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The secondary or mass storage gadget of computers is mainly the hard disk drive (HDD).
It could be solid-state drives (SSDs) in premium and high-paid data storage companies.
All these mass storage devices are highly efficient, affordable, and long-lasting.
However, these storage equipment do not last indefinitely.
There are many drawbacks to these storage devices.
The most invasive one is the bit rot.
What Is Bit Rot?
Bit Rot is a data deterioration phenomenon seen on mass storage devices for computers.
From digital tapes to SSDs, bit rot is everywhere.
Also, severe bit rot makes data bits unrecoverable.
Hence, data recovery software may not work either.
For example, your parent stored pictures from childhood on a floppy disk.
Microsoft Word initially generated .DOC files, but nowadays, you only get .DOCX file types.
Thanks to Microsoft that it still offers backward compatibility for the .DOC file types.
What Causes Bit Rot?
Gradual wear and tear of the storage medium is the main cause of bit rot.
However, the cause varies with the storage medium you are dealing with.
Optical storage devices like CDs, DVDs, and Blu-Ray discs can suffer from environmental damage.
This prevents the data reading head of such drives from extracting data from the media.
Magnetic mass storage devices use magnetism to save data for the long term.
Electrical, electronic, and environmental pollutants can interfere with the magnetism of such storage devices.
If the magnetic polarity of such drives changes in the bit level, this can make data inaccessible.
Hence, CPUs andmotherboardscan access data from internal or mass storage systems 35 times faster than HDDs.
Here, the leakage of charge from the NAND cells causes bit rot.
Does Bit Rot Affect an SSD?
SSDs are based on NAND gates.
Hence, SSDs also suffer bit rot.
The floating gate transistor technology is behind the NAND flash cells.
The floating gate is sandwiched with insulated layers.
Yet, electric charge can leak out slowly from such an insulation system.
How to Detect Bit Rot?
For this purpose, you’re able to use the message-digest algorithm 5 or MD 5 checksum.
Here, you create a digital signature of the original file using a mathematical algorithm via MD5 checksum.
The MD5 checksum should return the same hash code, or digital fingerprint created a few months back.
If the MD5 hash code matches the old hash, then there is no bit rot.
How to Prevent Bit Rot?
Bit rot is inevitable for mass storage devices.
This way, you minimize the occurrence of data loss due to severe and slow bit rot.
Take a look at the best data storage drives.
Substandard HDDs can compromise your business data.
#3.Backup Data Frequently
The best and proven way to handle bit rot is usingdata backup.
you’ve got the option to restore lost data easily from a cloud or on-site backup.
Thus, your business will not suffer from any operational downtime.
There are many ways to perform data backup.
Another data backup option is usingcloud storageplatforms.
Hence, you do not need to worry about any hardware or software.
It is up to the cloud-managed service provider to ensure 24 X 7 access to your business data.
#4.Perform Data Checks
Most operating systems come with built-in data-checking utilities.
This will fix the bit rot that already took place.
For example, Microsoft 365 is the latest app for all desktops and laptops.
It uses .DOCX, .XLSX, etc., files instead of .DOC, .XLS, etc.
#6.Replicate Data
Another strategy for the appropriate handling of bit rot is by replicating data.
Then, connect all the mass storage devices using the LAN.
Now, copy the necessary files to all the hard drives of these PCs.
Recover the necessary files when one HDD fails.
You might also want to explore the bestenterprise data backup solutions.
