Whats more reliable?

e36Adz · 28 Apr 2006 at 01:49

Internal hdds or External hdds?

Reason I ask is because I hear all the fuss people make about maxtors (internal ones), but how about the maxtor external drives? I cant ever recall reading about one of them failing, but then again I think less people have external hard drives. I have one which I will use for backup and storage, how likely is it to fail compared to an internal hard drive?

Has anyone had an external drive fail on them?

ChrisLX200 · 28 Apr 2006 at 09:54

They're the same drives, but because they're external probably get far less use. Most people use them for backups or storage - far less stressful life than being hammered as a system disk.

SiriusB · 28 Apr 2006 at 10:17

Having said that, they're more prone to the odd spilt brew or the careless being shoved off the desk by mistake lol.

As long as you keep it out the way then it *should* in theory outlast your internal HDDs.

SiriusB

wellibob · 28 Apr 2006 at 13:26

i tend to keep HDD for about a year, then sell and get new ones. Nothink worse than having a drive die on you. I cant handle any more hard drives going down, plus the death tax and funeral cost are high

id10T_error · 28 Apr 2006 at 14:28

External Hd's are less reliable hence the reduced warranty’s on the pre-built ones!! The reason being is that unlike laptop HD's 3.5" HD's are not designed to be moved about and therefore external HD's get damaged more easily than one that is static in a tower.

SiriusB · 28 Apr 2006 at 14:56

id10T_error said:
External Hd's are less reliable hence the reduced warranty’s on the pre-built ones!! The reason being is that unlike laptop HD's 3.5" HD's are not designed to be moved about and therefore external HD's get damaged more easily than one that is static in a tower.

As long as you keep it out the way and dont mess with it, there is absolutely no reason why it wouldnt last as long.

Besides, most external HDDs are hardly used so the fact it isnt being punished anywhere near as much kinda offsets any wear and tear associated with moving the drive around.

SiriusB

smids · 28 Apr 2006 at 17:43

...though externals will run hotter unless in a well ventilated (preferably actively) enclosure.

e36Adz · 29 Apr 2006 at 00:26

The only time iv ever had a hdd fail on me was back in the day with the famous IBM Deathstars. Since then iv been ok, even with maxtors, but this current external maxtor im using should be fine, it will be switched off most the time and it isnt being moved aroundj so it 'should' be more reliable.

id10T_error · 1 May 2006 at 12:49

SiriusB said:
Besides, most external HDDs are hardly used so the fact it isnt being punished anywhere near as much kinda offsets any wear and tear associated with moving the drive around.
SiriusB

I guess this is why Seagate refuse to offer 5 year warranty on their drives that are in external casings!!

3.5" HD's are much more prone to failure due to shock then they are from running 24-7 .....FACT

Mark A · 2 May 2006 at 22:47

Mine is inside a cupboard out of the way and will never get shocked, if you do this it should be fine. There are smaller external hdd's that id imagine people buy to move around a lot.

Mark

id10T_error · 2 May 2006 at 22:51

Mark A said:
Mine is inside a cupboard out of the way and will never get shocked, if you do this it should be fine. There are smaller external hdd's that id imagine people buy to move around a lot.

Mark

Indeed and these use 2.5" laptop HD's which are obviously designed to withstand shock far better.

Mark A · 2 May 2006 at 23:00

id10T_error said:
Indeed and these use 2.5" laptop HD's which are obviously designed to withstand shock far better.

Exactly so if you buy the right external HDD for the job it should last longer than an internal one if you dont have it on all the time. The only thing with external HDD's for me is i always forget to safely remove it in windows and just turn my PC off. I do it nearly every time, turn PC off then hear a humming from my cupboard.

Mark