How Long Can a Hard Disk Last in Constant Use?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Vanadium 50
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    longevity
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the longevity and reliability of hard disk drives (HDDs) in constant use, with participants sharing personal experiences and observations regarding the lifespan of various drives. The conversation touches on anecdotal evidence, failure rates, and the impact of technology advancements on drive performance.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants share personal anecdotes of HDDs lasting over a decade without issues, citing specific models and usage conditions.
  • Others caution against relying on anecdotal evidence for assessing failure rates, suggesting that luck plays a significant role.
  • One participant notes the impressive statistics of a drive, including rotations and travel distance, while also reflecting on technological advancements in HDDs over the years.
  • There is a discussion about the differences in failure rates between HDDs and SSDs, with some suggesting that HDDs may be more recoverable when failures occur.
  • Participants mention the setup of NAS systems and the use of enterprise-grade drives, with some expressing concerns about the impact of heat on consumer-grade drives.
  • One participant shares a recent experience with a power supply failure in their NAS, highlighting the challenges of maintaining older drives.
  • There are mentions of regular SMART tests being conducted to monitor drive health, with some participants asserting that no bad or relocated sectors have been found in their drives.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the reliability of HDDs based on anecdotal evidence, with some arguing that such evidence is insufficient for drawing conclusions about failure rates. Multiple competing views on the longevity and reliability of different drive types remain present throughout the discussion.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include the reliance on personal anecdotes without statistical backing, the potential for unaccounted variables affecting drive longevity, and the lack of consensus on the impact of technology changes on drive performance.

Vanadium 50
Staff Emeritus
Science Advisor
Education Advisor
Gold Member
Dearly Missed
Messages
35,005
Reaction score
21,707
There are some messages complaining how this, that or the other didn't last. I thought I'd share a counterexample. I was looking at SMART logs and one of my disks has been in constant use for over 12 years - a Western Digital Re.

I believe this is post "Caviar" and pre "Colors". 100,000+ hours in service. No bad sectors. No relocated sectors. I'm impressed.

Slightly less impressive was a 19 year old drive that still works, although its been in a box for 7 years.
 
Computer science news on Phys.org
Indeed. I have a 1 terabyte drive that's been running for probably 8-10 years now with no issues.
 
Anecdotal evidence is a bad thing to rely on for failure rates. Yes, you can be lucky, but you also can have bad luck.
 
More impressive numbers: 43 billion rotations, and almost 7 million miles of travel (at the edge of the platter).

It's also remarkable how the technology has changed: in the first 20 years of IBM PCs you had (in the non-SCSI market) MFM, RLL, ESDI, PATA/IDE and then SATA. Now we have SATA.

FactChecker said:
Anecdotal evidence is a bad thing to rely on for failure rates.
I don't think anyone has said that one good drive is all the testing you need.
 
Reply
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: nsaspook and FactChecker
Vanadium 50 said:
I don't think anyone has said that one good drive is all the testing you need.
That's true. The situation is complicated. HDDs can have a higher failure rate but are much more likely to be recoverable. A failed sector on a hard drive contains less data than blocks or chips on an SSD so the data is more likely to be recoverable. See this.
 
I've just set up a NAS RAID around half a year ago with already used (common) disks.

It has an UPS and won't be switched off, ever.

I expect it to serve at least a few years.

... just had to replace a half year old laptop HDD recently. Hurled left and right; switched off daily.
 
My NAS' power supply died thir morning. :frown:

It made that forms in the garbage disposal sound and a minute later than was it. I have a new supply, but connecting it up is harder than it might seem. Lots of cables in a small space.

FWIW, every single disk in it is >5 years old. I have a new spare on the shelf in cased one goes bad, and a spare in the NAS which gets used automatically.
 
Rive said:
I've just set up a NAS RAID around half a year ago
As an aside, I am using mostly NAS and Enterprise drives on mine. I started with "regular" drives and expanded when they failed, and what's left are largely NAS and Enterprise. Two Toshiba X300s (lasted much longer than the N300)'s, 2 IronWolves (or is that Wolfs?) and 3 Seagate Enterprise Capacities (formerly Constellation). Also a HGST Ultrastar for backup.

My suspicion is that heat slowly kills consumer-grade drives.
 
  • #10
Vanadium 50 said:
No bad sectors.
There are probably some small defects in the surface, but error correction has enough margin to correct for this.
 
  • #11
Strictly speaking, no relocated sectors. I do a weekly SMART long test, which should pick up problems.
 

Similar threads

Graduate BRS: PKI Cryptosystems for SA/Ms: A Tutorial
  • · Replies 13 ·
Replies
13
Views
4K