Life span of internal hdd if used infrequently


Recommended Posts

Processor: Intel Core i3-4130 CPU @ 3.40 GHz
Motherboard: Asus H81M-E
Memory: Transcend 2GB DIMM DDR3 1333 MHz (Channel B)
Undefined 2GB DIMM DDR3 1600 MHz (Channel A)
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 64 bit

 

Dear friends,

I am planning to buy 2 hard disks: one 250 GB WD and one 320 GB Seagate. The 250 GB WD hdd will have windows 7 OS installed and the 320 GB Seagate will be for backup only. I will be using the 320 GB hdd only to copy, paste and store files from the 250 GB hdd in case the 250 GB hdd crashes even though the 320 GB hdd might first crash out of rare possibility.

 

Now I have two options: (i) install both the hard disks inside the cpu and (ii) install only the 250 GB hdd in the cpu and use the 320 GB hdd as an external hdd with an enclosure. I want to decrease the chance of 320 GB hdd failure within a short duration of time and make it work as long as as possible. Which option will reduce the chance of the 320 GB hdd failure in a short time?

 

Few years back I used only a 160 GB seagate internal hdd which lasted for nearly 3 years and 8 months. If I use the 320 GB hdd internally only for backup (no OS installed, no heavy use etc) will it last longer? Does an internal hdd (for backup only) spin (i.e work) all the time like the one with OS intalled since it is connected with the motherboard and power supply and thereby reduce its life span? Does it spin only when I enter into the hdd for copying and pasting files? Which option will be the best for my requirements?

Thanks in advance. 

Hard drive failure vs time follows a bathtub curve. There's an initial high rate of failures from bad drives (manufacturer defects, bad shipping/handling, etc). Then the rate of failure falls to fairly low annual levels. Finally, the rate creeps upwards again as drives age and fall apart.

Quote

Now I have two options: (i) install both the hard disks inside the cpu and (ii) install only the 250 GB hdd in the cpu and use the 320 GB hdd as an external hdd with an enclosure. I want to decrease the chance of 320 GB hdd failure within a short duration of time and make it work as long as as possible. Which option will reduce the chance of the 320 GB hdd failure in a short time?

If you're talking short-term failures (within weeks to a few months of installation), then there's no difference between the two since you're in the early demise portion of the lifetime and might just have gotten a doomed device.

 

Since much of this is governed by things that are not under your control, I'd suggest just picking the simplest option for yourself.

It's a crap shoot and the more interesting questions are... Why are you not using a SSD for your Windows 7 install? What do you use this PC for? Do you really need this PC to actually last for three more years? LOL

All hardware can die at any time. There's no set time. I had a HDD die on me 10 days later. And then I have a 20GB back from '98 days, and still working.

 

All that is important, is BACKUP.

For one putting your backup inside the case if not a very good idea. Your backup should be external at least and ideally should be stored in another house. Personally i backup my PC once a week on an external hard drive and i store this drive at my job. This way if my house burn or my things get stolen or something i still got my backup.

 

If you install it inside the case you can tell windows to shut off the drive if not used.  Go in the control panel, open the power option and click on the link to change the plan advanced options. There you can tell windows to shut the drives off if they are not used.

 

Unless you really need small hard drives i would just get a 2TB as you can get these for about $50 online brand new as those are hard to beat in terms of storage space for not too much $$$. in my opinion it's not really worth buying hard drives smaller than 2TB at this point given the costs/storage space combo. also, i got a external hard drive docking station (costs about $20 give or take depending on whether it's on sale or not) that works well of which i have a 120mm USB powered fan sitting on top of the hard drive running as this noticeably lowers the temps of the hard drive in the docking station i got.

 

but speaking of hard drive temps... it appears there is no concrete data with temps (high or low) and failure rates. but with that said, it just seems like something only warm to the touch is better than something somewhat uncomfortable to the touch. like with the 120mm fan sitting on top of the docking station of which it sits on the hard drive and blows air down onto it, the temp drops are quite noticeable.

 

also, i am pretty sure what zhangm said is true also when it comes to hard drive failures in that if they don't fail early on they will probably last a while and then as they age the failure rates start to creep up.

 

also, when you get the hard drives... i would recommend doing a FULL format on them and not a quick one. this ensures that the drive is in good running order. you can even check it with CrystalDiskInfo to.

 

also, depending on how paranoid you are with backups... short of house burning down etc you should have reasonable protection against data loss and virus infection if you copy data to a external hard drive and don't leave the external hard drive connected to the PC that often. this is probably easiest and does not require too much effort.

 

but for that data you simply cannot afford to lose i still prefer using the following method.... one copy on one hard drive and another copy on another hard drive along with two additional copies on quality DVD recordable media (i.e. Verbatim and Taiyo Yuden). so short of house burning down or something like that, your chances of any data loss there is slim to none with this method as i trust quality DVD recordable media to retrieve my data from them 10-20+ years from now where as hard drives, while convenient, likely ain't as reliable long term as quality DVD recordable media. i have some Verbatim and Taiyo Yuden media from 10+ years ago that still scan well. but i only use the DVD recordable media for like family photos/videos, like cannot afford to lose stuff. my other data i don't want to lose, but would not be the end of the world if i lost it, i just stick to the more simple two copy on hard drive method (like two copies on different hard drives) with preferably one copy on external hard drive and that hard drive is not connected to the PC too often as this keeps it's chances of data loss from virus or ransomware etc to a minimum. with this said... only potential negative with DVD recordable media is whether drives to read them will still be around 10-20+ years from now as while i suspect it won't be much of a issue to find them for another 10+ years, too much beyond this is hard to predict. still, at this point in time for that 'cannot afford to lose data' i feel quality recordable DVD media is most reliable, reasonably priced, for long term data storage. so even if DVD drives to read your DVD recordable media are difficult to find in say 20 years time at least you have peace of mind for 10+ years from now.

 

p.s. also, running this might not be a bad idea... https://ransomfree.cybereason.com/ ; it's free protection against RansomWare (it was featured in a article here on Neowin about a year ago now) which you don't want to get hit with that stuff since it can lock down all of the data on your PC. basically i just run that along with the default Windows Defender anti-virus. but that works not by looking for specific strains of Ransomware but detects it strictly on the way it behaves. so it does not need definition updates and it's light on resources. also, it does not seem to mess with anything i do so it seems fairly safe for me to recommend it as you more or less install it and forget it. then occasionally it will prompt you for program updates. also, if you see a couple of weird name folders (small file size) on your hard drive, don't worry, RansomFree put them there.

Edited by ThaCrip
10 hours ago, tantrik123 said:

Processor: Intel Core i3-4130 CPU @ 3.40 GHz
Motherboard: Asus H81M-E
Memory: Transcend 2GB DIMM DDR3 1333 MHz (Channel B)
Undefined 2GB DIMM DDR3 1600 MHz (Channel A)
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 64 bit

 

Dear friends,

I am planning to buy 2 hard disks: one 250 GB WD and one 320 GB Seagate. The 250 GB WD hdd will have windows 7 OS installed and the 320 GB Seagate will be for backup only. I will be using the 320 GB hdd only to copy, paste and store files from the 250 GB hdd in case the 250 GB hdd crashes even though the 320 GB hdd might first crash out of rare possibility.

 

Now I have two options: (i) install both the hard disks inside the cpu and (ii) install only the 250 GB hdd in the cpu and use the 320 GB hdd as an external hdd with an enclosure. I want to decrease the chance of 320 GB hdd failure within a short duration of time and make it work as long as as possible. Which option will reduce the chance of the 320 GB hdd failure in a short time?

 

Few years back I used only a 160 GB seagate internal hdd which lasted for nearly 3 years and 8 months. If I use the 320 GB hdd internally only for backup (no OS installed, no heavy use etc) will it last longer? Does an internal hdd (for backup only) spin (i.e work) all the time like the one with OS intalled since it is connected with the motherboard and power supply and thereby reduce its life span? Does it spin only when I enter into the hdd for copying and pasting files? Which option will be the best for my requirements?

Thanks in advance. 

Is this post from 2017?

 

250 and 320 are not common drive sizes in 2017.

 

1. There is no way to predict the lifetime of either SSDs or HDs other than educated guesses that might be of value or not.

 

2. Due to increasing volumes and increased manufacturing process intelligence there is an increasing trend for all manufactured products to last for only a small period of time past the warranty period in order to save a penny or tow on costs.

 

3. The only real world reliability data for hard drive longevity is the Backblaze data. If you study their results two conclusions will be obvious. A) reliability is very specific to specific models and B) Hitachi drives are far better than anything else.

 

4. Placing the drive inside the computer gives you full control of the drives environment.  External cases don't provide cooling (in general) and they can be dropped. Turning drives on and off also stress them. 

 

5. If the data is critical then offsite backup is vital. Backblaze is an excellent option to consider for online backup of ANY size of data and you don't have to fiddle with anything. Their technology is completely Open Source so you can also build your own Backblaze POD if you want. (fun, but not practical for most people)

 

6. Your boot drive should be a 256 or 512 or 1024 gig SSD made by Samsung. Your internal backup HD should be whatever specific Hitachi model does best on Backblaze or if you can't source that, then a large modern NAS type HD such as Seagate IronWolf.

 

8 minutes ago, DevTech said:

 

4. Placing the drive inside the computer gives you full control of the drives environment.  External cases don't provide cooling (in general) and they can be dropped. Turning drives on and off also stress them. 

 

That is actually false. Even your system turns HDDs on and off while not in use.

2 minutes ago, warwagon said:

True but it doesn't mean it might not wear them out.

He said specifically external HDDs. Your system can do that same damage.

5 minutes ago, Mindovermaster said:

That is actually false. Even your system turns HDDs on and off while not in use.

 

4 minutes ago, warwagon said:

True but it doesn't mean it might not wear them out.

Not true.

 

There is a world of difference between a "low power mode" signal from a device driver and yanking the electricity to a unit!

since people are talking about it, i might as well give a comment... I don't like that spinning up and down with hard drives in Windows which is why i always disable that stuff so the hard drive spins 24/7 when my PC is on and my PC is pretty much on 24/7 outside of an occasional power down. that gets rid of the wait time for them to power backup and i can't see that powering on and off all of the time being good for the drives, but this is only a guess.

 

but i guess it boils down to whether the powering up and down of drives is worse than just leaving the them running all of the time. but i leave my drives on 24/7 pretty much and had good luck so far and i have been doing this for years now.

1 hour ago, DevTech said:

 

Not true.

 

There is a world of difference between a "low power mode" signal from a device driver and yanking the electricity to a unit!

I can't really see any difference. An external gets the same amount of power as your internal from PSU... Yes, a plug may be different, but its powering the USB port, along with the PCB.

Hello,

 

One thing to make certain of that will prolong the life of the 320GB HDD inside its external enclosure will be to not move it at all while power is applied to the drive.  Only move it when the drive is powered down (if external power), or ejected (on bus power).  For the latter, hold the drive in place so it does not move and then unplug the USB cable.  This will ensure that the drive's mechanical parts (platters, read/write heads, motors, etc.) are not subject to any strong forces from being tilted or moved while the drive is revolving thousands of times per minute.

 

Regards,

 

Aryeh Goretsky

 

On 12/13/2017 at 3:56 AM, Zagadka said:

Are programs like SSDlife an accurate estimation? I'm not up to drive details.

 

I would find out what SSD drive you got as there should be general write life specs on it.

 

like my Samsung 850 EVO 250GB for example, which is a popular SSD drive... has a 75TB (or 70TB) write rated life (in real world it will likely go higher before actual drive failure occurs given tests i have seen online).

 

to put that into perspective... if you wrote 20GB EVERY SINGLE DAY to it, which is a lot(i doubt most people will come close to that), for 10 years that would be 73TB of writes. so as you can see your unlikely to kill the drive from writing data to it as from what i know it's only writing data to the drive that wears it out, not reading data as reading data is penalty free.

 

or for some facts for me personally... i had my Samsung 850 EVO 250GB SSD since May 2015, so a bit over 2.5 years now, and only have written about 9TB of data to it (9.3TB according to CrystalDiskInfo. the official Samsung Magician program reports a bit less than this) and at the rate i am going ill have only written about 37TB (less than 40TB) in 10 years. so as you can see, assuming the drive only fails from data writing, the SSD will be basically outdated by the time it wears out as ill be getting something in the ball park of 20 years out of it at my current rate.

 

hell, even if something else takes out the SSD outside of writing data to it the Samsung 850 EVO comes with a 5 year warranty and chances are it will go comfortably beyond that before failure occurs if it makes it to the 5+ year mark (if it does not make it to the 5 year mark, your covered under warranty anyways ;) ). so even if you get something around 10 years out of it, chances are it will be somewhat outdated by then and you will probably be on another PC at that point and who knows whether SATA will still be used all that much like it is now in 10+ years time. even if you try to keep a old PC in use for basic internet like i do for a backup computer... eventually there will come a point where running up to date browsers won't work on the computer whether under Linux or Windows like what happened to my old PC i got in 2001 not all that long ago now as the CPU in it does not support SSE2 CPU instructions (which is a minimum requirement for current browsers still being developed) so it can no longer run modern browsers and that PC is mostly shot at this point because of that.

 

bottom line... unless you got a low quality SSD drive, just use it and don't worry about it as your not going to wear it out from too much use (unless your writing boatloads of data to it all of the time) as you can see from what i said above ;)

Edited by ThaCrip
This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Posts

    • I notice how you dodged the questions I had about the racism shown by ignorant, gullible, cowardly people when the Poles, like your partner, were the immigrants. Ahem. I wonder how you'd feel if native born Brits suddenly treated you as "dirty crooked immigrant" for being half Trump-American? If they ordered you to leave and "go back to your corrupt country" (on the other side of the Atlantic), would you go? The truth is based on facts as supported by evidence. As requested in your previous posts, I have used the facts in your own post to show everyone the truth.
    • US citizens are paying to their government, who could use that to fund healthcare and tuition and relieve the costs of these for citizens instead of making tax breaks that overwhelmingly favor the rich. I'm not saying that tariffs are the correct solution, but what else would they be used for? What else could Trump have in mind for wanting them, if he hasn't figured out that labor costs are higher in the US?
    • I’m in need of a new chair and it sounds like the backrest cannot be locked? I also sat on a Herman miller and was devastated that it couldn’t be locked also, what is going on with chairs. I want to be able to lock the backrest into any position but not even the Herman’s do that
    • Sihoo Doro C300 Pro V2 Ergonomic Office Chair review: The Ikea of chairs by Steven Parker I've reviewed a few gaming chairs over the past three years or so and generally found them to score well in our reviews. SIHOO reached out asking if I was interested in taking a look at their flagship chair, the Doro C300 Pro V2. I never got the chance to check out its predecessor, but the V2 is described as an "Adaptive Ergonomic Chair." It became available to buy in April of this year. Let's get things rolling with a closer look at the specifications and features. Specifications Doro C300 Pro V2 Model Ergonomic Materials Mesh Back and Seat; Soft PU Coated Armrests Height adjustability 45.5 - 53 cm / 17.5" - 20.9" Seat (w+d) 52 x 43 - 47 cm / 20.5" x 16.9" - 18.5" (adjustable) Backrest 52 – 60 cm / 20.5" - 23.6" (adjustable) Lumbar support Mesh built-in (adjustable) Armrest adjustability 8D Bionic Armrests Rocking angle 105°, 120°, 135° (fixed) Neck support Mesh built-in (adjustable) Net weight 27.3 kg / 59.64 lbs Weight support 150 kg / 330 lbs Colors Black, White Warranty 5 years (upon registering) Price $499.99, $539.99 Introduction At first glance, it looks like a chair that in another life wants to be a Herman Miller; It certainly looks like my Aeron Remastered, but the Doro C300 Pro V2 has quite a few more features and costs quite a bit less. SIHOO says that it is made up of a "DynaCore" system that tracks your movement and synchronizes the headrest, backrest, lumbar support, and armrests as you shift, twist, or recline. They also say that the "SyncroFlex Backrest" molds to your spine, which kind of describes how the mesh fabric works in most ergonomic chairs, but anyway. Below are the meat and potatoes measurements for the chair. Here is the same tech sheet, but in inches. Durability I would be remiss to not talk about the various durability testing this chair underwent before coming to market, as this is claimed on the product page. First of all, the chair is BIFMA-, SGS-, and TÜV-certified. As for durability, the tests undergone were: 100,000 Castor cycles tested 120,000 Armrest cycles tested 120,000 Recline cycles tested 120,000 Gas lift cycles tested 60,000 Armrest durability cycles tested 120,000 Rotation cycles tested Nothing about weights testing, though. Now that's all disclosed, now onto my own personal findings. Assembly The Doro C300 Pro V2 came in two large boxes (1) (2), and everything was packed very well, protecting the different parts of the chair. In the box, there is a folded sheet that explains the 12 steps to assemble it; they are: Remove the bottom cover on the aluminum base; Insert the five legs into the aluminum base and use ten screws to fasten them; Insert the castors into the legs; Replace the bottom cover on the bottom of the aluminum base; Place the Class 4 Hydraulics gas cylinder into the aluminum base; Screw the bottom part of the arm rests, taking care of the orientation using two screws on each side; Use three torx screws to fasten the footrest to the bottom of the seat; Fasten the backrest to the seat using four torx bolts; Fasten the armrests to the backrest using four Torx bolts (two on each side), taking care to note the orientation; Place the chair onto the Class 4 Hydraulics gas cylinder; Insert the headrest into the top of the backrest; Use two torx screws to fasten the headrest to the backrest. There's also an online guide you can refer to. Carefully unpacking the two boxes took around 15 minutes because almost everything is wrapped in plastic and protective foam; the chair assembly itself took around an hour. I say in the above assembly steps to take note of the orientation, because it's not obvious which way around the bottom portion of the armrests go, and although there is an L and R on the bottom of the armrests, it also wasn't clear from the instructions which was actually left or right, facing the chair, or in the seated down orientation? Anyway, I ended up putting the bottom portions on the wrong sides, and after securing one of the armrests, I discovered that although it was on the correct side, the armrest base could rotate a full 360°, but not when bolted to the chair, so I had to remove it, rotate it, and then bolt it back on. Truly an Ikea experience! Also, to complicate things further, although all the parts are labeled from A to X (yes, that's 24 parts) unhelpfully, these letters do not appear on the parts themselves or the package with the bolts, screws, and washers. There's also a pair of protective gloves in the box, but I think they were made for much smaller hands than I have. Even my friend, who is 5.1, had difficulty putting them on. Once assembled, I needed to sit down. Anyway, as I said, it looks quite similar to my Herman Miller. And here is the back of it. If you look at the product page and on Amazon, it seems like a lot of thought has gone into the chair itself and what it's capable of, but there is no mention at all about the castors, and this is an area where I think the chair trips up quite quickly. I found it difficult to move the chair in any direction. I asked a friend who came to visit me earlier this week to test my findings, and she said that the wheels were "no good," so it definitely isn't just me. I am 6'2 myself and a big guy, I work from home and gained a few pounds from mostly staying in and the hell away from other people. However, the Doro C300 Pro V2 is rated for up to 150kg (330lbs), which in my case is used well within its max rating. Ergonomics The number of adjustments you can make, right up to setting it in nap mode — which I haven't fully tested yet — is what you'd expect from a premium chair. Yes, you can go up and down (max 7.5 cm adjustment), rock back and forth (with tilt adjustment), and lock the chair between three stages of 105°, 120°, 135°, which is not quite as flat as the AndaSeat I tested at 160°. Some thought has also gone into the "8D" armrests, too, which are cushioned but quite firm; you'll only know it if you press hard into the PU-covered tops, which give about half a centimeter, but it's enough to ensure your skin won't get awkwardly stuck to it in warmer (or sweatier) conditions. It almost feels like plastic and is very easy to keep clean. However, the armrest positions move far too easily, and I am not sure what that "elbow" function is. Maybe it is good for a short person with short arms, anyway, I never used it and kept it flat at all times. There are eight levels of adjustment for the armrests, they are: backwards, forwards, swing left/right, height up and down, tilt, and 360° rotation, which can be handy for desk clearance. As I said, the armrest pads shift far too easily, which could give off an ergonomic vibe, but who wants the armrest sliding when you are shifting weight? The height adjustability does lock into place when lifting and adjusting. Comfort This is ultimately what it boils down to at the end of the day, right? Quite a lot of reviews praise the comfort of this chair, and I don't disagree that the mesh seating is quite comfortable. I am used to the material from my daily Herman Miller. However, the backrest cannot be locked into place, and this is actually a feature; as you shift or recline yourself on the chair, the backrest moves with your body. It took some getting used to. The lumbar gives ample support, but I would have preferred an adjustable one built into the seat base, as this causes the backrest to move up and down at will. Again, as with my previous chair review, this chair is also rated for tall people, but nowhere in the product documentation does it say how tall. Being 6'2 myself, I'm happy to say that the backrest is tall and wide enough, and thought has been given to being able to adjust the neck rest, but as others have mentioned in their reviews, people as tall as 6.2ft is about the limit for the neckrest. Conclusion What I didn't like The footrest is rated for 15kg (33 lbs), which to me seems a bit light, and after looking online, it seems like a chair footrest for adults must be at least twice that rating. In all honesty, they are just hollow metal tubes, so it is not recommended to let a kid sit on them. I also feel like it doesn't really go out far enough for my height, so that kind of puts the dampener on me being able to use it regularly. I'll just have to continue to use my subwoofer as a footrest! I do not like the armrests being able to shift around as easily as they can, and they are a little too forward-positioned in the chair to comfortably sit close to my desk, because even in the lowest height position, they don't allow me to go under the desk like is possible with my Herman Miller. I also feel like this chair could have been delivered partially constructed, especially the armrests on the seat, and why the aluminum base wasn't already pre-constructed (without the castors) is baffling, considering it would have fit in one of the two boxes that way. The instructions also need to be clearer. On the pamphlet, there's an A to X listing (which is also used in the steps), but none of the physical parts use this lettering system! What I did like I'll be honest, I haven't used it for very long, just one week, and seating comfort is subjective after all! Any spills wiped straight off it, the stitching, and the lines look great, not a fray to be seen or stitch out of place. It looks kind of cool, too. My favorite feature of these seats is the nap mode. While you're not lying completely flat, it leans far back enough to make you easily doze off after a heavy gaming or working session. Overall, this chair offers plenty of comfort features. The MSRP does vary quite a bit depending on the region, at £549.99 in the UK, and €580 in Europe, and $599 before tax in the U.S. However, shipping is free, which is a bonus for such a heavy item. Is it worth it, though? At three years' warranty, I think it's a decent deal. Another firm out of Germany sent me a free replacement hydraulic gas spring for a chair that failed after almost four years, so it was well outside its two-year warranty. My advice is to always try, as you might have the same luck I did. If I could fault it at all, it would be the constant shifting of the armrests and backrest. Where to buy Although the footrest variant normally costs $539.99, it has been discounted to $469.99 on the official website in Black or White. In fact, the non-footrest variant is only $40 cheaper. On Amazon, it currently costs more at $499.99 links below. Sihoo Doro C300 Pro V2 for $469.99 (official website) Sihoo Doro C300 Pro V2 for $499.99 at Amazon US SIHOO provided a free sample without any review or pre-approval. Good to know This Amazon link is U.S. specific, and not available in other regions unless specified. We only use first-party seller links (at the time of article publishing); ensure that you purchase from a first-party seller link only. Check out Today's Deals on Amazon | or our recent tech deals. Become a Prime member (for Students or SNAP) via Neowin Get Prime Access - Prime for half price (for qualifying Medicaid, EBT, SNAP) Subscribe to Prime Video, Audible Plus, Music Unlimited or Kindle Unlimited via Neowin As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
  • Recent Achievements

    • Conversation Starter
      jessse3334 earned a badge
      Conversation Starter
    • Reacting Well
      JuvenileDelinquent earned a badge
      Reacting Well
    • One Month Later
      Excellence2025 earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      Excellence2025 earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Week One Done
      flexorcist earned a badge
      Week One Done
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      506
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      207
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      151
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      73
    5. 5
      macoman
      62
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!