HDD for offline storage

Stark · Post by **Stark** » 2007-11-16 08:41pm

I need to backup a few hundred gig of stuff, and I'm both cheap and concerned about longterm reliability. This counts out both DVDs and tape drives. I know it's probably obvious, but what is reliability like using an HDD for offline storage? I'm not sure what I think is going to happen to it when it's not even moving... but maybe someone has done this before?

MJ12 Commando · Post by **MJ12 Commando** » 2007-11-16 09:28pm

As long as you don't kick it on purpose or otherwise abuse it you should be fine.

I have a 3-4 year old 60 GB external that's been treated somewhat roughly and it still works fine.

Hotfoot · Post by **Hotfoot** » 2007-11-17 03:09am

Depends on what you're storing and if you need easy access to it. If it's games, forget about USB and Firewire, you need eSATA. Just buy a normal SATA drive and an eSATA enclosure and you'll be fine, so long as you get an enclosure with a decent fan.

Otherwise, if you're just doing raw data storage, anything will do. You're still better off getting an internal SATA drive + enclosure nine times out of ten, but you can be a little less picky over the method of connection. You can get a normal commercial external drive too, of course, but they'll be a little more expensive. Again, eSATA is superior if you can manage it because it has the best transfer times, but USB or Firewire won't kill you, just add time to moving hundreds of gigabytes.

The biggest problem is that you have to keep it safe. Storing them in places where they could fall or get kicked around is going to fuck the whole deal. If you want total security, get a second drive, just in case, and switch off which one you use and when. Back up every two weeks or so, and you should be fine. If one craps out for whatever reason, you've still got the month-old on hand.

Phantasee · Post by **Phantasee** » 2007-11-17 06:23pm

Get a Seagate and toss it in your closet if you won't be using it much. Just follow standard precautions about moisture/humidity/temperature. Maybe in a fire safe, if you have one?

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2007-11-17 06:55pm

Phantasee wrote:Get a Seagate and toss it in your closet if you won't be using it much. Just follow standard precautions about moisture/humidity/temperature. Maybe in a fire safe, if you have one?

A Seagate? With their recent debacle over pre-installed viruses?

Stark · Post by **Stark** » 2007-11-17 06:56pm

Yeah, cause I'd never re-partition a HDD...

Phantasee · Post by **Phantasee** » 2007-11-18 03:13pm

General Zod wrote:
Phantasee wrote:Get a Seagate and toss it in your closet if you won't be using it much. Just follow standard precautions about moisture/humidity/temperature. Maybe in a fire safe, if you have one?
A Seagate? With their recent debacle over pre-installed viruses?

Yes, a Seagate. Stark's not retarded, after all.

RThurmont · Post by **RThurmont** » 2007-11-18 05:56pm

Why not get a Western Digital? Any time I buy a new HD, I buy Western Digital... (usually, because they're a few dollars cheaper than Seagates, and most people I talk to about HDs say they are more reliable, with one exception). Also, you have to admit, Western Digital is a much cooler sounding name than Seagate. The Western Digital USB HD I bought in the spring (on sale at Best Buy) also was nicely odorized at the factory, and is probably the best smelling HD I've ever encountered, for whatever that's worth.

To be fair though to Seagate, my 120 mb vintage 1993 Seagate IDE HD still runs fine...

Stark · Post by **Stark** » 2007-11-18 06:02pm

I've never actually had a HDD fail, and still have some of my old Seagate 40s and 80s lying around. I don't want an enclosure because they piss me off (portable my fucking ass), I was just curious if HDDs ran into problems if you left them off for ages.

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2007-11-18 06:10pm

Stark wrote:I've never actually had a HDD fail, and still have some of my old Seagate 40s and 80s lying around. I don't want an enclosure because they piss me off (portable my fucking ass), I was just curious if HDDs ran into problems if you left them off for ages.

As long as it's checked for dust and kept in decent condition I don't see why it'd run into any issues.

Phantasee · Post by **Phantasee** » 2007-11-18 06:15pm

RThurmont wrote:Why not get a Western Digital? Any time I buy a new HD, I buy Western Digital... (usually, because they're a few dollars cheaper than Seagates, and most people I talk to about HDs say they are more reliable, with one exception). Also, you have to admit, Western Digital is a much cooler sounding name than Seagate. The Western Digital USB HD I bought in the spring (on sale at Best Buy) also was nicely odorized at the factory, and is probably the best smelling HD I've ever encountered, for whatever that's worth.

To be fair though to Seagate, my 120 mb vintage 1993 Seagate IDE HD still runs fine...

That has to be the most laughable argument in favour of buying one brand over another.

And telling people that Western Digital sounds cooler than Seagate? Come on.

Xisiqomelir · Post by **Xisiqomelir** » 2007-11-19 01:02am

General Zod wrote:
Phantasee wrote:Get a Seagate and toss it in your closet if you won't be using it much. Just follow standard precautions about moisture/humidity/temperature. Maybe in a fire safe, if you have one?
A Seagate? With their recent debacle over pre-installed Windows viruses?

FYP. Also, one assumes Stark will do the right thing and format to a better filesystem than NTFS.

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2007-11-19 01:14am

Xisiqomelir wrote: FYP. Also, one assumes Stark will do the right thing and format to a better filesystem than NTFS.

Personallly, I'd just go for buying from a company not known for installing viruses. I've used Western Digital for years with no problems due to their reasonable price for the storage and good reliability.

Ypoknons · Post by **Ypoknons** » 2007-11-20 11:20am

Don't put the disk vertically no matter how tempting the space savings are - it's too easy to knock it over and there's a very high chance you'll have wrecked your drive.

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2007-11-20 11:31am

Ypoknons wrote:Don't put the disk vertically no matter how tempting the space savings are - it's too easy to knock it over and there's a very high chance you'll have wrecked your drive.

What? I've had my drives standing up vertically for months. I don't see how they're easy to knock over unless at all you have the coordination of a retarded ten year old.

Lisa · Post by **Lisa** » 2007-11-20 02:04pm

I use two external 250 gig drives for ofline storage, one hooked up via network (always on, used for media (movies, music) and data and the other usb/fire wire (only used to back up the network drive and not turned on often).
I plan on getting some 500 gig drives now that i'm running out of space on the 250.
It doesn't hurt to have a back up of a back up.