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Hard drive Storage

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Wipeout

Member
Joined
Dec 1, 2008
Location
Last 30 Years NE OH
I really miss this site. It has been months since my last post. Unfortunately, life happens. I need advice on storage. I have numerous hdd's that I store personal data offline. Normally, I fill up a drive and store it in a cool dark place with desiccant. I have been using Western Digital for years. Red and Blue drives are my choice for this situation. My most important files are personal and work related. These files get backed up twice on different drives. If one fails, hopefully the other drive works, and all is not lost. In 10 years, I've only had one blue drive take a dive. Not bad odds for something mechanical. Even then it was bad sectors, but I was able to save my data.

What would be your choice for offline storage? I'm not opposed to switching vendors. Dependability is the key. Lately, WD is getting some really bad reviews. Not the black drives, but the other colors.

Thanks for any advice.
 
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Well It Looks Like you should Go with the black

Because from your Post this is what suits you the best But you also must Know that ( and I think ) No one here can give you a
334130p.jpg

On any HDD
 
Use a NAS box with reds or Seagate NAS drives. Setup a raid1 array and hope both drives don't fail. Haha. :D

RAID 1 won't protect you from accidental deletion, infections, etc. Any problem on the source drive will be immediately duplicated on the mirror. Only a discrete backup will provide close to total data protection.
 
Black drives would be my number one choice, but there not exactly cheap. I use them for gaming, but ssd's can cover that situation. Let me add this into the mix. Is a 3 or 4 TB drive more likely to fail vs a 1 TB drive. I have had good luck with 1 and 2 TB drives. I know, knock on wood :)
 
I keep two local backup HDDs in a drawer and two offsite backup HDDs in my safe deposit box at my credit union for each HDD I have in use. I carry the HDDs to and from my credit union in transporter cases that are design to withstand impact from as much as a 12' drop (since I'm not 12' tall, that should be plenty of protection.

Project1_zpsa4646221.jpg

For now, I leave the HDDs in the transporter cases while they are in the safe deposit box. Eventually, the cases will take up too much room and I will have to take the HDDs out of the cases before putting them in the safe deposit box. The cases aren't antistatic so I already have the HDDs in an antistatic sleeve.

Since I access the local backup HDDs frequently, I didn't want to have to horse around with antistatic sleeves nor have to dig around in stacks of HDDs looking for the correct one so I got one of these gizmos to put in a drawer to store my local backup HDDs in (this is an old photo).

BackupDriveStorage012_zps10bebef7.jpg

It's made from antistatic foam so I don't have to fool around with antistatic sleeves. Static electricity is a huge problem for me (for some reason, I generate and hold more static electricity than most people) and in my home (vinyl floors and dry climate) so I only handle my HDDs while wearing antistatic gloves (yeah, I'm a coward). Since the gizmo holds only 3.5" drives and I have a fair collection of 2.5" HDDs, I bought some anti-static foam and made some inserts that allow me to safely store two 2.5" HDDs in a single 3.5" pocket and still be able to easily get at them.

BackupDriveStorage022_zps2d0760b3.jpg

The gizmo and the inserts weren't cheap but they are so worth the convenience and time savings (I generally have to access at least two of the HDDs every day).

This all may seem rather anal (heck, it is anal!) and expensive but much of my data would be expensive to replace or is irreplaceable. The redundant backups have saved my ample asset...er...data more than once.
 
Black drives would be my number one choice, but there not exactly cheap. I use them for gaming, but ssd's can cover that situation. Let me add this into the mix. Is a 3 or 4 TB drive more likely to fail vs a 1 TB drive. I have had good luck with 1 and 2 TB drives. I know, knock on wood :)

WD Blacks are my number one choice for internal HDDs (actually, the only choice; my luck with Seagates has been less than stellar) but are a bit too expensive for backups, especially since there are multiple copies. Of the seven WD Greens I've owned, only one has ever gone bad on me and that one was one of the very early Greens that had the head parking issue (which has been long since been fixed) and it had been running 24/7. My Greens rarely run more than an average of 5-10 minutes a day (if that much) so they should last a long time. Using a folder file syncing program for backups keeps runtime and writes to a bare minimum
 
Lady Fitzgerald -

Thanks for the pics, and the reasoning behind your back up strategy. I am going to invest in some hdd cases, and seriously consider a safe deposit box. A small fire proof box for documents doesn't seem to cover my needs anymore. I have a friend that swears by Green drives. Maybe I'm missing something.

Folder file syncing program - I will be checking into that for sure.

You mentioned your Greens rarely run more than an average of 5-10 minutes a day. Do you mean they are used as an external drive, or internally connected to your rig ? I use a 2 Red 2TB drives that are connected internally, but only for back-up purposes . Doesn't the drive still spin even if its not in use ? By that I mean being connected internally. Sorry for my ignorance, but when it comes to pc's I learn something new all the time.
 
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Lady Fitzgerald -

Thanks for the pics, and the reasoning behind your back up strategy. I am going to invest in some hdd cases, and seriously consider a safe deposit box. A small fire proof box for documents doesn't seem to cover my needs anymore. I have a friend that swears by Green drives. Maybe I'm missing something.

Folder file syncing program - I will be checking into that for sure.

You mentioned your Greens rarely run more than an average of 5-10 minutes a day. Do you mean they are used as an external drive, or internally connected to your rig ? I use a 2 Red 2TB drives that are connected internally, but only for back-up purposes . Doesn't the drive still spin even if its not in use ? By that I mean being connected internally. Sorry for my ignorance, but when it comes to pc's I learn something new all the time.

Freefilesync
LadyFitzgerald told me about it, and I swear by it now. Fast and easy to use. Literately one click after you set it up.

As for Greens... Take my advice (I've been using the WD Greens for 3 years now). If you want speed don't buy 'em. There is a reason why they are cheap. I really regret installing Windows on them :p

But if you just want something to hold your data, Greens are a good choice :)
 
...I am going to invest in some hdd cases, and seriously consider a safe deposit box...

My safe deposit box at my credit union costs me only $50 a year. The transport cases are a bit bulky for local HDD storage but you can get them from here. The Classic transporter case is the fully padded one for 3.5" HDDs. The Mini is for 2.5" HDDs. The Slim for 3.5" HDDs isn't padded but it is also smaller, the same size as the Mini.

...Folder file syncing program - I will be checking into that for sure...

FreeFileSync. Keep in mind this is just for data backup only. For an OS and programs, an imaging program would be needed. The OS and programs should be on a separate drive (HDD or SSD) or partition.

...You mentioned your Greens rarely run more than an average of 5-10 minutes a day. Do you mean they are used as an external drive, or internally connected to your rig ? I use a 2 Red 2TB drives that are connected internally, but only for back-up purposes . Doesn't the drive still spin even if its not in use ? By that I mean being connected internally...

Keeping backups on a drive that is continuously connected, either internally or externally, is generally a bad idea, mostly for the same reasons depending on RAID to back up data is also a bad idea. A virus or other malware that corrupts data can also corrupt the data on a continuously connected HDD. Data on a HDD installed internally can be damaged or destroyed by a failing PSU or a voltage spike or current surge that blows past your surge arrestor (you do have one, right?). If Light Fingers Louie makes off with your machine, your backups will go with him.

Keeping your backup HDDs disconnected from your computer will go a long ways to protect you from most of those issues. Not running your backup HDDs all the time your computer runs also reduces wear and tear on the HDDs. I have a couple of built-in hot swap bays on my desktop machine (one 3.5" and one 2.5") I use for making backups but a good external dock is just as effective.

da6c6c53-8b9c-4ba9-a833-08c88445eaae_zpscc6c4912.jpg

... Sorry for my ignorance, but when it comes to pc's I learn something new all the time.

There's nothing to be sorry for, especially since you are willing to learn.
 
Keeping backups on a drive that is continuously connected, either internally or externally, is generally a bad idea, mostly for the same reasons depending on RAID to back up data is also a bad idea. A virus or other malware that corrupts data can also corrupt the data on a continuously connected HDD. Data on a HDD installed internally can be damaged or destroyed by a failing PSU or a voltage spike or current surge that blows past your surge arrestor (you do have one, right?). If Light Fingers Louie makes off with your machine, your backups will go with him.

Keeping your backup HDDs disconnected from your computer will go a long ways to protect you from most of those issues. Not running your backup HDDs all the time your computer runs also reduces wear and tear on the HDDs. I have a couple of built-in hot swap bays on my desktop machine (one 3.5" and one 2.5") I use for making backups but a good external dock is just as effective.

:-/
Crap. Looks like I have some work to do now.
Thanks for that tip Lady Fitzgerald!
 
My safe deposit box at my credit union costs me only $50 a year. The transport cases are a bit bulky for local HDD storage but you can get them from here. The Classic transporter case is the fully padded one for 3.5" HDDs. The Mini is for 2.5" HDDs. The Slim for 3.5" HDDs isn't padded but it is also smaller, the same size as the Mini.



FreeFileSync. Keep in mind this is just for data backup only. For an OS and programs, an imaging program would be needed. The OS and programs should be on a separate drive (HDD or SSD) or partition.



Keeping backups on a drive that is continuously connected, either internally or externally, is generally a bad idea, mostly for the same reasons depending on RAID to back up data is also a bad idea. A virus or other malware that corrupts data can also corrupt the data on a continuously connected HDD. Data on a HDD installed internally can be damaged or destroyed by a failing PSU or a voltage spike or current surge that blows past your surge arrestor (you do have one, right?). If Light Fingers Louie makes off with your machine, your backups will go with him.

Keeping your backup HDDs disconnected from your computer will go a long ways to protect you from most of those issues. Not running your backup HDDs all the time your computer runs also reduces wear and tear on the HDDs. I have a couple of built-in hot swap bays on my desktop machine (one 3.5" and one 2.5") I use for making backups but a good external dock is just as effective.


There's nothing to be sorry for, especially since you are willing to learn.



This is great advice. I can simply disconnect the friggin drive. Duh! After building many rigs, I should know better. On a side note, I have a grounding mat, and an antistatic wrist strap, but never even knew they made gloves. My next purchase :p Call me paranoid too! Motherboards, ram, and hdd's should be handled with extreme care. Heck the whole pc. Static electricity is a killer. Just because your component still works, does not mean a tiny amount of static electricity shortened its life. I was guilty of this plenty of times in the past, but after reading a few articles I changed my tune.
 
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