Storage: Help with External USB Drive Maintenance/Monitoring
Help with External USB Drive Maintenance/Monitoring
by Jwegge - 2/21/08 8:42 AMI use external USB drives to backup my desktops. I regularly use spinrite on the internal drives, but it is so slow on external USB drives that it is useless.
Is there some other program or way to "maintain" external USB drives?
Thanks for any help.
JWegge
Looking for trouble
by samkh - 2/21/08 9:12 AM In reply to: Help with External USB Drive Maintenance/Monitoring by Jweggein all the right places! Why would you muck around with your backup when USB is fragile enough as is. Get another USB hard disk as a second copy backup if you are semi-paranoid (I didn't say paranoid cause those have 4+ copies on volatile and non-volatile).
My tip.
by R. Proffitt
- 2/21/08 9:20 AM
In reply to: Help with External USB Drive Maintenance/Monitoring by Jwegge
Only use externals (plural!!!) in conjunction with a system that has write protection. I can't count how many used a single drive for backup and then some pest jumped on the drive and they spread it to every machine they own. Then when they restored, the pest came with it or when they restored the pest wiped out the drive.
There's another issue and that's many of these USB drives have barely enough cooling and tend to overheat. That we can fix.
Bob
External USB Drives
by Jwegge - 2/23/08 5:24 AM In reply to: My tip. by R. Proffitt
Thanks to both of you for your comments...
I do run overlapping backup drives -- a portion of an internal partition and an external drive -- because I am always in fear of external USB drive failures without notice. Apparently there is no easy software solution to keep tabs on the health of the external drives...
As to Bob's suggestions, I am not sure how I can write protect the drives without interferring with my Acronis True Image incremental backup strategy... semi daily with new base images approximately every two weeks... base images then transferred semi-annually to DVD for deep storage... DVDs checked yearly for data defects...
Thankfully, I haven't experienced a "pest infestation" for almost 5 years... and my equipment is purposely kept on separate networks from that of my now 18 y/o step-daughter and her "bad habits"...
JWegge
Here' s the deal E O on the write protection.
by R. Proffitt - 2/23/08 7:02 AM
In reply to: External USB Drives by Jwegge
Let's say the horrible thing happens. You have your backup on that drive. HOW DO YOU WRITE PROTECT IT SO the horrible thing can't touch it?
This standard from hard won IT lessons on backup been lost on the makers of these devices.
Bob
How about HP Media Drives
by Jwegge - 2/25/08 8:59 AM In reply to: Here' s the deal E O on the write protection. by R. Proffitt
I now understand the problem....
Do you (or anyone else) have any experience with the HP media drives? Since they are more than marinally more expensive than other external USB drives yet fit inside media centers, are they more suitable than WDC/Seagate/Maxtor externals? Do they have the same heat problems and/or overload the stock HP media center power supplies?
Thanks for your sharing your knowledge.
JWegge
seagate hard drive
by chrisfunk - 3/1/08 2:03 AM In reply to: How about HP Media Drives by Jweggenot sure where to stick this but just my thoughts on the seagate external hard drives. I have a 320gb USB2 seagate, it's the one that stands up in a grey casing with the drive mounted sideways. I have to say that it's great and I would advise anybody to go for one of these.
It has no built in fan but the design of the case seems to keep it very cool although it is quite large. It has a power button. so what you might say but a lot of drives don't and I don't like just plugging a drive in without a power button, it must be bad for the drive surely? And it also spins down when not being used to reduce ware ont he drive and quickly spins up again when you access it.
I use it for storing music as I am a laptop based mobile dj and I don't feel like it will fail at any moment.
Never use a USB drive for your DATA
by waytron - 3/1/08 3:04 AM In reply to: seagate hard drive by chrisfunkIf your data is important to you, do not store it on a single USB Hard drive. At the very least, rotate between 2 or more drives. And never use one as a working drive for data without a backup. They are simple just too unreliable.
Usb Storage
by haroldbld - 3/1/08 3:07 PM In reply to: Never use a USB drive for your DATA by waytronIf I read the thread correctly about Usb drives being
unreliable,
then what the hell do I store a backup to my files on,
as 1.44 Mb. Floppies are now obsolete. ?
Do I revert back to Pen and Paper,
or are computers so unreliable that the best thing is to bin them.
Harry.
We have CDR, DVDR, tape, etc.
by R. Proffitt - 3/1/08 5:04 PM
In reply to: Usb Storage by haroldbld
Surely what you can't lose fits on such?
Here' s the deal E O on the write protection.
by oliverrp - 3/1/08 8:24 AM In reply to: Here' s the deal E O on the write protection. by R. Proffitt
OK, I'm convinced - now just how DO you write protect the hard drive?
Today!! They don't offer this.
by R. Proffitt - 3/1/08 8:31 AM
In reply to: Here' s the deal E O on the write protection. by oliverrp
When they do, you'll find me buying them for backup. Today, I'm calling a "fine copy." It's not backup yet.
Maybe my old crusty IT ideals are showing.
Bob
Are additional INTERNAL hard drives safer for backup?
by obsessed - 3/1/08 5:37 PM In reply to: Today!! They don't offer this. by R. Proffitt
With the price of hard drives coming down so much, I was thinking of replacing my second internal hard drive (currently a 250G) with a 750G to allow more room for backups as well as music and videos. I realize that, as hard drives do fail, I will need an additional form of backup... having said that, are internals safer than externals for these backups?
These don't qualify as "backup."
by R. Proffitt - 3/1/08 5:42 PM
In reply to: Are additional INTERNAL hard drives safer for backup? by obsessed
The key definitions of backup were:
1. Multiple copies.
2. Removable from the site.
3. Write protection.
4. Usable on other machines (so you can restore.)
Today the usb hard disk makers are pulling a fast one by ignoring the old standards.
Bob
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