This summer we have fielded about 12 hard drives that have gone kaput. The common link is the vintage. Most have been about 3-5 years old which proves my theory is holding water, at least my unscientific theory. That theory is three years and you're out. After three years, drives are so prone to failure it makes no sense to keep data on them.

Sure, some drives will last many years, but three years seems to be prudent to change. It is not really expensive to replace the drive and you'll have a few more years tacked on to your computer to boot. No pun intended :)

I personally replace my drive with a new one about every 18 months or so. I replace my C drive with a new one and demote my C to a secondary drive for photos and misc large files. With a new drive, you are getting an added bonus of a major speed boost since new drives and, especially drives three years newer than yours, are much larger and faster. Helps to start over too, freeing yourself of years of clutter.

Food for thought on this Tuesday night.