this post was submitted on 23 Nov 2023
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Data Hoarder

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Are used hard drives ok? (alien.top)
submitted 10 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
16 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

If you don’t have the money for the most amount of terabytes there is but you can find it in your budget if you buy it pre-owned.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

All drives die. Sometimes right away sometimes it takes ages. If you have backups it doesn't matter if the drives are new or used because your data is safe. If you don't it also doesn't matter because they'll all fail at some point and there is no way to know whether any given new drive will fail before or after a given used drive.

For me I can get 2-3 good condition used drives with warranty for the same price as a new drive so it doesn't make sense to buy new.

When you price it out for a large server buying used will give you a full backup + your parity disks for the same price as a single server built with new drives.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Is this just a thread of bots replying to one another? Or is this one of those threads that is all reposted material from Reddit?

Also Adblock blocked this instance’s url.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Alien.top is supposed to be a mirroring thing I think, it's legit but still being tested and implemented. You can probably find the thread explaining it.

It was supposed to allow Reddit users to post to Lemmy and vice versa, making it easier to transition over, but idk what's happening here. It looks like all the content is being mirrored over, and I doubt all the users signed up

I guess its fitting that this is the community it's happening for, but it would be nice to clarify nonetheless

edit: I dont get blocked when I try to access it. Could you try this link instead? It has explainers

https://portal.alien.top/

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

this link

Still blocked.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

Some manufacturers (e.g. Seagate) sell refurbished drives - these have undergone a full mechanical inspection but are a fraction of the price.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

Depends on the planned use and the ones doing the refurb.

Generally, used hdd for cold storage is fine but constant running might not ge advisable

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

I’d say have backups, but then, I’d say have backups anyway. The bathtub curve is real.

More to the point: I don’t get why people can spend so much money on giant pools of storage and then get uptight when told they should get dedicated backup devices.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

All my hdd's I got secondhand, way cheaper and they all come with 2 year warrenty from cex.

That said, I do use them for cold storage mainly, so most of the time theyre sat on a shelf and powered up every few months, only lost one from about 25 drives in the last 5 years Ive been buying them.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

same here, rocking 4x8tb exos, all disks spinning 24/7, no issues for 3 months so far, and the warranty is there

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Depends how used and how much you like your data.

If your buying, I'd for a S.M.A.R.T test report before buying.

If they are free, run a S.M.A.R.T test before you put any data you don't want to lose.

Always have redundancy.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Long or short test?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Short: runs tests that have a high probability of detecting device problems

Extended or Long: the test is the same as the short check but with no time limit and with complete disk surface examination

Conveyance: identifies if damage incurred during transportation of the device

Ask for a long report before buying. Then run a conveyance when you receive after shipping if you buy.

If you get for free, run a long test.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

Sellers usually balk at running a long test unfortunately. Sometimes they do it proactively and show you SMART data with a recent long test log already included but it's very seldom.

Many sellers aren't technically savvy and it's the first time they hear about Hard Disk Sentinel, they give you pics of the computer monitor taken with their phone etc. I consider it a win if they can manage to show you the complete SMART attributes.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

It’s a matter of preference since we have no hard data to support either claim. I personally avoid 2nd hand HDDs and monitors because way back in the day those were notoriously unreliable especially from brands like Maxtor. Nowadays I guess it’s ok but then again new HDDs aren’t so expensive anymore so I just get one with warranty and move on.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

My thought on this has always been: if you care about your data (family photos, music), then you should spend the money to get new drives

But a lot of people hate this, and argue that if your backups work properly then you can buy any HDD you want regardless of abuse or how old it is.

I just want my shit to work and not have to worry about it so I buy new

[–] [email protected] 0 points 10 months ago

I personally don't trust used and would rather just pay more and buy new, but then again I value my data (and also have backups).