Storage: Is there a life expectancy on external hard drives?
- 5/29/09 1:02 PM
Expect it to fail at some point.
by Lloyd_Hayes - 5/30/09 9:43 AM In reply to: Is there a life expectancy on external hard drives? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I have a 500 GB Hitachi in front of me that died a few months after the warranty ran out. The motor in it simply gave up. It reminded me of the fact that hard drive motors are not designed to run forever. And some have a very short life. Any device such as a disk, CD, or similar device will have a longer life since they don't rely on internal motors.
But because of our rapid change in storage technology, there is nothing that will have as long a life, and still be readable, for you information as plan old paper which is stored under proper conditions.
This is like asking if there is a life expectancy to a car.
by channelv - 5/30/09 11:10 AM In reply to: Is there a life expectancy on external hard drives? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Ok more like to a wheel bearing on a car since it's more similar. Too random to predict. New cars get bad bearings, old cars get bad bearings. Sorry I can't give you a definite answer, but I will say that I have had in my lifetime probably close to.....50 drives (laptop and desktop) that I own and/or still own, and none have died. Now, if you drop it or do something silly, that's your fault. But I will mention that I have an old Maxtor 40gb, that while it still works, is very loud. the bearings are going bad. I'm throwing that one away soon.
Another note: I was an early adoptoer of SSDs (solid state hard drives), paid $450 for a tiny 1.8" sized 32gb SLC Mtron drive for a Dell X1 ultraportable (awesome laptop), and it failed. Currently is being RMA'd back to Korea. I hate RMA processes with companies that make you send the defective product halfway around the world...it takes months to get another one.
A Suggestion based on need
by ACRScout - 5/30/09 1:57 PM In reply to: Is there a life expectancy on external hard drives? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Don't be too concerned about the failure of a drive. If you are using a 250Gb drive and that is the extent of your need, you can for about $120.00 pick up two 500gb SATA 2 drives. Mirror them, then you need not fear when the drive fails. Unless you have a dual failure, which is a one in a million shot. If one fails simply break the mirror pair and replace the bad drive then rebuild the mirror.
Definitely a finite lifespan
by dgjacquin - 5/30/09 6:11 PM In reply to: Is there a life expectancy on external hard drives? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Also keep in mind if you're using an external harddrive to backup your files (drive image photos etc) that if it's powered all the time and connected to your pc, it's no longer a backup device and is subject to fail at the most inopportune time.
A client stored 2 years of pictures on an external harddrive (only location) and found out it would cost $2000 for the mfg. to recover the data after the usb interface failed.
Always store your critical data in multiple separate locations.
Yup! Backup your backup!
by wasnot - 5/30/09 8:03 PM In reply to: Is there a life expectancy on external hard drives? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Mine only lasted a year. Lost a TON of audio files. I think it overheated.
External Drive Life depends on design and packaging
by Former Big Iron Guy - 5/31/09 1:58 PM In reply to: Is there a life expectancy on external hard drives? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I have been using external IDE and of late eSATA flavors for some years. I have also gone the DIY by putting drives in aftermarket enclosures (usually after using Acronis True Image to migrate the OS and other info to a Larger HD). I put the old drive in the aftermarket enclosure. Currently, I'm spinning about 2.75 GB on my primary WS, with only 400GB in the case, the rest external.
My observations:
1. Purpose built externals have much longer life than DIY externals.
2. 3.5" at any RPM lasts longer than 2.5" laptop style HD's
3. Speed, in order of decreasing performance: eSata, Firewire (1600, 800, 400), USB 2.0, USB 1.1
4. Brand / Initial quality-warranty / Price make a difference.
5. Use your favorite search engine to check the quality technical sites (e.g. Cnet.com) *before* buying new, or when it gets "sick".
6. Handling - The drive you cart around from place to place doesn't last as long as one that just sits with the system.
7. Ventilation and heating matter. Hotter = less. Built in fan in case generally equals larger. (BTW, a small fan blowing across enclosures without fans does keep the temp lower...)
8. A good reference & utility site like SpeedFan http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php is invaluable. They also have an extended S.M.A.R.T comparison diagnostics feature.
Just my $0.02 worth.
/s/ Former Big Iron Guy
EVERYTHING has a life expectancy including external HDDs
by fpiperno - 5/31/09 6:17 PM In reply to: Is there a life expectancy on external hard drives? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Many external drives are standard IDE or SATA drives and all have a MTBF (Mfr specs). Most, with careful handling, should last much longer because they are used less than your internal drive. I prefer to do manual backups and leave the drive unplugged between backups. It will probably be around after I am gone.
A costly gamble
by ehbrown1 - 6/1/09 5:59 AM In reply to: Is there a life expectancy on external hard drives? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I have found over many years of IT work, that both internal and external drives can last for months or last for years. I have had brand new drives die within 1 year, yet have had others that have been in service for 6-7 years and have yet to even start to hum. That can be attributed to both manufacturing and operating conditions. Modern drives seem to be much more durable and last considerably longer then those produced 5 years ago. They handle shock and temperature extremes rather well. I have several computers which operate in mechanical rooms that at certain times of the year have 100% relative humidity and temps ranging from 45 degrees to well over one hundred degrees with not a single failure.
So it IS a costly gamble. If you, like myself have gigabytes of personal photos, music and video files that are difficult or impossible to replace, then I would suggest backing up to more than one place. If you want greater protection, consider backing up your valuables to DVD's for greater security. Personally, in addition to hard copies - I use network storage (D-Link DS321 and WD MyBooks are very cost effective) each consisting of dual drives which mirror each other for even greater security and reliability. The choice is yours, but with all of the options out there, there is no reason to ever say "I should have backed up more often". Once you say that, you know it's already too late.
yes, there is a life expectancy for hard drives
by Mitch Turitz - 6/1/09 2:49 PM In reply to: Is there a life expectancy on external hard drives? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Anything that has moving parts, and even some things that don't, have what was referred to as "mean time to failure" or words to that effect. Essentially, this means that anything with moving parts, from your egg timer to your car, will eventually wear out some part that will cause failure of either another part or parts, or just cause the entire machine to fail. This also means that a computer that is used 8 hours a day should last 3 times longer than a computer that is left on 24 hrs/day, unless it can slow down drive after long periods of non-use. Sometimes it is easy to examine and determine the cause of the failure (e.g. a burnt-out spark plug or fuse). Other times it is not so clear until you take the entire thing apart. The manufacturer used to (I have not checked in years) a brief statement in their computer specs about average time to failure, giving you something to compare along with prices. Why pay $100 for a hard drive that will fail sooner than a similar drive which may not be that far apart in price? Also remember, that one of the solutions for failed drives is to reformat the drive, destroying all the data on the disk that you could not remove. So remember to backup those backups!
Is there a life expectancy on external hard drives?
by RogUK - 6/2/09 3:38 AM In reply to: Is there a life expectancy on external hard drives? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I am the same. I use external hard drives a lot, images, video etc etc
Think along the lines " If it can happen, then it will happen". Assume that it will fail.
As drives get bigger and the cost per Gb reduces, its worth getting a new one now and again and copying everything to the new one. This can take quite a while, and there are different ways of doing it (drive imaging etc) but do it, you'll sleep better.
Just think about how you would feel if you lost it all.
I use external drives purely for archiving and storage, they are not left running and attached to a PC for long periods of time. I transfer about every 2 years, or whenever a really good deal on a bigger drive comes along.
One other thing, remember to securely wipe the old drive if you are disposing of it !
depends on your HD karma to some extent
by cdbob - 6/2/09 1:46 PM In reply to: Is there a life expectancy on external hard drives? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
As Lily Tomlin once said:
"Whoever thought up the term 'quality control' believed that if we didn't control it, quality would get out of hand."
Your luck is obviously better than mine. I've NEVER had an external HD last as long as yours. However, your asking this question -- for which I thank you profusely --produced a ton of great advice for prolonging the lives of HDs. My thanks to all contributors.
My own advice -- dead serious here -- is to have TWO EXTERNAL HDs (different models from different manufacturers) at all times...chances of them both dying on you simultaneously are minimal. That's why I have two INTERNAL HDs as well, with my most important data on both of them in addition to the externals.
This EXTERNAL HD advice is costly, but a lot less so as prices have continued to drop over the years. Finding a PC that can accept TWO INTERNAL HDs isn't easy, but definitely worth the trouble.
The rest of this post is a personal tale of woe, simply to show how unreliable any HD can be....those looking for more advice should stop here and read what other contributors have suggested.
I knew i had bad karma with BOTH INTERNAL HDs when Dell switched out over a dozen pairs -- all SATA -- on my then brand-new desktop. Nothing worked until they replaced them with the older, slower ATA generation. Thanks to a Dell Gold warranty purchased separately, it cost me nothing but time and angst.
There's nothing INHERENTLY wrong with SATA drives or their even faster children. Dell just got a bad batch of them from the manufacturer. And I happened to get one after another from that bad batch. My guess is that -- with a few exceptions -- there's nothing inherently wrong with EXTERNAL HDs either.
But that didn't stop my string of bad luck since I've had even worse experiences with EXTERNAL hard drives from EVERY major manufacturer. Many only lasted 3 months then died, some without the "click-click" warning that failing externals are supposed to exhibit just before they die on you.
For those who've gotten this far, again read the advice of others. It's bound to prolong your own life (via less stress) as well as of your HDs.
Thanks again to CNET and all who contributed. May you and YOUR HDs live long and prosper.
Don't Forget Why We're Concerned About Drive Failure
by bgoodhew - 6/9/09 12:35 PM In reply to: Is there a life expectancy on external hard drives? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
It's because we're concerned about losing our data. And that can be due to other reasons, such as fire, flood, and, most likely, theft. So put a backup drive in another location - if your computer is at home, keep a backup drive in a secure place at work, etc. Swap it with another drive periodically. And of course, most theft occurs with laptops, so keeping a backup elsewhere is most important for those.
Yes, there is.
by jmero - 6/17/09 6:55 AM In reply to: Is there a life expectancy on external hard drives? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
It's called, "Mean time before failure, or MTBF".
Re : Is there a life expectancy to external hard drives?
by The Fonz - 6/27/09 4:56 AM In reply to: Is there a life expectancy on external hard drives? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
There is definately a life expecatncy on External Hard Drives. Seagate make the best, in my opinion, and have a good track record. I would keep am external hard drive in operation for 5 years at best. Some drives will fail in less time than that. If you have a 5 year old drive, I would buy a new External hard drive and backup ALL data on your present external hard drive, possibly to an internal HD until you can transfer over to the new external. Failing that, hope your external HD keeps going until you get your new drive, and transfer IMMEDIATLY all your files. If you have a DVD-RW, consider using that to back up your files to DVD as well. Remember, redundant backups are better than no backups. If you can, use external online storage for your files, especially photos, videos, and text files. I use Megaupload to store my Video files, and while I have a premium account, its not neccesary. The free account will allow up to 90 days of storage before they delete the files, allowing you some breathing space. I have found that the Seagate Freeagent 1.5Tb external Hard drive has the longest warranty, 5 years, so if it fails within this time, you can at least get another.
OK So still trying to get a straight answer
by gomezy3k - 8/20/09 7:58 AM In reply to: Is there a life expectancy on external hard drives? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
ARE THE TB DRIVES RELIABLE?????? A simple answer please. Yes I know all things wear out or break down over time, what I need to know is are the TB drives worse than other size drives or the same or better as far as reliablility is concerned.
Thats all I want to know. I need to back up files and want the biggest drive I can get because I have a crap load of files and stuff I want to keep and save.
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