need an analogy - one for the smarties

[16k_zx81]

So I just had one of *those* conversations about data loss with a customer

You know, shock, surprise, dispair, and tears, that her hard drive, which, "is only four years old" had died and that there was a big ugly great question mark on whether she would get her precious photos back.

I am really. tired. of these conversations.

I am really. tired. of people in tears when I tell them its not going to be likely, or when the price is way more than they can afford to pay.

So Im thinking, what would be really useful, would be an analogy to communicate to end users that vividly illustrates to them, in a few words, just how phenomenally risky, and stupid, it is, to store important data on a single hard disk.

Something like "dont put all your eggs in one basket" ... but Im sure the TN community could think of something much cleverer

So, if you would care to have a stab:

"Putting all your data on a hard disk is like......"

 

[Rob_NNCC]

having unprotected sex with a $5 lady of the night.

Seriously, though, like driving a car into a brickwall at high speeds to test the airbag.
Or, seeing how far you can get without refuling. You are going to run of gas, the drive is going to fail, why risk it?

My thing I tell clients is "If you don't have 3 or more copies of your data, you don't care about it."

 

[stro]

I don't use an analogy, but I explain that the hard drive in a computer is one of the few parts that contains mechanical moving parts and can fail at any time.

I will also cite basic info from this google study:

http://static.googleusercontent.com...ch.google.com/en/us/archive/disk_failures.pdf

I tell them that the average life expectancy of a hard drive is 5 years.
I explain that it does not matter how old your hard drive is, it can fail at anytime. I also explain that jarring, dropping and vibration can kill them.

Usually once I explain that it is a certainty that a percentage of all hard drives will fail regardless of age, they back off with the questions.

 

[nlinecomputers]

I tell clients that hard drives are like light blubs. They work one minute and pop off the next. No one expects to fix a light blub. You replace it. Hard disks are no different.

 

[Rob_NNCC]

I tell clients that hard drives are like light blubs. They work one minute and pop off the next. No one expects to fix a light blub. You replace it. Hard disks are no different.

Good one!

202020202020

 

[Jandakatz]

I tell clients that hard drives are like light blubs. They work one minute and pop off the next. No one expects to fix a light blub. You replace it. Hard disks are no different.

That's an awesome line.
It's like driving around your car with absolutely no insurance and hoping someone else doesn't run into you. Once you get into an accident, you ask the insurance agent how much it would cost to get insured. More than they want to pay.

 

[tankman1989]

I'm not getting very far with an analogy but I might try referencing these two points.

-Hard drive warranties have gone from the average of 3 years, many with 5 to just over 1 year. That speaks about the reliability of the drive right there. In addition as HD density has increased they have become increasingly more complex and prone to malfunctions - this might be why we are seeing a decrease in warranty as drive size skyrockets.

-You can kind of look at a hard drive like an egg in that if you drop it expect it to break, even with padding. This is especially important for laptops and external HD's.

-I would definitely use the analogy of a light bulb when it comes to your customers who have SSD's. Anyone who is running an SSD and not backing up their data is just asking for problems - unless it is just an OS/app drive then it isn't such a big deal.

-The fact that it is the only mechanical component other than fans makes it a key point of failure. Tell them that some drives rotate 250 times per second and then they have arms that jump back and forth thousands of times a minute. Those are some outrageously high numbers and any it's just asking for a disaster to happen at some point.

Other than those points, I don't know what else you can stress that can make it more clear that they are just an "accident" waiting to happen. It's not "if" but "when" and the when is very unpredictable.

Let us know what you come up with if you figure anything out!

 

[thecomputerguy]

How is it possible that her hard drive of only 4 years died on her?

 

[thecomputerguy]

Seriously though, every time a customer asks me, "What?! how did my hard drive die it's only XX years old!?"

I say

There aren't many mechanical parts in a computer. The hard drive is one of those mechanical parts. Like all mechanical parts they wear out, they fail. Some fail sooner than others, some seem to last forever, sometimes you are really unlucky and it fails well before it's expected life span. But in the end, like all mechanical parts, they are guaranteed to fail.

All you can do is develop a good backup and recovery strategy, and hope for the best!

 

[RegEdit]

Hard drives are the most common part that fails and when they do they tend to go downhill fast.

Another phrase I use for crying customers is save the drama for your momma.

 

[Xander]

To explain hard drive problems (logical vs. mechanical), I have compared it to a chalkboard. If the chalkboard gets splashed with water, the writing becomes blurry and illegible (logical corruption) but if the chalkboard gets a crack, that's a mechanical problem. That seems to work for most folks.

You could probably stretch this a bit further by saying, "Now, imagine that the chalkboard is not 1/2" thick but only a 1mm thick and 4x the area. Think of the potential fragility of the board now. In optimal conditions and treatment, that board might last for years but one good bump...."

 

[16k_zx81]

How is it possible that her hard drive of only 4 years died on her?

I KNOW! right? WTF??!

 

[16k_zx81]

Im wishing there was a 'like' button for this thread...

click... click... click

 

[bertie40]

How about.....

"Would you skydive with just one parachute? ....And that one is 4 years old ?

This is the tack I use to customers.

The biggest question in IT has to be
"How do I stop getting a virus. ?"

WHICH IS THE WRONG QUESTION !!

The question should be...
"What do I do AFTER I've had a virus."

You WILL get a virus.

You WILL pick up a nasty.

All the security in the world will NOT protect you.

SO PREPARE FOR IT.
NOW.

Backup your data, do it regularly and backup to an External Drive.

And then unplug it.

To hell with a scheduled app.
Get some discipline and make sure you do it yourself.

 

[coffee]

"Hard drives are like a bad marriage. One day you will come home from work and everything is gone".

But clients never listen and they just go on their merry way. Every time I discuss it with them they must think that your just trying to sell them something they dont need.

coffee

 

[ABTECH]

"Hard drives are like a bad marriage. One day you will come home from work and everything is gone".

This actually happened to a friend of mine lately. This is a winner!!

 

[hightechrex]

I have an old hard disk that i use as a visual example. I give the disk a quick spin and i explain to them that the disc spins on average 5400 to 7200 times a minute. Blunt shock, forced shutdowns, and mechanical/software errors can disrupt the very delicate relationship with the read head and the disc. The visual representation sticks with people better and is better understood. MOST people understand it. Its not an analogy, but people get it.

 

[SilverLeaf]

I have an old hard disk that i use as a visual example. I give the disk a quick spin and i explain to them that the disc spins on average 5400 to 7200 times a minute. Blunt shock, forced shutdowns, and mechanical/software errors can disrupt the very delicate relationship with the read head and the dosc. The visual representation sticks with people better and is better understood. MOST people understand it. Its not an analogy, but people get it.

This is what I do. I have several opened drives sitting on a table in the guest area, including a 2.5" with severely dragging heads. I use these to "drive" the point home.

 

[hightechrex]

This is what I do. I have several opened drives sitting on a table in the guest area, including a 2.5" with severely dragging heads. I use these to "drive" the point home.

I get the "why dont they ever tell you any of this??" Responses... ALL the time.

 

[Blue]

I get the "why dont they ever tell you any of this??" Responses... ALL the time.

I hear that from middle-aged customers quite often; the younger crowd seems to have picked it up, that their hardware is going to fail one day. However, they're probably planning on having a new system in the near future, so they continue to load their drives with music, movies, etc. until it's full. THEN they cry when it fails.