We encountered the same problems with one of our lab’s hard drives, one full of important files and data. These can fail at any time – and if you didn’t back up your data or set up a RAID array, you are in trouble. Unlike today’s popular flash-based media that uses memory chips, hard drives still rely on their mechanical components. Wrong! Hard drive failure is a very common problem with today’s computers. After all, it’s a time-consuming process and nothing can happen to your new computer, right? You feel safe and don’t feel the need to back up your data. You store all your vacation photos, your child’s birthdays, your bank statements and all your office work on your hard drive. Your computer’s hard drive can hold 4TB of data.