Which external hard drive to get?

zellwes2

Hello all,

Previously I had a 3TB WD My Passport & a 4TB WD My Passport external hard drive.
Both are consider my latest external hard drive, yet both died so fast.
Lucky I separated these content from my other stuff.

Lost my previously collection, and started over and over again.

(I become more picky and lesser in my collection for less heartache.)
Also sorry can't help to seed those files I lost.

So importantly, which external hard drive anyone recommend to get?
Which brand/model? or Buy less capacity but more HDD instead?

For reference, from this post date, currently HDD have 5TB capacity.

raphjd

@zellwes2

5TB drives are the standard right now. For the most part, any of these should be good.

I used both Seagate and WD.

I noted that you have posted about gaming before, so you could go with the WD-Black.

AnythingOld

@zellwes2 Personally, I've always trusted Western Digital drives. They are good quality and last a really long time.

bi4smooth

@zellwes2

Rule 1: All hard drives fail. ALL OF THEM!
Rule 2: 100% of hard drives fail. ALL OF THEM!
Rule 3: ALL hard drives fail. ALL OF THEM!

The only way to protect your data locally is by using something called RAID (it's a computer acronym for Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks). While there are DAS (Direct-Attached-Storage) RAID devices, unless it's USB 3, I would go with a NAS (Network-Attached-Storage) device. The issue is SPEED. (You can also backup your data [porn collection?] in the cloud, but that's a monthly cost...)

There are low-end NAS RAID arrays out there for $200-300. I have used inexpensive models from QNAP and Synology - both have worked well for me and my clients. (My own porn collection is on a QNAP 4-drive NAS device).

But, a few caveats:

There is a considerable up-front cost to a RAID device: the RAID box itself doesn't have any storage (drives), so you have to "populate" the box with hard drives... multiple drives!
You have to routinely check the system to ensure that the inevitable drive failures are detected and the failing/failed devices are replaced quickly.

So some quick computerese technology stuff... There are multiple "levels" of RAID:

RAID 0 simply spreads your data across multiple drives, but offers NO PROTECTION! (if ONE drive fails, you may lose ALL of your data!) -- NOT RECOMMENDED!
RAID 1 (called a mirror) copies whatever is on one disk to a 2nd disk. Thus, if you lose a disk, there is a complete copy right there! (BEST PROTECTION, HIGHEST COST: buy 2 4TB drives and store up to 4TB of data!)
RAID 5 (most common) spreads your data across all of your drives, but sets aside storage too for a "checksum". The amount of storage "lost" for the checksum is determined by the number of drives in the array: use just 3 drives, and you lose 1/3 of the raw storage to data protection.

The most common small-business (or, in my case personal) array is a 4-drive unit, with all 4 drives populated. Assume you purchase 4 5TB drives... you will store data on 3/4 of the total storage area, and 1/4 will be used for data protection. The math, then, is that your 4 5TB drives will allow you to store AND PROTECT 15TB of data (the last 5TB of data is used to provide protection).

Now, you can see why there is a large up-front cost:

$200-300 for the RAID device
$100 EACH for 4TB Seagate IronWolf drives TIMES 4!

That's $600-700!

BUT, if you make that investment, you won't ever have to start over again (so long as you keep an eye on it! Drives fail - and so long as you lose only ONE DRIVE, your RAID ARRAY will keep your data safe!

[NOTE: I'm a computer consultant - I've glossed over lots of technical details, but included enough to help you get started. Feel free to email me on here of you want additional help.)

andergarcia

@bi4smooth

I have always used WD external hard drives and so far I have not had any problem with them. Actually I have not lost info from them ever (so far!).

bi4smooth

@andergarcia said in Which external hard drive to get?:

@bi4smooth

I have always used WD external hard drives and so far I have not had any problem with them. Actually I have not lost info from them ever (so far!).

Hard drives are like cars.... some can last 500,000 miles, where the next one off the line couldn't make it to 100,000...

Just know this: 100% of hard drives eventually fail!

Take it from an IT professional!

I built my NAS device with 4 6TB drives (about 18TB total storage) about 4 years ago - one of the 6TB drives failed after about a year... its replacement and the other 3 are still going strong! BUT: I have a spare sitting on top of the unit for when the next one starts to fail... I don't like risking my data!

(NO, that's not my PORN drive, that's my WORK drive!) My porn is kept on a different NAS device populated with left-over 3TB drives taken from a series of servers I decommissioned years ago... I still have about 4 or 5 of these "left-over" drives to use as spares as the ones in the current unit fail).

@zellwes2 Here is your guide if you are interested: https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/how-to-buy-an-external-hard-drive/
types of external hard drives:
https://www.google.com/search?q=types+of+external+hard+drives&source=univ&tbm=shop&tbo=u&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiX3_OygoXvAhWEQc0KHcBYAg4Q1TV6BQgYEN8B&biw=1366&bih=657

blablarg18

What external storage - I guess it might not be HDD - would survive an EMP attack? (likely to happen in the next war or terrorist event)

Years ago the last time I checked, it was disc-burning at about 4G per disc, pretty awkward.

eobox91103

@bi4smooth said in Which external hard drive to get?:

@zellwes2

Rule 1: All hard drives fail. ALL OF THEM!
Rule 2: 100% of hard drives fail. ALL OF THEM!
Rule 3: ALL hard drives fail. ALL OF THEM!

The only way to protect your data locally is by using something called RAID (it's a computer acronym for Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks). While there are DAS (Direct-Attached-Storage) RAID devices, unless it's USB 3, I would go with a NAS (Network-Attached-Storage) device. The issue is SPEED. (You can also backup your data [porn collection?] in the cloud, but that's a monthly cost...)

These three rules are all true. If there's a file that you want to keep, it can't be on just one drive.

There are, though, some less expensive ways to protect your data than the very thorough approach using RAID. For each category of files I want to keep (porn, photos, my work, old archives) I have two external hard drives, which are dirt cheap these days (2TB from WD is about $60). I then manually back up to them and synch them. This is clumsier than using RAID, but I'm not adding more than a dozen files in a given week of any kind (unless I've just returned from holiday and have several hundred photos...but that's a block "select and move" that goes quickly). So I have a large stack of these small WD drives, all fed from an externally powered USB 3 hub. Bear in mind that that hub attaches to a single USB 3 port on my computer, so read/write operations involving multiple external drives simultaneously will be slower than what might be expected, but these are backup, not prime sources.

This is more labour-intensive than the RAID approach, but cheaper, and I don't mind it. If I'm writing a research paper for work, I'll manually copy it to the backup drives every half-hour or so in case I have a system or disk crash on my computer. RAID could do that automatically, so like most things in life, there's a trade between convenience and cost. But do remember the three rules of hard drives:

All hard drives will, at some point, fail.
Every hard drive is going to fail.
When (not if) a hard drive fails, it's not always possible to get your data back even if you spend a fortune for data recovery.

bi4smooth

@eobox91103 said in Which external hard drive to get?:

All hard drives will, at some point, fail.

Every hard drive is going to fail.

When (not if) a hard drive fails, it's not always possible to get your data back even if you spend a fortune for data recovery.

I used to say that hard drives were not unlike tires (on a car)?

What percentage of automobile tires fail?

100% (which is why you seek to replace them BEFORE they fail!)

What percentage of hard drives fail?

100% (which is why you backup your data - before they fail!)

eobox91103

@bi4smooth said in Which external hard drive to get?:

What percentage of automobile tires fail?

100% (which is why you seek to replace them BEFORE they fail!)

What percentage of hard drives fail?

100% (which is why you backup your data - before they fail!)

At least tires sometimes give warnings that they're going to fail, such as a slow leak or tread wearing down. Hard drives might give a warning of impending death by making odd noises, but usually just die.

bi4smooth

@eobox91103 said in Which external hard drive to get?:

@bi4smooth said in Which external hard drive to get?:

What percentage of automobile tires fail?

100% (which is why you seek to replace them BEFORE they fail!)

What percentage of hard drives fail?

100% (which is why you backup your data - before they fail!)

At least tires sometimes give warnings that they're going to fail, such as a slow leak or tread wearing down. Hard drives might give a warning of impending death by making odd noises, but usually just die.

I think in both cases you're just plain lucky if you get advanced warning!

flozen

Another point that bears mention when purchasing external hard drives:

Even if you wait for a sale (a good idea) and get an extra for use in a month or later this year, it is IMPERATIVE that you immediately test the external hard drive on your computer. These delicate black boxes are often busted in shipping to the store, or delivered to your home via online purchase.

I've had a particularly bad run of luck, with two of the last four 8TB externals I bought -- broken. One was very obvious -- you could hear the parts rattling just by giving the drive a gentle shake. In the other case, I waited until day 26 of a 30-day return policy, and then found that in shipping, the interior had become loose and no longer aligned with the opening for the cable, and thus was useless.

Actually, I made that return yesterday, so the topic was very much on my mind! Hope it will help someone avoid an unpleasant discovery.

jsl76

I think @bi4smooth nailed it, with the NAS option. I use a four-bay NAS in a RAID5 setup and love it.

That said, 2 TB of space on Google Drive is US$10/mo. If I ever used a stand-alone local drive that wasn't in a RAID array, I'd sync all the contents to a cloud service.

Funny thing about Google Drive, they don't seem to care about having copyrighted content, but they DO care if a hash match pops up on a DMCA request and you are actively sharing that content.

bi4smooth

@jsl76 said in Which external hard drive to get?:

I think @bi4smooth nailed it, with the NAS option. I use a four-bay NAS in a RAID5 setup and love it.

That said, 2 TB of space on Google Drive is US$10/mo. If I ever used a stand-alone local drive that wasn't in a RAID array, I'd sync all the contents to a cloud service.

Funny thing about Google Drive, they don't seem to care about having copyrighted content, but they DO care if a hash match pops up on a DMCA request and you are actively sharing that content.

Suggestion to avoid that:

Download the HandBrake tool... and re-code your movies! If you want, you can re-code them to consistent size and/or codec...

Anyway you slice it, the re-coded movie won't match anyone's hashes! DMCA just got a lot harder for them!

cash0uttt

@raphjd damn I’m a light weight... I got a 2 TB the

eobox91103

@cash0uttt said in Which external hard drive to get?:

@raphjd damn I’m a light weight... I got a 2 TB the

Well, 2 TB will hold about 400 regular DVD's, or about 60 Blu-Ray discs, so it's not like you're short on storage. Disk technology keeps making things bigger, and since the average consumer thinks that bigger is better, that's what goes on the market. <Insert gratuitous "size" joke of your choice here.>

Another phenomenon, though, is that when large storage sized become commonly available, people producing content get less motivated to use the good compression and efficiency options that exist, and file sizes can bloat unnecessarily. A 1080p video will usually be twice the size of a 720p video of the same content, and one would hard-pressed to see the difference if both videos were made with the same care. 2 TB should be just fine for you...and if at some point you need more space, a larger drive won't be expensive.

And whatever the size, make sure you back things up. As has been noted above, all hard drives die at some point.

cash0uttt

@eobox91103 I got the seagate as well .. from Amazon but it’s a 2 TB... I should have just got a 5 because I own two lol