head crash
The physical destruction of a hard disk. Misalignment or contamination with dust can cause the read/write head to collide with the disk's recording surface. The data are destroyed, and both the disk platter and head have to be replaced.
The read/write head touches the surface of a floppy disk, but on a hard disk, it hovers above its surface at a distance that is 5,000 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair. It has been said that the read/write head flying over the disk surface is like trying to fly a jet plane six inches above the earth's surface.
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| Read/Write Head and Disk Surface |
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| Head crashes used to be much more common years ago. However, they can still happen, and when they do, it means the head collides into and destroys the magnetic coating of the disk. Your bits go bye-bye. |
head crash [′hed ‚krash]
(computer science)
The collision of the read-write head and the magnetic recording surface of a hard disk. Also known as disk crash.
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