How to make External Harddrives NOT SUCK....

[tp4tissue]

So.. After reading Numerous ONLINE reviews of External Harddrives AND External Harddrive enclosures..

Tp4 has noticed 3 glaring technical issues which are the root causes of most drive failures.


1 _

Power, Inadequate electrical current, difficult starting larger drives via USB 2.0


2 _

Weak USB port,  the anchor points in most USB ports are 2 tiny drops of solder,
____________ given how long the usb cable is, the torque will rip it apart in a short time.


3 _

HEAT, the controversial KILLER of drives.

The Heat issue can only be ameliorated by using an ALUMINUM enclosure WITH HOLES,  instead of those fully covered plastic enclosures.





Below Image marks the fixes for Power and Weak USB port.

That is a 1 cm thick slab of epoxy, as thick as the case would allow, I built a scotch tape mold around the section in order to pile it on that high..




un-modded foto

[bueller]

I won't use external drives any more, they just don't last. With flash drives being so cheap I can't see the benefit, I've just got a 64GB thumb drive for when I need to move files around.

[GL1TCH3D]

I won't use external drives any more, they just don't last. With flash drives being so cheap I can't see the benefit, I've just got a 64GB thumb drive for when I need to move files around.

I think a lot of the benefit of having an external drive is having a backup. I have 3TB internal and that's completely full. Of course not all of that 3TB is stuff I absolutely need a backup of but a good portion of it would be nice.

[tp4tissue]

I won't use external drives any more, they just don't last. With flash drives being so cheap I can't see the benefit, I've just got a 64GB thumb drive for when I need to move files around.

Ok... but a 2TB, 2.5" harddrive will cost you ~$90,  $110 with aluminum enclosure

A  1TB Flash drive is $700   

[GL1TCH3D]

I won't use external drives any more, they just don't last. With flash drives being so cheap I can't see the benefit, I've just got a 64GB thumb drive for when I need to move files around.

Ok... but a 2TB 2.5" harddrive will cost you ~$90,  $110 with aluminum enclosure

A  1TB Flash drive is $700   

Show Image

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147378

Or external SSD for a bit less =P

[tp4tissue]

I won't use external drives any more, they just don't last. With flash drives being so cheap I can't see the benefit, I've just got a 64GB thumb drive for when I need to move files around.

Ok... but a 2TB 2.5" harddrive will cost you ~$90,  $110 with aluminum enclosure

A  1TB Flash drive is $700   

Show Image

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147378

Or external SSD for a bit less =P

What do you mean a bit less... I'm pretty sure that damn thing is at least $500


It also doesn't fix the WEAK usb 3.0 port problem..

Look at my second foto,    it's just this tiny sliver of metal, soldered to a pcb,


You see those tiny pins behind the port..   Just a little bit of flex will crack the **** out of those pins.

[GL1TCH3D]

I won't use external drives any more, they just don't last. With flash drives being so cheap I can't see the benefit, I've just got a 64GB thumb drive for when I need to move files around.

Ok... but a 2TB 2.5" harddrive will cost you ~$90,  $110 with aluminum enclosure

A  1TB Flash drive is $700   

Show Image

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147378

Or external SSD for a bit less =P

What do you mean a bit less... I'm pretty sure that damn thing is at least $500


It also doesn't fix the WEAK usb 3.0 port problem..

Look at my second foto,    it's just this tiny sliver of metal, soldered to a pcb,


You see those tiny pins behind the port..   Just a little bit of flex will crack the **** out of those pins.

Lel

then stick to internal drives? xD

[bueller]

I won't use external drives any more, they just don't last. With flash drives being so cheap I can't see the benefit, I've just got a 64GB thumb drive for when I need to move files around.

Ok... but a 2TB 2.5" harddrive will cost you ~$90,  $110 with aluminum enclosure

A  1TB Flash drive is $700   

Show Image

Who's moving that amount of data around on a regular basis? And I've got backups, they just live on internal drives in a seperate PC.

[tp4tissue]

Who's moving that amount of data around on a regular basis? And I've got backups, they just live on internal drives in a seperate PC.

It's a matter of convenience..

[bueller]

Who's moving that amount of data around on a regular basis? And I've got backups, they just live on internal drives in a seperate PC.

It's a matter of convenience..

Enjoy buying a new external every year!

[tp4tissue]

Who's moving that amount of data around on a regular basis? And I've got backups, they just live on internal drives in a seperate PC.

It's a matter of convenience..

Enjoy buying a new external every year!

Hopefully, My modifications will beat the odds.

[azhdar]

to start of you shouldn't buy seagate.

[tp4tissue]

to start of you shouldn't buy seagate.

Hahahhahaha... This drive has pretty good reviews..  and it's the only 2TB 9mm drive.. so I didn't really have a choice.

[azhdar]

to start of you shouldn't buy seagate.

Hahahhahaha... This drive has pretty good reviews..  and it's the only 2TB 9mm drive.. so I didn't really have a choice.

WD 4ever.

[tp4tissue]

to start of you shouldn't buy seagate.

Hahahhahaha... This drive has pretty good reviews..  and it's the only 2TB 9mm drive.. so I didn't really have a choice.

WD 4ever.

I was looking at their 2TB external as well.. but I read the reviews, SAME issues plaguing those drives..

So finally I decided to Roll my own.. 

[jamster]

I think a lot of the benefit of having an external drive is having a backup. I have 3TB internal and that's completely full. Of course not all of that 3TB is stuff I absolutely need a backup of but a good portion of it would be nice.

That's so last decade 

The internet is for backups.

[GL1TCH3D]

I think a lot of the benefit of having an external drive is having a backup. I have 3TB internal and that's completely full. Of course not all of that 3TB is stuff I absolutely need a backup of but a good portion of it would be nice.

That's so last decade 

The internet is for backups.

2TB worth of backups?

Compared to having something instantly accessible?

[tp4tissue]

I think a lot of the benefit of having an external drive is having a backup. I have 3TB internal and that's completely full. Of course not all of that 3TB is stuff I absolutely need a backup of but a good portion of it would be nice.

That's so last decade 

The internet is for backups.

2TB worth of backups?

Compared to having something instantly accessible?

-jamster- works for the NSA,  of course he'd like you to backup ONLINE...

[inanis]

I think a lot of the benefit of having an external drive is having a backup. I have 3TB internal and that's completely full. Of course not all of that 3TB is stuff I absolutely need a backup of but a good portion of it would be nice.

That's so last decade 

The internet is for backups.

I'll back up my stuff on the internet when hell freezes over. You know who I trust with my personal files and information? NO ONE, except me. Backing up at home is easy. Say you have a 1TB data drive in your PC (you should at least mirror this as well)....You buy a hot swap bay for next to nothing, then buy 2 1TB drives, also cheap. You setup an rsync job to copy all the files over to the drive in the bay every night. Take that drive to work, or some place not at your house. Then, put the second one in the bay and continue the backup process. When enough changes bring that one off site and bring the first one back. Cheap, easy, effective. You could get fancier, but I haven't found a need to yet.

Call me old fashioned, but I hate "The Cloud".

[tp4tissue]

Call me old fashioned, but I hate "The Cloud".

I think the CLOUD is a great idea.. honestly I DO..  I WANT IT TO WORK..


However,  the internet in the USA isn't fast enough for this yet..

When we get significant Gigabit coverage,  and the whatever-cloud service can Up/Down @ Gigabit..

I will happily surrender local storage.

[absyrd]

I'll back up my stuff on the internet when hell freezes over. You know who I trust with my personal files and information? NO ONE, except me.

What secrets are you hiding? 

[tp4tissue]

I'll back up my stuff on the internet when hell freezes over. You know who I trust with my personal files and information? NO ONE, except me.

What secrets are you hiding? 

naked pictures most likely..   

Victorian Shame really screwed up our world man... seriously..

[inanis]

Call me old fashioned, but I hate "The Cloud".

I think the CLOUD is a great idea.. honestly I DO..  I WANT IT TO WORK..


However,  the internet in the USA isn't fast enough for this yet..

When we get significant Gigabit coverage,  and the whatever-cloud service can Up/Down @ Gigabit..

I will happily surrender local storage.

My issue with The Cloud, is really the marketing of it. I've been managing SANs, Virtual Hosts and datacenters in general for years. That is all a "Cloud" is. You host it local, Private Cloud. You host it on someone else's stuff "The Cloud" or "Public Cloud". People think that is the end all be all...**** has been around forever, it just wasn't called that. It is a personal issue, I know. But one thing I know for sure; I'm not trusting my personal stuff to someone else. I don't care what it is. The only person I trust to properly protect my stuff is me.

I'll back up my stuff on the internet when hell freezes over. You know who I trust with my personal files and information? NO ONE, except me.

What secrets are you hiding? 

Nothing. I'm boring as hell. But I'll be damned if someone steals my boring stuff! It is a matter of pride. The Cloud is a trigger for me...gets me all worked up. 

I'll back up my stuff on the internet when hell freezes over. You know who I trust with my personal files and information? NO ONE, except me.

What secrets are you hiding? 

naked pictures most likely..   

Victorian Shame really screwed up our world man... seriously..

You wish TP. 

[absyrd]

I'll back up my stuff on the internet when hell freezes over. You know who I trust with my personal files and information? NO ONE, except me.

What secrets are you hiding? 

Nothing. I'm boring as hell. But I'll be damned if someone steals my boring stuff! It is a matter of pride. The Cloud is a trigger for me...gets me all worked up. 

Hey. I respect your right to privacy. But now you just told us all how to piss you off. Look in the sky... what are those white puffy things?

[tp4tissue]

With the exception of maybe a few hundred gigs..

My entire data collection is virtually worthless.. -50 or so terabytes-

I only have it for convenience..  there's very little market value in it.

[absyrd]

With the exception of maybe a few hundred gigs..

My entire data collection is virtually worthless.. -50 or so terabytes-

I only have it for convenience..  there's very little market value in it.

My entire data collection is like 10gb. You are a hoarder. Go on that show.

[inanis]

I'll back up my stuff on the internet when hell freezes over. You know who I trust with my personal files and information? NO ONE, except me.

What secrets are you hiding? 

Nothing. I'm boring as hell. But I'll be damned if someone steals my boring stuff! It is a matter of pride. The Cloud is a trigger for me...gets me all worked up. 

Hey. I respect your right to privacy. But now you just told us all how to piss you off. Look in the sky... what are those white puffy things?

I like those clouds...they make fun shapes like puppies and teapots. Very relaxing. Then there is "The Cloud" which is a thing that serves only to make my life harder "We can't do that on site, The Cloud is more stable". Lies. They just get sucked into the marketing of it. Oh geez, between this cloud talk and all the caffeine I've had I've gotten myself all worked up. See what you've done! 

With the exception of maybe a few hundred gigs..

My entire data collection is virtually worthless.. -50 or so terabytes-

I only have it for convenience..  there's very little market value in it.

50TB! Damn man, WTF are you keeping over there, all the worlds secrets? Back that up in the cloud and you will pay more for backups than you do for housing.

[tp4tissue]

With the exception of maybe a few hundred gigs..

My entire data collection is virtually worthless.. -50 or so terabytes-

I only have it for convenience..  there's very little market value in it.

50TB! Damn man, WTF are you keeping over there, all the worlds secrets? Back that up in the cloud and you will pay more for backups than you do for housing.

Mostly linux isos and bluray backups..

I watch alotta movies..

[tp4tissue]

With the exception of maybe a few hundred gigs..

My entire data collection is virtually worthless.. -50 or so terabytes-

I only have it for convenience..  there's very little market value in it.

My entire data collection is like 10gb. You are a hoarder. Go on that show.

LALALALALALA.. I don't have a problem...

[azhdar]

With the exception of maybe a few hundred gigs..

My entire data collection is virtually worthless.. -50 or so terabytes-

I only have it for convenience..  there's very little market value in it.

My entire data collection is like 10gb. You are a hoarder. Go on that show.

LALALALALALA.. I don't have a problem...

Show Image

You do have problems but having lot of storage isn't one.
Source: I too store a lot.

[tp4tissue]

You guys seeing this..

This is the proper Operational temperature of Harddrives WITHOUT active cooling..

It's doing Random Writes At the moment.

Ambient is 27 C ( 80 F )

Active cooled drives should run around @ 35-40 C

[Evo_Spec]

Ever look into setting up a NAS drive? I have a WD my book live and it works really well for me. I'm probably gonna pick up an old computer to make a better/bigger dedicated NAS.

[HoffmanMyster]

I haven't had any issues with my multitude of external drives... 

* HoffmanMyster knocks on all of the wood

I'd have a hard time fitting them all internal, too, so that's not really a viable option.

Ever look into setting up a NAS drive? I have a WD my book live and it works really well for me. I'm probably gonna pick up an old computer to make a better/bigger dedicated NAS.

I've considered this...hmm.  Might have to explore that option further.

[korrelate]

I think a lot of the benefit of having an external drive is having a backup. I have 3TB internal and that's completely full. Of course not all of that 3TB is stuff I absolutely need a backup of but a good portion of it would be nice.

That's so last decade 

The internet is for backups.

I'll back up my stuff on the internet when hell freezes over. You know who I trust with my personal files and information? NO ONE, except me. Backing up at home is easy. Say you have a 1TB data drive in your PC (you should at least mirror this as well)....You buy a hot swap bay for next to nothing, then buy 2 1TB drives, also cheap. You setup an rsync job to copy all the files over to the drive in the bay every night. Take that drive to work, or some place not at your house. Then, put the second one in the bay and continue the backup process. When enough changes bring that one off site and bring the first one back. Cheap, easy, effective. You could get fancier, but I haven't found a need to yet.

Call me old fashioned, but I hate "The Cloud".

I am right there with you on this one. if you back up to the cloud you are basically giving away any advantage you might have:

1. a salesman backing up his list of top customers would be giving them away.
2. if you,re writing a song you're basically sharing it with everyone.
3. if you're a writing a lecture or thesis you're basically sharing it with everyone.
in my mind these are the big issues - this is not about porn (although there is that) or even you deep dark secrets - this about IP : your IP.

granted, if you have no intellect then this is more likely than not a moot point, but still ..., don't ever let people reduce this conversation to something like, "well if you're not doing anything bad you have nothing to hide."

that makes it sound like the only utility privacy can provide is its abilty to conceal misdeeds you may or may not have performed.


that's a false dilemma.of course it can do that but privacy can also provide another utility: it can protect your property from theft.

tldr;

don't backup to the cloud

[Evo_Spec]

Ever look into setting up a NAS drive? I have a WD my book live and it works really well for me. I'm probably gonna pick up an old computer to make a better/bigger dedicated NAS.

I've considered this...hmm.  Might have to explore that option further.

I'd recommend at least researching into it, i'm sure there's features that i'm not even fully aware of but having my own personal cloud and being able to access it from anywhere is pretty damn cool.

[tp4tissue]

Ever look into setting up a NAS drive? I have a WD my book live and it works really well for me. I'm probably gonna pick up an old computer to make a better/bigger dedicated NAS.

I've considered this...hmm.  Might have to explore that option further.

I'd recommend at least researching into it, i'm sure there's features that i'm not even fully aware of but having my own personal cloud and being able to access it from anywhere is pretty damn cool.

The My book Live has a metal plate inside for heat reduction and it has big holes.. So that's better than the foil wrapped drives they stick in completely enclosed plastic cases.


I think for Something like WD live, it powers down quite often, so durability shouldn't be a problem..

However,  if you got drives that are SPINNING,  or will sustain long durations of activity,    I wouldn't trust anything except active cool..


The difference is quite huge.. ~20 C difference usually.

[Evo_Spec]

Ever look into setting up a NAS drive? I have a WD my book live and it works really well for me. I'm probably gonna pick up an old computer to make a better/bigger dedicated NAS.

I've considered this...hmm.  Might have to explore that option further.

I'd recommend at least researching into it, i'm sure there's features that i'm not even fully aware of but having my own personal cloud and being able to access it from anywhere is pretty damn cool.

The My book Live has a metal plate inside for heat reduction and it has big holes.. So that's better than the foil wrapped drives they stick in completely enclosed plastic cases.


I think for Something like WD live, it powers down quite often, so durability shouldn't be a problem..

However,  if you got drives that are SPINNING,  or will sustain long durations of activity,    I wouldn't trust anything except active cool..


The difference is quite huge.. ~20 C difference usually.

Yeah it does power down whenever there's no activity for X minutes and I'm not sure about the metal plates but it is  definitely actively fan cooled (which reminds me that I should check/clean it)

[tp4tissue]

Ever look into setting up a NAS drive? I have a WD my book live and it works really well for me. I'm probably gonna pick up an old computer to make a better/bigger dedicated NAS.

I've considered this...hmm.  Might have to explore that option further.

I'd recommend at least researching into it, i'm sure there's features that i'm not even fully aware of but having my own personal cloud and being able to access it from anywhere is pretty damn cool.

The My book Live has a metal plate inside for heat reduction and it has big holes.. So that's better than the foil wrapped drives they stick in completely enclosed plastic cases.


I think for Something like WD live, it powers down quite often, so durability shouldn't be a problem..

However,  if you got drives that are SPINNING,  or will sustain long durations of activity,    I wouldn't trust anything except active cool..


The difference is quite huge.. ~20 C difference usually.

Yeah it does power down whenever there's no activity for X minutes and I'm not sure about the metal plates but it is  definitely actively fan cooled (which reminds me that I should check/clean it)

I didn't know it was active cooled..  Is this the dual drive version?

I remember looking up the single drive version when I saw it at the microcenter, and it just had the cooling plate, no fans.

[Evo_Spec]

Ever look into setting up a NAS drive? I have a WD my book live and it works really well for me. I'm probably gonna pick up an old computer to make a better/bigger dedicated NAS.

I've considered this...hmm.  Might have to explore that option further.

I'd recommend at least researching into it, i'm sure there's features that i'm not even fully aware of but having my own personal cloud and being able to access it from anywhere is pretty damn cool.

The My book Live has a metal plate inside for heat reduction and it has big holes.. So that's better than the foil wrapped drives they stick in completely enclosed plastic cases.


I think for Something like WD live, it powers down quite often, so durability shouldn't be a problem..

However,  if you got drives that are SPINNING,  or will sustain long durations of activity,    I wouldn't trust anything except active cool..


The difference is quite huge.. ~20 C difference usually.

Yeah it does power down whenever there's no activity for X minutes and I'm not sure about the metal plates but it is  definitely actively fan cooled (which reminds me that I should check/clean it)

I didn't know it was active cooled..  Is this the dual drive version?

I remember looking up the single drive version when I saw it at the microcenter, and it just had the cooling plate, no fans.

Mines a single drive version and there's a fan on it.
I think this is an older model because it was around when they first came out but we're unpopular so they had a wicked sale on them which I then went and got another company to do a price beat and ended up with an insanely good price. (I think I ended up having it cost about the same as an equivalent size 2TB internal HHD, but as a NAS)

*edit* I might be lying to your face, I'll need to double check this tomorrow.

*edit 2* Yeah so i was lying to your face, i could have sworn that this had a fan but maybe i had another network device near my other stuff that a fan

Also nice work on the external drive, I hope this helps your drives life.

[tp4tissue]

Now I feel like Cutting up my enclosure to mount a fan onto it..

Hrrrrmrmmmmmmmmmm

[suicidal_orange]

My answer was going to be "stick something in the fan" but seems I'm in the wrong thread

[tp4tissue]

My answer was going to be "stick something in the fan" but seems I'm in the wrong thread

But then it wouldn't stay kewl..

[jamster]

I think a lot of the benefit of having an external drive is having a backup. I have 3TB internal and that's completely full. Of course not all of that 3TB is stuff I absolutely need a backup of but a good portion of it would be nice.

That's so last decade 

The internet is for backups.

2TB worth of backups?

Compared to having something instantly accessible?

Totally.

I run one layer of redundancy (RAID) and two and a half layers of backups.

The first layer (and a half) is to a pair of drives which I swap out of a drive caddy once every six months. I back up about 2TB fulls. So I definitely run local for convenience, but I would prefer to avoid external disk (USB cables, ick).

The last layer is over the internet to a friend's sever in London, in case anything goes wrong with my home. This is a reciprocal backup arrangement- he also backs up to me. My backup size for this is about 800GB.

Earlier this year, he had a complete system failure and no local backup. I dumped his 500GB of encrypted backups onto a hard drive and couriered it over to him. He had the data in 4 days. Of course, had he only had a minor data loss, he could have done individual file restores himself, remotely.

If you don't have someone to back up to directly, there's a slew of cloud backup providers who will courier you a hard drive if you need a load of data fairly quickly. It's a good extra layer of safety in case your house catches fire/floods/gets a big electrical surge.

[sth]

my external HD use case: i have a TV that has USB but doesn't network nor do i want a networked tv, so i store movies / tv shows on the portable for use on the TV. what is a better solution besides buying a network-ready TV?

[azhdar]

I can only recommand the usage of a NAS, I build one 2 years ago. Set up a RAID5, a torrent client, a plex server(media center for the nexwork) and I'm all set.

Lof of things a nas can do.

[jbondeson]

I definitely avoid all external enclosures that aren't actively cooled hot-swap enclosures. If you must, I'd definitely say go with an SSD. Mechanical drives just aren't made to be jostled around.

I run two 10TB RAID arrays with hot spares at home and I always just opt for enterprise grade WD drives. The 5 year warranty is a must when you run them continuously. I had two go out in the span of a week and it was a bit touch and go from there, but that's the only time that's happened.

[tp4tissue]

I definitely avoid all external enclosures that aren't actively cooled hot-swap enclosures. If you must, I'd definitely say go with an SSD. Mechanical drives just aren't made to be jostled around.

I run two 10TB RAID arrays with hot spares at home and I always just opt for enterprise grade WD drives. The 5 year warranty is a must when you run them continuously. I had two go out in the span of a week and it was a bit touch and go from there, but that's the only time that's happened.

Totes..

I couldn't find a 2.5" enclosure that was actively cooled though.. sigh.....

[jbondeson]

It's strange how no one makes one. Your best bet is to get an actively cooled 3.5" and then an adapter, but that just increases the cost some more.

Yep, SSD all the way! 

[jamster]

I'll back up my stuff on the internet when hell freezes over. You know who I trust with my personal files and information? NO ONE, except me. Backing up at home is easy. Say you have a 1TB data drive in your PC (you should at least mirror this as well)....You buy a hot swap bay for next to nothing, then buy 2 1TB drives, also cheap. You setup an rsync job to copy all the files over to the drive in the bay every night. Take that drive to work, or some place not at your house. Then, put the second one in the bay and continue the backup process. When enough changes bring that one off site and bring the first one back. Cheap, easy, effective. You could get fancier, but I haven't found a need to yet.

Call me old fashioned, but I hate "The Cloud".

When the backup target is a privately owned server in my best friend's home, and when I own the keys to the encrypted files, the 'cloud' has nothing to do with it.

Anyway, what's to stop you from fully automating with rsync over VPN?

I've a very good friend who does the same as you, actually. Rsync with twinned encrypted drives, one of which he leaves at work. But the only reason he runs sneakernet for his remotes is because he's in Australia, where the internet is too crippled for people to do big uploads. As soon as he gets non-crippled internet rolled out to his area, then my server becomes his backup destination.

[sth]

I can only recommand the usage of a NAS, I build one 2 years ago. Set up a RAID5, a torrent client, a plex server(media center for the nexwork) and I'm all set.

Lof of things a nas can do.

yeah. maybe, if i could hook up to it with USB instead of over the network. otherwise nope nope nope not gonna work. would be cool if i could present the fs via USB, but also connect to it over the network to transfer files. that would save me having to disconnect the drive from the TV.