External Disk dies

  • Thread starter Thread starter nicky.schroder
  • Start date Start date
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nicky.schroder

I'm going to buy an external hard drive. I'm looking at the Western
Digital 250GB. Seems to be pretty good, and has good reviews. I'm
assuming that at one point all external disks will have problems and in
some cases just "die". My question is, will the data still be
retrieveable in some way or another?

I'm not too good with the hardware side of things, so any help would be
apprecitated.

Thanks.
 
An external drive is just like any other hard drive. If the drive dies, it
depends upon the type of death whether, or not, you can recover the data.

--


Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!
 
In (e-mail address removed) <[email protected]> had this to say:

My reply is at the bottom of your sent message:
I'm going to buy an external hard drive. I'm looking at the Western
Digital 250GB. Seems to be pretty good, and has good reviews. I'm
assuming that at one point all external disks will have problems and
in some cases just "die". My question is, will the data still be
retrieveable in some way or another?

I'm not too good with the hardware side of things, so any help would
be apprecitated.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

In short? No. Not without a lot of money. An external disk, properly
ventalated (assuming you're not talking about a flash device which has
limited read/write cycles) should last you just as long as an internal disk
would (the same amount of user hours or time in use hours) and the same bad
response would be true for an internal disk. When it dies, it dies... Can
you recover the data? Yes, maybe... Can most people afford it? Not unless
it's very important data. There's no substitution for a decent backup
schedule.

--
Galen - MS MVP - Windows (Shell/User & IE)
http://dts-l.org/

Please note that if you're reading this in a browser and the domain is
not owned by Microsoft then this work is being used without permission.

Access MS Newsgroups :
http://kgiii.info/windows/all/general/msnewsgroups.html
 
In (e-mail address removed) <[email protected]> had this to say:

My reply is at the bottom of your sent message:
Ok. Thanks for the quick responses guys. Very helpful.
Click to expand...

See also:

Backup! Image/Clone :
http://kgiii.info/windows/all/advanced/image-clone.html

--
Galen - MS MVP - Windows (Shell/User & IE)
http://dts-l.org/

Please note that if you're reading this in a browser and the domain is
not owned by Microsoft then this work is being used without permission.

Access MS Newsgroups :
http://kgiii.info/windows/all/general/msnewsgroups.html
 
I'm going to buy an external hard drive. I'm looking at the Western
Digital 250GB. Seems to be pretty good, and has good reviews. I'm
assuming that at one point all external disks will have problems and in
some cases just "die". My question is, will the data still be
retrieveable in some way or another?

I'm not too good with the hardware side of things, so any help would be
apprecitated.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Nicky, I think with backup one should always think in "layers." If one
backup method fails, have an alternative. I have a 250 GB Maxtor One Touch.
I use it for backup of data and storing images of partitions. This gets a
daily workout. About once a month, I create a DVD with a set of current
image files. A second DVD for current data backup. When using RW disks, I
alternate which set gets updated which gives me a "current" and a "one
month old" backup set. That's only 2 layers (2.5 if you count the older
backup set) but it should give you an idea of how to manage layers to
protect against data loss.
 
If the HD fails, you typically lose your data. The only thing you can do at
that point is send it to a data recovery service, which can be very
expensive. So it's really only applicable to CRITICAL circumstances where
you absolutely must have the data, whatever the cost.

For most people, using a RAID setup is both effective and economical means
to protect their data. IOW, you replicate the data in realtime. However,
few external enclosures provide this feature, not unless you go high-end
units.

Data security/integrity issues aside, the problem w/ pre-built external HD
enclosures is, they typically have only a 1 YR warranty. On the other hand,
you can build your own (a trival exercise) by purchasing your own external
enclosure (e.g., Dealsonic.com has tons of them, I have the Argosy HD-360C
myself (fanless design, usb+firewire), among others), then pick up a deal on
a retail Seagate HD (160GB, 200GB, 300GB, whatever you find suits your
needs). Fry's/Outpost has sold the Seagate 300GB for $79-89 after rebate
many times over the past few weeks. Best Buy and Circuit City similarly.
The beauty in this approach is a) it's typically less expensive overall if
you shop for deals, esp. w/ rebates and b) your HD is the most likely to
fail, but you're covered for another 4 yrs compared to the pre-built units.
If the enclosure itself fails, say the AC adapter dies, no big deal, the
enclosures are relatively cheap and will last as long, on average, as those
provided by the pre-built enclosures anyway.

Btw, a bit of additional advice. Some units include firewire. It's WELL
WORTH IT! The firewire interface commonly provides up to 50% better
performance compared to USB. It will only cost you another $10-15, which is
a bargain considering the substantial improvement in performance. Of
course, it requires you have a firewire port, either on the mobo or PCI
card.

http://dealsonic.com/arhdal3usb201.html (my unit, FWIW)

Jim
 
Great. Thanks for all the info guys. Will start working on my layers
and look into firewire.
 
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