[Feba]

A computer's hard drive is a very fragile and unreliable place to store important information.

The hard drive is almost never a problem. If you read the OP, it was very clearly his OS, not a hard disk failure. More than that, the OS didn't fail, it was infected with a virus that the OP didn't have the will or ability to remove. And more than that, the OP could've almost certainly recovered said files, very easily, if his OS had become inaccessible. Even when the hard drive is at fault, having a backup drive will almost always suffice. About the only exceptions to this would be some catastrophic event (such as a house fire, or intentional destruction) happening to the drive (which would definitely screw over your postit just as badly); and even then if you want to get the drive professionally recovered, it is an option (albeit an expensive one)