TECH TIPS
Nothing will ever last forever
The hard drive in my laptop computer possessed something truly dear: my entire family photo collection, including my son's first Christmas.
Until the laptop fell, that is.
A 2-foot drop from a bench to a hardwood floor — and the screen locked up.
My first reaction was disbelief.
When the computer didn't restart, my pulse raced. Why didn't I copy those photos onto a Zip drive?
A quick survey revealed that something on the back of the Gateway Solo 2500 had popped out of place. Thinking it was the battery, I gave it a firm pop with the palm of my hand. Satisfied, I tried to reboot. No luck.
Turns out the jettisoned component was not the battery but the hard drive. Not good.
A local professional looked at it. His assessment was the same: Not good at all.
Only one thing left to do: Call in the hard-core professionals who wear surgical garb and disassemble hard drives in "clean rooms," painstakingly attempting to recover data one file at a time.
I put the hard drive in a static-free package, dropped it off at Mailboxes Etc. bound for Independent Technology Service Inc. of Simi Valley, Calif., and crossed my fingers.
A technician called a week later with the news.
My hard drive had suffered a "head crash": The head had come into contact with the platter while it was still spinning. Every time the platter turned, the head had gouged the surface.
My hard drive, the technician said, was now a "hockey puck." A week later, it came back in the mail.
I then sent the drive to Drive Savers, which says it can sometimes even recover data after a head crash. But no luck.
The magnetic material scraped off the platter when my hard drive crashed was now dust in the drive. The technician took one look at the dust and proclaimed the drive a goner.
The evaluations were free. But the lesson was expensive.
All hard drives will fail eventually. So back up your data on a regular basis.
— David Sharp, Associated Press
Big screens come with smaller price
Big monitors are easier on the eyes, and now, thanks to Samsung's new 19-inch monitors, easier on the pocketbook.
The SyncMaster 950b costs only $219, yet comes loaded with some high-end features.
Its HighLight Zone lets you adjust the brightness, contrast, color or sharpness of specific areas of the monitor or, if you want, the entire screen. This can come in handy when you're watching a video clip or playing a game with scenes that are difficult to see.
The 950b nonglare screen has a top resolution of 1,600-by-1,200, a dot pitch of 0.22 millimeters and a three-year warranty.
— Advertiser news services
