What is Computer Hardware?

Hardware is a general term that represents the physical object of a technology. On the other hand, it can also be referred as the physical components of a computer system -- computer hardware.

In the computer industries, computer hardware in particular means the actual or tangible parts of the equipment, such as circuit boards, keyboards, monitors etc., in contrast to non-physical.

Hardware Failures

Hardware Failures indicate the malfunctions within the electronic circuits or components of a computer system. It can occur at any time, even with environmental failures such as a natural disaster or a fire. To recovery from hardware failure would requires repair or replacement of the non functioning part.

Hardware malfunction or hard disks failure is the main factor contributing to data loss. It is known that hard disks are mechanical devices and therefore are more prone to wear and tear.

The following is a list of common hardware failures:

• RAM Failures
• Power Connector
• Hard Disk
• Overheating
• LCD Failures
• Motherboard
• USB Box

RAM Failures

Bad RAM is somehow harder to diagnose as similar symptoms may be caused by software problems, other hardware problems or even motherboard failure. However if experience any of these symptoms, users should check for bad RAM before attempting any other troubleshooting.

Symptoms:

• Windows doesn’t start showing different error messages each time
• Windows crashes (blue screen) or freezes frequently
• Windows crashes as soon as you try to start a program
• Unexplained random crashes and freezes without error messages

Power Adaptor

A common weak spot on most laptops is the DC power jack. If someone trips on the wire while users are having the power adaptor plugged into the laptop, chances are that the power jack will get damaged.

On most laptops, the DC power jack is soldered directly to the motherboard and there are only three or four small pins holding it in place, which makes the power jack rather weak. Any sideways pulling of the DC power cord while attached to the laptop will usually dislodge at least one of these pins, breaking the solder around it. Modern laptops use quite a lot of power, from about 70W to 120W or even more. The bad electrical connection from the dislodged pin will cause sparks and heating that will eventually burn a hole through the motherboard and can even be a fire hazard.

Symptoms which indicates poor contact between the DC power jack and the motherboard:

• The battery is not charging properly or stays at half charge despite having to use the power adaptor
• The screen flickers (the brightness is changing) while the power cord is plugged in. This is caused by the laptop switching between DC power (screen is brighter) and battery power (screen is dimmer)
• The DC plug gets hot after a few minutes of use and may even smell of burning
• There are "scratching" sounds coming from the DC jack

To test for broken power jack:

• 1) Remove the battery
• 2) Plug in the power cord
• 3) Start the laptop
• 4) Gently wiggle the DC power plug on the back of the laptop

If the laptop shuts down abruptly (looses power), find the dealer to resolder or change the DC power jack as soon as possible, as the motherboard has already started to burn around the dislodged pins. The manufacturer might offer to replace the whole motherboard; however the price of a new motherboard together with the labor charge for installing it will usually cost more than the current value of that laptop and sometimes can the pricing can cost over a thousand dollars.Replacing or re-soldering the DC power jack is not an easy job. It usually takes a few hours depending on the damage and the model of the laptop. To reach the power jack, the laptop has to be completely disassembled and have the motherboard taken out. Then if the board around the dislodged pin is badly burned, the power jack has to be desoldered and the board has to be patched.

After that a different power jack has to be installed, attached to the case of the laptop and connected with wires to the motherboard, as the patched board wouldn’t be strong enough to support the original type of power jack that was soldered directly to the board.

Hard Disk

Hard disk failures are the most common computer hardware problems. And laptop hard disks fail more often than desktop hard disks. If user knock hard or drop the laptop even a few inches while it’s working, damage can be done to the hard disk.

Symptoms:

• The laptop starts as usual but when Windows starts to load it goes to blue screen with either "UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME", "hal.dll is missing or corrupt" or "WINDOWSSYSTEM32CONFIGSYSTEM" (or similar) is missing or corrupt. All these error messages indicate a file system problem. Sometimes it can be fixed by just scanning the hard disk for errors. However more than half of these cases indicate that the hard disk is starting to go bad and is probably developing bad sectors
• The laptop starts as usual but Windows freezes on the initial "Windows XP" screen, although the blue bar continues to move, and users are able to hear feint but continuous clicking. Hard disks have to be replaced
• As soon as the laptop is started there are loud clicks or grinding sounds and Windows doesn’t load. Hard disks have to be replaced as well.
• Shortly after starting the laptop a message appears (usually on a black screen) "SMART test failed. Backup your data immediately and replace the hard disk" or similar. Well, that says it all. S.M.A.R.T. is a self-test that is build into the hard disk

In almost all cases the laptop can be started from a "live" bootable CD and everything works normal. In rare cases the hard disk PCB (printed circuit board) may short or even burn. Then the laptop wouldn’t start unless the hard disk is removed.

A good tool to use to check for hard disk lifespan is ADRC’s hard disk checker (link in resource box). It will scan the hard disk for bad sectors and inform you if the drive is still of good usability.

Over-Heating:

This is a result of inadequate airflow from outside the computer's case across the CPU and motherboard and back out of the case usually via the power supply fan and other case fans.

Once the airflow is disrupted, heat builds up rapidly within the case. This causes components to either shutdown, if such protection is built in or performs erratically. Over the long term, overheating can irreversible damage components.

It is also advisable to keep the computer in a dry and shaded room, which is clean and little dust.Symptoms:

The laptop starts beeping, freezes, restarts by itself or shuts down after it has been on for some time, typically 10-15 minutes or more. If you start it again, it does the same thing after just a few minutes.

How to Prevent Data Loss from Hardware Failures

If users want to ensure that none of their critical data is lost in the event of a hardware problem with their computer, there is only one way to do it -- Back up the data as often as possible.

There are many different ways to ensure that the data is backed up, and as technology becomes advances, back up methods become much simpler.

Let’s look for a moment at what a back up is. Backing up of computer files means that users are making a copy of the data that will be stored somewhere other than on the computer. Everyone should always have a back up of at least the most important files, because should anyone experience a hardware problem, they could still be able to access the files.

Many people don’t back up their files, because they don’t know what they need to back up. Start with those files that cannot easily be recreated. Then, move on to files to which you make frequent changes just in case you accidentally change something that you shouldn’t have. Back up your music collection – because this can be quite expensive to replace in the event of data loss.

In general, best practice is to back up the files at least monthly and more frequently if users access the files regularly.