walt wrote: > On 09/24/2009 12:29 PM, Dale wrote: > >> USB. There is another idea. Ooops, out of USB plugs too. Crap, I >> can't put in a drive without buying something to plug it into. LOL I >> do have USB 2.0 on here. I have to have 2.0 for the printer but my >> camera has to have 1.0. Weird I know. > > There are so many interesting posts in this thread I don't know which > one to reply to :o) Just FYI, USB 3 has just been ratified, so we can > expect ultra-fast USB-3 drives in the (near?) future, which should be as > fast or faster than SATA-II. > > The point I really want to make is regarding your question about which > disk drive to buy. I have drives from three different manufacturers at > the moment, and they are all superb and incredibly cheap -- but that low > cost comes at a price (does that make any sense?). > > I've had to return two drives in the last three years or so because of > catastrophic failure while still under warranty (amazing!). In both > cases the replacement drives have been absolutely perfect for years now. > > In other words, disk manufacturers have apparently decided to abandon > strict quality control in favor of low price, and seem happy to replace > failed drives as a substitute for quality control. It must be a > profitable > strategy because they all seem to be doing it. But be prepared for drive > failures from *every* manufacturer -- and then buy whatever is on sale > for > the lowest price. > > >
One thing I have noticed about hard drives in my experience. When you plug that puppy in and power it up, let it run for a good long while. Overnight is good, a few days is even better, a week or more is even better still from the mechanical point of view. I remember this from when I rebuilt my Moms old motor in her car years ago. It said in the book and from several mechanics, once you crank it, run it for at least 30 minutes and at different rpms. The longer the better. It should get to its normal temperature before even thinking about cutting it off. Do NOT cut the engine off unless it is really serious. The first few minutes that a motor runs is crucial. If you start it and just run it a couple minutes, it won't ever be the same. I was also told that driving it is really good. I also remember this from way back when I was working on puters. I got a new job when winder 3.1 came out. Anyway. If a electronic device can survive the first couple to six months of usage, they usually last a while from the electronic point of view. That is short of spilling your beer in it or it getting hit by lightening or something like that. I have two 80Gb drives right now. One is a Maxtor and the other is a Western Digital. I bet there is a few people on this list that hate each one because they had one that failed. I haven't had any trouble with mine at all. They all fail eventually tho. I just hope one of mine fails when there is nothing important on it is all. ;-) Still comparing all the options. I got to start looking for a good SATA drive now. Just when I had a decent IDE drive all picked out too. LOL Dale :-) :-)
