Howdy
I've an external HDD that's used for backup which I use 2-3x times a year at best.
Perhaps a dumb question but is there a guideline to look after the said HDD? I keep it in a dry and cool part of the house. Do I need to spin it up every now and again or does it not matter at all?
Are you referring to my ignorance towards partiy or something else?
You need 3 backups of your content. The drive WILL die at some point. Maybe tomorrow, maybe day after. Maybe electrostatic shock when placed in the cupboard, maybe sparks when you plug it in. Maybe in 10 years. But it will die. Make backups.
It's unnecessary lecture that everyone knows about, it's not what I'm asking at the slightest.
It's unnecessary lecture that everyone knows about
And yet you're asking about HDD storage basics? Hybroid was treating your experience level according to your original post. Don't shoot the messenger. Since you didn't specify any backup solution, we can only assume you have none.
Is the HDD important, or the data kept thereon? To be clear, spinning up your drive every few months won't make a measurable difference to when it will eventually die.
@Switchblade88: I'm not sure why my backup solutions are important in the Q presented, say I have 1/2/3/x backup in place, that does not deviate from the question asked. It's not indictive of the measurements in place vs how best to keep a storage optioin in operation. Importance of data is not important either, and it's again not what I'm asking which is specifically one single thing.
[edit]
If it's so blantently obvous, just answer the damn question instead of being a prick. Jesus Christ.
Perhaps a dumb question
Sorry, I must have missed this from your original post.
Yes, this is a dumb question.
Importance of data is not important either
Then why do you care about spinning up your drive if you don't care about its' contents?
just answer the damn question
I did. You ignored my answer.
@Switchblade88: If it's that dumb of a question, then treat me like an idiot and answer it, you're contributiing nothing towards the situation at hand.
Do I need to spin it up every now and again or does it not matter at all?
No.
To be clear, spinning up your drive every few months won't make a measurable difference to when it will eventually die.
I did. You ignored my answer.
So you did, my apologies I must have been blind and skimmed past it being annoyed at the text prior, that's on me, sorry.
being annoyed at the text prior
I wholeheartedly accept your apology. It is truly refreshing to see character growth :)
Next time, if you ask for advice, please consider Hybroid and I were (still are) acting in your best interest, and definitely from experience in losing irreplaceable data - don't immediately respond with snark… there are many many other who still need to learn about backups.
What you need to look into is something called bit rot, which is data degrading over time.
Most mechanical hard disks require being used every 6-12 months to prevent that from occurring.
Finally someone who read and understood the question 😂
Reading it now. Thank you so much! :)
i used to have two back up disks. id copy the same files onto both maybe .. every two months.
suddenly, one died
i cloned it off the other onto a new disk
then i bought a nas.
turns out the surviving disk has a poor filesystem repair by windows a long time ago and hence i lost some photos.
now I'm super paranoid
raid 6, 4 hdds, with weekly offline on premise backup, and monthly offsite disk. with a raid scrub every month and a full surface check of all disks every year. both the raid has snapshots and the on premise offline backup.
not gonna lose any more bytes!
the raid scrubbing and surfaces checks revitalise the data on the disks
Source? And define “being used” plz.
i think if you dont read write the data, it can degrade until its noise.
so use == re-write it.
i had a 2tb WD red disk. i didnt use (literally left it in a drawer) it for 3 years. When i went to use it, all the data was gone. (which was okay, it wasnt important data)
i used it recently and it stores data okay. just, not for 3 years unused.
This is confusing. Eg maybe there's a file in my pc that isn't overwritten in years, an os file that's never been changed. Does it matter?
For an external it's kinda hard to re write the whole thing every now and then, by definition it would take ages.
I tried to read more. Couldn't understand how to deal.
@furyou: good point. dunno how a computer deals with it.
maybe the disk firmware goes around and re energised.
idk
FWIW i'm now keeping my spare HDDs (blank unused, but tested yearly) in a humidiy controlled cabinet along with my camera lenses)
If you purchase an external SSD, you will need to power it up every few months otherwise the data may "fade" because it is stored electronically rather than magnetically. There seems to be a lot of difference in the time it takes depending on the type of NAND flash and the type of drive that is used, but the general consensus is that it should be powered up a couple of times per year. Some sites are reporting that they can last up to 5-10 years between power ups, but I do not know how accurate they are.
I know you mentioned an external HDD rather than an SSD but I thought it might be worth pointing out.
You're looking for 3 HDs.