Head Crash

The term used to refer to the touching of the heads inside a hard drive or hitting the platters or disks is called the head crash. A hard drive that is running normally floats a few microns above the media. A tiny particle of dirt or debris can easily cause the head to bounce against the media. Marks or scratches on the surface result from the head touching the media. This can likewise result to data loss, depending on the severity of the head crash.

Particles of materials scraped free of the drive surface due to the head crash increases the chance of further head crashes or damage to the platters. The continued running of a disc drive suffering from a head crash will only cause further damage. Users should be alert for any unusual sounds made by the disc drive and have it turned off immediately. A hard drive can only be opened up inside a clean and sterile room.