Uninterruptible power supplies – your hard drive’s best friend

November 21, 11:49 AMGadgets ExaminerDan Appleman

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Broundouts and voltage drops put
hard drives at risk

Hard drives detect power failures and try to protect themselves from crashes when they occur. But rapid on-off cycles do increase the risk of failure. Worse – any data in the process of being written to disk will be lost. Not only might you lose something you’ve been working on, there’s a risk of corrupting the data on the hard drive. Corrupt the file system in the wrong way, and your computer may no longer work correctly or even boot.

Did I say computer? That DVR you’re using to record shows has a hard drive as well. So does your Xbox 360 or PS3.

Desktop computers and DVRs need more than a surge protector – they need an uninterruptible power supply (UPS).

A UPS contains a surge protector and a battery backup. When the line voltage drops or power fails, it instantly switches to battery power and sounds an alarm. This gives you a chance to shut down your equipment safely, saving your data and reducing the risk of corrupting the contents of the drive.

• Most entertainment equipment (TV, audio, CD players, etc.)
• Computer displays and printers
• Video games that do not have hard drives (PS2, Wii).
• Chargers (for phones, MP3 players etc.)
• Laptop computers (when the power fails, they switch to their internal battery)

• Desktop computers
• Video games that have hard drives (Xbox 360, PS3)
• DVR equipment and Tivos
• External hard drives

You might also want to keep your Internet modem and router on a UPS – that way you can still use the Internet from your laptop when the lights go out (at least for as long as the battery lists).

Part III – Choosing an uninterruptible power supply

Part I – Uninterruptible power supplies vs. surge protectors – which do you need?