20 replies to this topic

[Bug]

I think I need a new PC Mines yonks old; actually, I think it's just the RAM and HDs that need replacing

So anyway... I have two hard drives, right?
60GB HDD = XP;
80GB HDD = Vista

I've had the 60GB one for about 3-4 years now, and at times it's seemed like it was on its way to the bin. The 80GB one I bought like a year or two ago to replace the 60GB before it DID fail lol. Thing is, 60GB is still working fine and 80GB is causing me all the grief, sorrow and pain... what's worse, I bought the 60GB second hand! Good thing about them though is that they are both Seagate I love that brand!

My PC keeps locking up etc. occasionally when I have the 80GB plugged in... sooooo, in order for me to have a peaceful day at my PC, I need to unplug it! hehe...

So I did just that... because it was frequently freezing (only today) while I had PS CS2 open. But to top it all off, it appears that CS2 is actually installed on the BLOOMIN 80GB HARD DRIVE!

/rage quit

[Lastcrime]

lol sound like you had a frustrating day.

[syntex]

Buy.
New.
HDDs.

[Bug]

I shouldn't have to!! What's the average life span of a hard drive now days?

[Ben]

I dunno, but they last a long time. Our old computers hard drive worked for 6 years. Infact it's still working - but we sold the computer to a relative. We've never had to replace a hard drive ever.

[Stu]

get a mac!!!

[Archangel]

No fun Bug! No fun!

[Brunty]

Hey Bug,

Life span of a HD can vary greatly, it really depends on the manufacturer of the HDD (and the usage of the drive) - I myself have had an old Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 in an old desktop for 3 (almost 4) years now - it's been on pretty much 24/7 and is pretty much always in use, it's still chugging along although it is starting to show its age now.

Generally people consider Maxtor to make bad drives, I've not looked into their new drives but older models uses to have had bearings and were more likely to fail, I know Seagate bought Maxtor a while back so I'm not sure if anything's changed.

I myself am a Seagate fan, however Western Digital make awesome drives as do Samsung, I've been hearing good things about Hitachi recently from some friends but I've never used them.

Edited by Matt555, 17 August 2007 - 09:21 AM.

[SebLev]

I have an old Maxtor around 7 years old and it's still kicking very good.... just bought a seagate 250 GB for my new build tho and it seems to be doing alright.... the operating systems are whats giving me troubles :\ ... triple booting is not for the impatient

[Brunty]

lilman, on Aug 17 2007, 04:23 PM, said:

I have an old Maxtor around 7 years old and it's still kicking very good.... just bought a seagate 250 GB for my new build tho and it seems to be doing alright.... the operating systems are whats giving me troubles :\ ... triple booting is not for the impatient

Yeah I've never had any of my friends have problems with Maxtor drives, it's just on forums really - then again once a brand gets a negative image / rep it's hard to shake off, and on forums you don't tend to hear good stories, only the bad...

An OS can destroy a hard-drive quickly *cough*Windows*cough* - it's not me being anti-Windows/MS here but Windows has the problem of swapping on the HDD when it doesn't need to, meaning your HDD can be in use when the computer's not really doing a lot, if the HDD's in use it produces more heat, which reduces the lifespan of the drive...

That's one thing I noticed switching from Windows to Linux on my laptop - the HDD was located under my left hand by the trackpad and it used to get very hot, sometimes to the point where I couldn't keep my hand on there for more than a few seconds. When I put Linux on there I noticed it was cool, the HDD wasn't in use when it didn't need to be.

Apologies if that post sounded a little anti-MS, I didn't mean to bring that into the discussion but it is quite a big factor in a drives life.

[Faken]

Stu, on Aug 17 2007, 05:20 AM, said:

get a mac!!!

Hahahaha you are sooooooooo asking for a new title

Matt555, on Aug 17 2007, 11:59 AM, said:

lilman, on Aug 17 2007, 04:23 PM, said:

I have an old Maxtor around 7 years old and it's still kicking very good.... just bought a seagate 250 GB for my new build tho and it seems to be doing alright.... the operating systems are whats giving me troubles :\ ... triple booting is not for the impatient

Yeah I've never had any of my friends have problems with Maxtor drives, it's just on forums really - then again once a brand gets a negative image / rep it's hard to shake off, and on forums you don't tend to hear good stories, only the bad...An OS can destroy a hard-drive quickly *cough*Windows*cough* - it's not me being anti-Windows/MS here but Windows has the problem of swapping on the HDD when it doesn't need to, meaning your HDD can be in use when the computer's not really doing a lot, if the HDD's in use it produces more heat, which reduces the lifespan of the drive...That's one thing I noticed switching from Windows to Linux on my laptop - the HDD was located under my left hand by the trackpad and it used to get very hot, sometimes to the point where I couldn't keep my hand on there for more than a few seconds. When I put Linux on there I noticed it was cool, the HDD wasn't in use when it didn't need to be.Apologies if that post sounded a little anti-MS, I didn't mean to bring that into the discussion but it is quite a big factor in a drives life.

This is what hard drives are built for... A linux server is pumping a lot more CPU processes and drive access than your average windows box any day. I've been using Windows since 3.0 and I've still got 12 year old drives that work perfectly. If a drive's life is "shortened" because of a windows PC, it's either because the drive is a piece of crap or a dud, or you don't have proper ventilation in your case.

Dan

[Brunty]

Faken, on Aug 17 2007, 05:22 PM, said:

This is what hard drives are built for... A linux server is pumping a lot more CPU processes and drive access than your average windows box any day.

Dan

Very very true, what I was trying to point out is that Windows causes un-neccessary drive access - something like a Linux server is efficient and only accesses the HDD when it needs to.

Windows won't kill a HDD - but it'll shorten it's life, just the same as a HDD in a Linux server will have a shorter life than in a Windows box.

Looking at my post I didn't make that too clear, my bad.

[Donna]

Quote

What's the average life span of a hard drive now days?

They (the experts) say 3-5yrs, but experts are like movie critics lol as I a maxtor in one of our old PC's that's been going 7yrs and will probably go another 7.

Most only have a 5yr warranty

[Faken]

Matt555, on Aug 17 2007, 12:27 PM, said:

Faken, on Aug 17 2007, 05:22 PM, said:

This is what hard drives are built for... A linux server is pumping a lot more CPU processes and drive access than your average windows box any day.

Dan

Very very true, what I was trying to point out is that Windows causes un-neccessary drive access - something like a Linux server is efficient and only accesses the HDD when it needs to.

Windows won't kill a HDD - but it'll shorten it's life, just the same as a HDD in a Linux server will have a shorter life than in a Windows box.

Looking at my post I didn't make that too clear, my bad.

Right, but the Linux OS is a lot less complex in addition to it bein very efficient... no question that a Windows box has much more drive access when idle, but that's what the drives are built for. They're not tested and designed around inactive environments A drive should be able to last at least 5 years in a normal end user environment.

Just remember everyone, BACKUPS are your friend!

[Brunty]

Faken, on Aug 17 2007, 05:42 PM, said:

Just remember everyone, BACKUPS are your friend!

Amen to that. Amen.

[ktd]

Well, my HD lasted for about 5 minutes. Then I restarted PC and it failed to start. That was a WD 500gb. Newegg just send me a new one so all was good. But yeah, HD can go for years or minutes. But yes, if your PC is locking up with an additional HD then it is failing. You should have seen me when my laptop's HD failed and the backup of it was was on an external that decided to no longer work. I have bad luck with HDs....

[Archangel]

It's probably b/c you had an OS on each hard drive. It starts booting up, gets completely confused even though you tell it what to do and goes berserk

[Lastcrime]

on my pc i have two 30gb maxtors one ive had for about 6 years and one ive had for about 3 years there both still very good, the only problems im having is that they dont hold very much space cause there old, they still work great though.

[Ben]

Faken, on Aug 18 2007, 02:42 AM, said:

Just remember everyone, BACKUPS are your friend!

Unfortunately for me I learned that the hard way

Edited by Ben, 17 August 2007 - 08:24 PM.