schedules. Most mobile devices are filled with extremely efficient organizers. These pseudo cyber secretaries ensure that students are able to correctly remember what they have to do during the day while still alerting them to the birthday status of friends. Sitting in the beds of their dorm rooms, many students are able to review lectures that they have missed on their laptops as well as discuss assignments amongst fellow peers.
In the world of the business, the use of technology has been even more dramatic. The presence of the internet has made the idea of a globalization a very real fact. Different branches of companies located in different parts of the world are able to communicate with each other via the use of their computers. Business men are no longer restricted to working within their office. With the use of their netbooks or mobile devices and an effective connection, a worker can easily discuss matters relating to business with a coworker as he takes the train home.
Of course, in order for the advances in technology to be effectively used, people will need to equip themselves with the right tools and accessories. There are different product parts which are released and designed to improve the efficiency in service of a product. For instance, the introduction of blue tooth and wireless technology allows most people to abandon the use of wires. Headsets as well as other accessories can now be linked with real hardware with connections such as these. The provision of wireless keyboards and headphones do not only improve human efficiency, they also reduce many of the clutter that existed prior to their introduction.
Many of these accessories can be found on the internet at online tech shops. Depending on the nature of a person’s needs, provision can be made for a wide range of hardware items. For example owners of computers can decide to upgrade the efficiency of their systems with various enhanced additions. The use of cell phones and digital handheld products can also be upgraded with extremely effective parts reliant on the technology found alongside these devices. Technology has taken the world in its grip and for the best parts; it appears that it is here to stay.
How Data Is Stored On A Hard Drive
When a file is saved on a computer, the data is stored on the hard disk platter’s magnetic coating. This magnetic coating on the platters is the ‘glue’ that keeps your data. Any damage to that magnetic coating means that there is data loss as each piece of missing coating contains data. So a platter missing a little bit of that coating has a better chance of a successful data recovery as opposed to a platter that has had massive amounts of that magnetic coating removed or destroyed.
Hard Drive Failure Parts
Typical hard disk components that fail include:
Platters Hard disk platters, or spindle, is rotated by an electric motor. The speed of this rotation is measured in rotations per minute (RPM) and the higher the performance of the hard drive…the higher the RPM is which increases the reading and writing of data to the platters. Any surface contact to the platters can cause serious damage to the magnetic strip the contains the data. This includes dust, finger prints, water, and most important of all, the heads of the hard drive. Platter damage is the most serious type of damage to cause hard drive failure.
Heads (Head Crash) When the hard disk is not actively in use, the heads are parked until the hard drive needs to read or write data again. It is when this head moves outside the super thin cushion of air between platters that causes the head to crash and touches the hard disk platter.
Firmware Firmware is the program instructions located on the chips on the Printed Circuit Board (PCB). Each firmware revision is specific to its hard drive type and each hard drive can go through dozens of firmware revisions to increase that particular manufacturer’s disk drive’s performance. The older the hard drive, the more difficult it could be to find a working firmware for that specific hard disk model.
Printed Circuit Board (PCB) The PCB of the hard drive is the electronics of the hard disk that manages and operates the hard drive. If a PCB becomes damaged it is often replaced with an identical PCB with the same firmware on the original hard drive. Typically PCB damage is from water or fire, but there are other reasons why a PCB would fail. And many times a failed PCB affect other aspects like firmware or heads.
Types of Hard Drive Failure
Generally speaking, when a disk drive fails it is due to one of the following causes:
Media Failure Otherwise known as a head crash (as described above), the heads of the hard drive have physically touched and damaged the magnetic coating on the platters.
Mechanical Failure Generally speaking, any electronic failure to the hard drive falls in this category. Fire, water, electrical damage to the hard disk would require ‘parts’ replacement.
PCB Failure As described above, PCB failure falls in the mechanical failure type and typically can be ‘swapped out’ for an identical PCB for that specific hard drive type. Along with the correct firmware for that disk drive, a PCB replacement can be a difficult type of hard drive repair if the hard drive is an older model.
Logical Drive Failure This type of hard drive failure is usually the least damaging to the data. This type of error usually means that the operating system of the computer (or utilities) can see the drive, has marked it as unallocated space, but because the computer’s MFT is corrupted or damaged, can’t read the data. Hard drive failure of this type is not that destructive and the chances of a complete successful data recovery are high.
Types of Non-Mechanical Hard Drive Failure
Other causes for data loss and why data recovery would be required could include the following:
Natural Disasters Extreme weather conditions that are out of our control can make a bad day even worse. Whether the computer was submerged in water due to a flood, scorched by fire or in the proximity of a lightning strike, there is still a chance to recover data from the hard drive.
The Human Factor Accidentally deleting files, formatting the wrong hard drive, and attempting to upgrade you operating system only to have it fail are common issues that come up. Also, as careful as most people are with their laptops, a small drop from the couch to the floor or down a flight of stairs, is the type of forceful jarring to the disk drive that could cause serious damage to the hard drive platters.
Viruses E-mail typically are the way most viruses are spread from computer to computer. Also, visiting questionable websites that have scripts, malware or spyware waiting to comprise your system and put your data at risk. It is recommended to run the most recent anti-virus software to protect your data from this sort of data loss and to reduce the need to require data recovery service.
So how do you protect yourself from losing your data? Back it up! However, should you still require data recovery services, be sure to use a company that specializes in hard drive data recovery.