1.5 Or 2Tb Stand Alone Disk For Backup

[astral]

I need to get a new external disk to make a consolidated backup of all the data on my laptop

and external media disks (2x Seagate 500Gb)

What is the most reliable brand to buy?

I was bitten a few years back with repeated failures on Western Digital disks,

which is just not acceptable for a backup situation.

I realise things have changed and am looking for pointers on reliablity in particular.

Speed is not so essential, once the initial backup is done.

Thanks.

[wimpy]

I have had both WD and Seagate fail while under warranty. Personally, I don't think there is much difference between brands; just the luck of the draw. Keep in mind, if you have the drive in an external enclosure, it won't be turned on and spinning all the time. I'm hoping that will increase the life.

[lomatopo]

I still recommend separating the enclosure decision from the HDD decision. Choose the best enclosure (good cooling with a big, quiet fan; external AC adapter) then match up the drive of your choice. Two (2) separate 1 GB solutions is what I use, with alternating weekly back-ups.

I like the Rosewill RX-358 enclosure and Samsung Spinpoint 1 GB HDDs (SATA, 7200 RPM).

[Pib]

I read this internet article a few days ago that said Hitachi has one of the lowest failure rates and Seagate has the highest. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/hdd-reliability-storelab,2681.html

Based on my personal experience over the years with Hitachi TravelStar drives and Seagate drives, I would have to agree with above statement.

[spacemunk]

samsung spinpoint F3 is the best buy at the moment compared to a seagate 7200.12 and has way better performance

[basjke]

I have 5 internal disks of which 4 are 1.5 Terrabit installed.3 are WD green and 2 are Seagate.During the past 16 months I had 4 failures,all were WD.

[lomatopo]

I still recommend separating the enclosure decision from the HDD decision. Choose the best enclosure (good cooling with a big, quiet fan; external AC adapter) then match up the drive of your choice. Two (2) separate 1 GB TB solutions is what I use, with alternating weekly back-ups.

I like the Rosewill RX-358 enclosure and Samsung Spinpoint 1 GB TB HDDs (SATA, 7200 RPM).

Still can't get use to TB. <I remember my first 10 MB HDD.>

[dingdongrb]

I have 3 WD 1Tb, 2 WD 320Gb, 1 Seagate 80Gb, 1 Samsung 320Gb, and 1 40Gb Hitachi.... Guess what the Samsung is intermittent and the Hitachi 'bit the dust' just last week...... Never had an issue yet with WD and I will continue to buy them until I do.... Matter of fact two weeks ago I built my newest PC, Core i7 and using a WD 1Tb at 10k rpm......it's a screamin machine!!!

[siamect]

Most important is to prepare the routines...

You know the drives are going to fail sooner or later. Rather than spending time and brainpower to find the most reliable drives, I think it is a good idea to build a system without a single point of failure. A system that works even when a drive is failing. I'm not talking about RAID now, but you can use that too, I'm talking about philosophical stuff like distribution of your data, how to verify that the files are the original ones and not corrupt or changed by mistake. etc,

Secondly build workflow, schedules etc, so that you are sure you have control over your data. Know... when the cat has landed on the keyboard and clicked save. Quick restore procedures that allows you to continue working immediately on a different computer etc.

All this is for free if you use distributed version control systems (if it is a decent one). I recommend Git... I know I'm nagging this over and over but it really is important...

Martin

[Tywais]

using a WD 1Tb at 10k rpm....

Believe you may have a number above wrong somewhere? The 10k rpm WD are the Raptor and the VelociRaptor, I have a Raptor 150GB and the largest VelociRaptor is 600GB and is a recent size addition, no 1TB 10k rpm shows on WD sites. I've been looking at these for a while as a performance upgrade. The available 10k rpm sizes available that I can find are 150GB, 300GB, 450GB & 600GB. My WD Raptor has been humming along fine for about 5 years now.

Or is there something out there I can't find?

[trogers]

I am using two 1TB Seagate Freeagent Go. Bought them for about Bt6200 each at Sim Lim Square in Singapore last April.

http://www.testfreaks.com/blog/review/seagate-freeagent-go/

[astral]

This is standalone drive for a laptop, so comments about internal disks are not exactly relevant.

I am really looking for a package, with drive and case, like my 500Gb Seagates 9SD2A4s

I know cooling can be an issue.

I had 2 WD drives (160Gb) fail, one after another, all within guarantee.

The 3rd replacement I just left on the shelf, I could not trust it.

Admittedly that was a few years ago.

I will check out the links.

Thanks.

[BugJackBaron]

I had a WD 1TB standalone(own power needed) fail after just a few months,

They were kind enough to give me a USB powered replacement for free though

data recovery was not free(I declined the data recovery)

My old 320 GB usb Seagate is still working well and just feels more solid

than the WD which I hope will last this time.

I will stick to Seagate in the future

[TigertheCat]

I had a Maxtor external drive fail after 1 year and got a replacement and that failed too so no more Maxtor although I dont see them anymore,maybe as too unreliable.

I now use an WD Studio Edition 1 Tb and also 2 internal drives are WD,so far no problems

[dingdongrb]

using a WD 1Tb at 10k rpm....

Believe you may have a number above wrong somewhere? The 10k rpm WD are the Raptor and the VelociRaptor, I have a Raptor 150GB and the largest VelociRaptor is 600GB and is a recent size addition, no 1TB 10k rpm shows on WD sites. I've been looking at these for a while as a performance upgrade. The available 10k rpm sizes available that I can find are 150GB, 300GB, 450GB & 600GB. My WD Raptor has been humming along fine for about 5 years now.

Or is there something out there I can't find?

You are correct Tywais and it seems I was perhaps mislead. I was informed that the 'Black' drives were 10k rpm....but it seems that is not always true....so it looks like I actually have a 1Tb 7200rpm unit.... but nevertheless my Core i7 with a high end graphics card is my 'baby' now and so far I'm a fat happy camper compared to using that HP Pavilion POS.

[Tywais]

I dont see them anymore,maybe as too unreliable.

Seagate bought/acquired Maxtor about 5 years ago.

[dingdongrb]

I dont see them anymore,maybe as too unreliable.

Seagate bought/acquired Maxtor about 5 years ago.

Yepper... I used to work in a building previously occupied by Maxtor (Boulder Colorado.....actually Niwot, just north of Boulder)

[lomatopo]

This is standalone drive for a laptop, so comments about internal disks are not exactly relevant.

I only suggested the ‘bare-drive’ option because you didn’t specify you wanted an all-in-one solution.

I think the failure rates on these ‘toy’ drives (industry moniker, not mine: I have 2: WD 320 and WD640) (2.5”, USB, 5400 RPM) are high because:

- Heat: Drives are 10 degrees C hotter in these tiny, rarely ventilated enclosures, compound that with potentially high ambient temperatures, or fluctuating temperatures and wild fluctuating humidity, the later two owing to A/C. (My internal HDDs are currently at 30 C, my external 3.5” in a good enclosure is running 31 C and my WD USB drive is at 39 C.)

- Shock/Vibration: These drives get mis-handled quite a bit, in part because they are so light and portable.

- Controller/Electronics: While my opinion on this is formed by purely anecdotal experience, it seems like a high percentage of drive failures are actually due to controller failures, perhaps due to cost reduction efforts on the part of the manufacturer or due to heat.

- Fluctuating power from USB Ports: voltage spikes/drops can cause problems with the drive unless the controller is capable of handling them.

As long as you have a multiple drive back-up strategy then these toy drives should be fine. I still recommend a good enclosure (reliable, e-SATA, external AC adapter, good cooling) and a 3.5” bare HDD (SATA, 7,200 RPM), of your choosing.

I have to say that in 28 years, dozens of platforms and hundreds of HDDs, from my first 10 MB to my current 1 TB, I have never experienced a HDD failure.

[dingdongrb]

I think the failure rates on these 'toy' drives (industry moniker, not mine: I have 2: WD 320 and WD640) (2.5", USB, 5400 RPM) are high because:

- Heat: Drives are 10 degrees C hotter in these tiny, rarely ventilated enclosures, compound that with potentially high ambient temperatures, or fluctuating temperatures and wild fluctuating humidity, the later two owing to A/C. (My internal HDDs are currently at 30 C, my external 3.5" in a good enclosure is running 31 C and my WD USB drive is at 39 C.)

- Shock/Vibration: These drives get mis-handled quite a bit, in part because they are so light and portable.

- Controller/Electronics: While my opinion on this is formed by purely anecdotal experience, it seems like a high percentage of drive failures are actually due to controller failures, perhaps due to cost reduction efforts on the part of the manufacturer or due to heat.

- Fluctuating power from USB Ports: voltage spikes/drops can cause problems with the drive unless the controller is capable of handling them.

As long as you have a multiple drive back-up strategy then these toy drives should be fine. I still recommend a good enclosure (reliable, e-SATA, external AC adapter, good cooling) and a 3.5" bare HDD (SATA, 7,200 RPM), of your choosing.

I have to say that in 28 years, dozens of platforms and hundreds of HDDs, from my first 10 MB to my current 1 TB, I have never experienced a HDD failure.

I totally agree with every point that you make.

I try not to move my HDD around, especially when it is being accessed, even though they are called 'portable'.

I also prefer to use external HDDs that use an external power source as the USB sources are always not quite 'beefy' enough.

And lastly, I use ventilated encloses as well as keeping an external fan pointed at them.

[Tywais]

You might consider one of these. They're hot swappable and the issue of heat from a poorly designed external housing is eliminated. They're also available in a single drive version. I'm planning on ordering one as I have some drives that need a home. As for specific drives, I've used/installed a few hundred Seagate drives for myself and our research facility and can only remember a couple of failures and those were either from a nasty power surge or the fact they were over 10 years old.

I'm a bit more cautious regarding Seagate though since their firmware screwup on their 1TB drives a while back where after 2-3 months the drives turned into bricks. I had just bought one when I found out about it but was able to update the firmware before it failed. So best to check Seagate forums on the specific model to make sure there are no gotchas.

I've read several reviews/forums on Samsung's SpinPoint drives and many consider them the fastest performing 7200 drives out.

[dingdongrb]

You might consider one of these. They're hot swappable and the issue of heat from a poorly designed external housing is eliminated. They're also available in a single drive version. I'm planning on ordering one as I have some drives that need a home. As for specific drives, I've used/installed a few hundred Seagate drives for myself and our research facility and can only remember a couple of failures and those were either from a nasty power surge or the fact they were over 10 years old.

I'm a bit more cautious regarding Seagate though since their firmware screwup on their 1TB drives a while back where after 2-3 months the drives turned into bricks. I had just bought one when I found out about it but was able to update the firmware before it failed. So best to check Seagate forums on the specific model to make sure there are no gotchas.

I've read several reviews/forums on Samsung's SpinPoint drives and many consider them the fastest performing 7200 drives out.

I have a few friends that have been working for Seagate in Colorado (now at the Longmont facility) for years. Before their days at Seagate they worked for a small drive mfg in the 70s/80s called Brown Disc.... I hope they don't hear your reference about 'drives turning into bricks'.... I say this from a funny but true story many of us older guys who has worked up and down the Colorado Front Range over many years re-tell every now and then.

The story goes as this.... Back in the late 70s or early 80s a young HDD mfg, Brown Disc was coming near the end of a business quarter or fiscal year (can't rem which) and they weren't quite making the numbers ($$) that the corporate bigwigs were expecting and wanting to publish. So in order to boost the numbers one of the very high ups in mgmt (can't recall if it was OPS VP, CEO, or who) instructed the shipping dept to literally take an empty shipping box, place a brick in it, and ship it somewhere..... Well needless to say, they managed to ruin their reputation and the business soon thereafter went belly up....

[astral]

I seem to remember reading that disc manufacturers will renege on the guarantee if

the drive has been used in an external case.

Hence my choice of the "toy" drive.

My little Seagate 500Gb's run very cool.

[lomatopo]

I seem to remember reading that disc manufacturers will renege on the guarantee if

the drive has been used in an external case.

Hence my choice of the "toy" drive.

My little Seagate 500Gb's run very cool.

Uh-oh, I'm running all my drives in an external case, as does just about everyone. They're called chassis.

Seriously, if you have a source for your memory that would be great. Although I'm not sure how they'd know you were using the drive in external case? (I assume you meant "warranty" and not "guarantee"?)

What temps are your Seagates running?

Again, the moniker "toy drive" is not mine, but used by some in the industry to describe this market segment (inexpensive, throw-away, plastic, attractive colors, an impulsive or whim-like purchase cycle, etc.).

[BugJackBaron]

Here is another point some may agree or disagree with.

I am convinced the failure of my WD 1TB external was due in part to

the use of the built-in backup software. I was curious and now never use

the software any company provides.

The reason is it will run as a daemon(unix jargon) in the background so if u accidentally pull

out the plug so to speak u could mess up the heads of the platter.

They also waste a lot of space by backing up everything.

Finally they are windows specific and I run linux now.