Well here is my 2 cents. I own a small computer business and I use to sell everything that most computer stores would sell. Several years ago we decided to focus on SMBs (Small & Medium Businesses) why because SMBs aren'= t as cheap as regular home consumers. SMBs realize that the data on their computers is worth a lot more than the hardware. Places like accounting firms know that the data is their business, loose the data, close the business. I use to sell Fujitsu, Seagate, WD, Maxtor, plus Hitachi and Samsung sometimes as specials. What I learned was this; All manufacturers make good ones and bad ones except I found Hitachi and Samsung to be consistently on the bad side. Fujitsu had the best service for warranty items. Warranty items for Hitachi was good but only when used by IBM and IB= M handled the warranty. So now we're down to basically Seagate and WD. To keep drives alive the best thing one can do is keep them cool, Period. I have WD drives that have been in service for 16 years. Use RAID 1 (mirror) whenever possible, if you need more speed use faster drives or a faster RAI= D (RAID 5) but not RAID 0. Here is an example of how reliability can be strange, I can't remember the model number but, I remember it was a WD series. The 2 platter drive was excellent but the 3 platter drive had lots of problems and like any problem product I stopped selling it. So which are the best overall and not by lot number; at the top of the list are the WD VelociRaptor drives, I have only had one fail and they are fast. Next would be the WD enterprise drives (WD Re), then the Seagate enterprise drives, enterprise drives are built for 24/7/365. After this are the desktop drives and once again it would be WD (Black) then Seagate. As for warranty, WD has better service and as for who has to send it in depends on the dealer. I will handle the return if it is in the first year for home computers that are under my warranty and for the manufacturers warranty period for SMBs. As for SSD drives I haven't been selling them enough or long enough for a real good opinion yet. SMBs are still shy about them and some gamers have found that some of the drives slow down a bit with age. Also some older computers will not boot using a SSD, depends on the BIOS. My best advice is if you find a drive you like and think it will work, research it for MTBF (Failure Rate), research the model and not the manufacturer. Ray > -----Original Message----- > From: piclist-bounces@mit.edu [mailto:piclist-bounces@mit.edu] On > Behalf Of RussellMc > Sent: Sunday, June 01, 2014 6:09 PM > To: Microcontroller discussion list - Public. > Subject: Re: [EE]:: Hard drive reliability > > If you read the links I posted on this thread some weeks ago (and add > the discussion that followed for overkill) you will get about as much > information as is likely to be useful. > > Based both on what I have observed and on what those links sid I'd buy > a WD drive. That said I have 2 x Seagate 1 TB drives that have given 4y > 4m and 4y 11m of service. > > > Russell > > > On 1 June 2014 04:36, Luis Moreira > wrote: > > > Hi Guys, > > Would like to revisit this thread as I need to get a new hard drive > > for my desktop. > > At the moment if I need a 1TB to 2 TB > > Internal sata hard drive that will not be terribly expensive what > > make/model would you guys recommend? > > Can get a couple from Amazon like the Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200 rpm > > for > > =A353.60 which is a very good value, is it any good? There is another > > one from WD for simillar price... > > I know that this terribly subjective, and please don't start a > massive > > war of words because of it, I know we all have diferent opinions and > > experiences with different manufacturers, but would like to hear your > > take on these drives. As some of you have said before the 5 year > > warranty seems to have disappeared, 3 years is probably max you can > get. > > > > Best Regards > > Luis > > On 1 May 2014 14:30, "Isaac Marino Bavaresco" > > > > > > wrote: > > > > > Em 01/05/2014 06:03, alan.b.pearce@stfc.ac.uk escreveu: > > > >> I am astonished, actually. Flies into the face of MY experience, > > > big-time. > > > >> Heat KILLS electronics. Period. > > > >> > > > >> --Bob A > > > > I'm not totally surprised by the Google results, these things are > > always > > > on and spinning, so some of the reasons for failure go away (see > below). > > > > > > > > As to your comment on heat killing electronics - yes it does, but > > things > > > will often work at high temperatures quite happily - if they are > not > > being > > > temperature cycled. Once up to temperature and running it will > often > > > keep running. > > > > > > > > As do some of the methods of drive failure, a system I used to > > > > service > > > used Micropolis 45MB and 75MB drives (one of them was model number > > > 1325 IIRC, can't remember the other model number). We had a > > > significant number of each of these in systems which were powered > on > > > 24/7, and operate satisfactorily almost forever. > > > > > > > > However if the system got turned off for some reason the drive > > > > would > > > attempt to spin up, and then spin down with a failure. It was often > > > possible to get the drive to work by giving it a rotational shake > on > > > the spindle axis, and then once the drive was operational it would > > > stay operational. We learned that the trick was to do a full backup > > > real quick and then replace the drive. > > > > > > > > Analysis of failed drives showed that there was a flexible PCB > > > > that had > > > the head connections. This went around a plastic block that secured > > > it at the body end, but the shape of the block was such that with > > > the heads in the landing zone the flexible PCB was stretched around > a sharpish edge. > > > After years of operation the PCB would get cracks in the tracks, > and > > > the stretch around the mounting block when in the landing zone > would > > > pull the tracks apart to a point where when attempting to power up > > > again the > > tracks > > > to the servo head would be open circuit and the drive would power > > > down > > with > > > a 'failure to find servo track' error. > > > > > > > > This was about the only failure mode we saw with these drives. I > > suspect > > > that many drives have a similar problem as the major failure mode, > > > so if drives are kept in operation 24/7 the failure rate can be > > > pretty low - until you power down. > > > > > > > > > One failure mode I witnessed at least twice, happens when the hard > > > drive is spinning uninterrupted for years and is turned off, then > it > > > cannot start anymore. > > > > > > I suspect that it is due to wear in the bearings, but while the > > > bearings are kept spinning the balls keep aligned on the races by > > > centrifugal force, but when it stops the balls move slightly from > > > their clean path and get jammed against metal burrs. > > > > > > It happened once with a client's drive that contained all their > > > biometrics database (fingerprints) for over 100,000 people. It > > > happens that they didn't have a backup policy and when we arrived > > > for a yearly maintenance the big catastrophe happened. > > > > > > Happened again at my wife's previous work, they had a server that > > > ran uninterrupted for one year, then after a programmed shut down > > > one of the HDs refused to spin. Fortunately they were a government > > > agency with a proper backup policy. > > > > > > > > > Isaac > > > > > > -- > > > http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist PIC/SX FAQ & list archive > > > View/change your membership options at > > > http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist > > > > > -- > > http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist PIC/SX FAQ & list archive > > View/change your membership options at > > http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist > > > -- > http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist PIC/SX FAQ & list archive > View/change your membership options at > http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist -- http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .