A Hard Drive on your computer is the repository for all of your data and operating system files. It is a non-volatile storage device that can hold data even when the power is off unlike RAM or random access memory which will lose the data once power is removed.

A hard disk is a small box like device located in your computer which has inside a spinning set of platters which have a magnetic surface onto which your data is written. There is a small arm with a electromagnet which can write and read to the platters. This arm moves back and forth over the surface of the disk to read or write. Because of this moving machinery hard drives even though they are very reliable are susceptible to failure. So always make sure you backup your data is you never know when your hard drive may fail.

Most people replace their computers before the likelihood of a hard drive failure can take place. However, many people who have much older computers are at increased risk of data loss due to a hard drive failure. if you have a computer that is more than three or four years old and would like to keep it, it is recommended that you should replace the hard drive and copy your data from the old drive to the new drive.