Hard Drive Reliability Update – Sep 2014

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Hard Drive Reliability Update – Sep 2014

At Backblaze we now have 34,881 drives and store over 100 petabytes of data. We continually track how our disk drives are doing, which ones are reliable, and which ones need to be replaced.

I did a blog post back in January, called “What Hard Drive Should I Buy?” It covered the reliability of each of the drive models that we use. This month I’m updating those numbers and sharing some surprising new findings.

Reliability of Hard Drive Brands

Losing a disk drive at Backblaze is not a big deal. Every file we back up is replicated across multiple drives in the data center. When a drive fails, it is promptly replaced, and its data is restored. Even so, we still try to avoid failing drives, because replacing them costs money.

We carefully track which drives are doing well and which are not, to help us when selecting new drives to buy.

The good news is that the chart today looks a lot like the one from January, and that most of the drives are continuing to perform well. It’s nice when things are stable.

The surprising (and bad) news is that Seagate 3.0TB drives are failing a lot more, with their failure rate jumping from 9% to 15%. The Western Digital 3TB drives have also failed more, with their rate going up from 4% to 7%.

In the chart below, the grey bars are the failure rates up through the end of 2013, and the colored bars are the failure rates including all of the data up through the end of June, 2014.

Read more...
 

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Self built custom
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64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
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Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
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ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
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64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz
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ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
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Integrated
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2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
Screen Resolution
2560x1440
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1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
TerraMaster F8 SSD Plus NAS
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Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
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Thermaltake Core P3
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Corsair Hydro H115i
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Logitech wireless K800
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Logitech MX Master 4
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Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
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Google Chrome
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Logitech Z625 speaker system,
Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
Galaxy S23 Plus phone
That is a good read Shawn I have said for along time now to others that I will not have large drives because large drives crashing means loss of a lot of data. I prefer to have multiple 500GB drives - not that I store a great deal and often wonder what on earth requires a 1TB drive for storage? plus multiple small ones works out cheaper.

I am not deriding those who use large drives just think maybe sometimes people think bigger is better:p

The other interesting point was Seagate not doing so well in the larger drives as I am a real fan of that brand and even more interesting was how the Hitachi came out that good.

Mind you as you know al too well quality depends on where and who makes the equipment and we know where it all comes from these days eh?:sarc:
 

My Computer My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Own build (new) Desk1 / Asus ROG Win 7 / Desk2 1st build
OS
Desk1 7 Home Prem / Desk2 10 Pro / Main lap Asus ROG 10 Pro 2 laptop Toshiba 7 Pro Asus P2520 7 & 10
CPU
Desk1 i5 3750K / Laptop i7 GTX 860M / Desk2 i5 2500
Motherboard
Desk1 Asus P877-V / Desk2 Gigabyte H67 UD3H / Laptop ?
Memory
Desk1 8GB (1866) / Desk2 16GB (1333) / Laptop 8Gb DDR3
Graphics Card(s)
Desk 1& 2NVidia GTX 650 & Laptops on board Intel
Sound Card
Desk 1 & 2 -XONAR DG Realtek High Def audio Laptop
Monitor(s) Displays
Desk 1 Benq HD 2450 / Desk2 Philips 24" / Laptop 17.5"
Screen Resolution
1920x1080 D1 & D2 & Laptop 1
Hard Drives
Desk1 Samsung 120GB 830 SSD
Asus ROG 256GB 850 Pro SSD
Desk2 Samsung 840 256 SSD
Toshiba 120GB EVO
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Desk 1 Corsair HX 1050/ Laptop ? / Desk 2 Corsair HX 650
Case
Desk 1 Cooler HAF XM ? Toshiba laptop / Desk2 Coolermaster
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Fans on all Desk1 -2 Desk2 - all Coolermasters 5 Laptop ?
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Desk 1 MS Sidewinder X6 Desk 2 MS Sidewinder X 4
Mouse
Desk 1&2 - Gigabyte MS 900 gamer - laptop - Logitec wireless
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ADSL2+
Other Info
One other Desktop (tester) and spare Toshba laptop both with SSD's
Running Kaspersky 2016 ISS on all machines config'd identically
Logitec audio stereo systems on each machine (x3)
Canon MG5250MFC
Router/modem TP-Link running WPA2SK
That is a good read Shawn I have said for along time now to others that I will not have large drives because large drives crashing means loss of a lot of data. I prefer to have multiple 500GB drives...

A small drive can fail just as easily as a large one. All spreading your data over more drives does is reduce the amount of data lost if a single unbacked up drive fails. However, as long as one maintains proper backups, one will not lose ANY data, no matter what size the drives. Larger drives mean fewer drives, which reduces power consumption, weight, heat generated, less room occupied, etc. which frequently can offset the increased cost per GB of the larger drives, not to mention be more convenient. As long as one's data is properly backed up, it doesn't matter how large a failed drive is; no data will be lost.

Considering that data not kept in at least three places (one source drive and two duplicate drives, for example) is not secure, the more drives one has, the more backups one will need to maintain.

...not that I store a great deal and often wonder what on earth requires a 1TB drive for storage? plus multiple small ones works out cheaper...

Just because you don't have high data storage needs doesn't mean others do not. I have all my CDs ripped to my computer, each one in both wave and mp3 formats, and all the liners notes scanned. Those rips occupy around 1/4 of a 2TB HDD (plus four backup HDDs). All five HDDs take up vastly less room than the 500+ CDs would have in their original cases (I plan on doing the same with my videos, which will be an even greater space and weight savings although they will have to have their own HDDs). I can easily put multiple CDs and partial CDs on an unlimited play list I can save for listening to later on a single file that occupies only a few KBs.

The only books I buy anymore are ebooks, which take only a tiny amount of disk space each. I'm slowly scanning my dead tree book library of several thousand books to PDFs (I'm over halfway finished). The same five duplicate HDDs that house my music collection and their backups have more than enough room for my entire library (I am a very voracious reader, especially now that I'm retired, and I reread my books, sometimes more than once). Even as large as the files for my scanned books are, they take up little more room on a HDD than my music collection does. That beats the heck out of 40 banker boxes of heavy dead tree books.

Many people record their own TV shows to watch later or even save. Bluray rips can take as much as 50GB of space each.
 

My Computer My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom Build
OS
Win 7 Ultimate 64 bit
CPU
Intel i7-3930K
Motherboard
ASUS P9X79 WS
Memory
Kingston HyperX Genesis 32GB Kit (8x4GB Modules) 1600MHz DDR
Graphics Card(s)
MSI R7850 Twin Frozr 2GD5/OC Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-bit GDDR
Sound Card
Asus Xonar Essence STX
Monitor(s) Displays
3x Asus VG248QE 24", Vizio 32" TV
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080, ?
Hard Drives
Samsung 128GB 840 Pro SSD (1),
Samsung 4TB 850 EVO SSDs (4)
Samsung 4TB 850 EVO SSDs (16) external backup drives used in 2.5" hot swap bays in the computer.
PSU
Corsair HX750w
Case
Antec Two Hundred v2 (modified)
Cooling
Cooler Master GeminII S524 120mm (fan replaced with a 140mm)
Keyboard
Logitech G510s
Mouse
Logitech M525 (two in use)
Internet Speed
=< 32Mbps down, 8Mbps up
Antivirus
AVAST!, MBAM, SAS, Spybot S&D (all but MBAM free) Glary Util
Browser
IE11
Other Info
LSI 9211-8i HBA card (8 SATA III ports), 2.5" & 3.5" Hot Swap Bays, HooToo HT-CR001 PCI-E to USB 3.0 Internal Hub + 6 Slot Card Reader, and LG Model CH12LS28 BD-ROM Optical Drive. Also, ScanSnap S1500 ADF duplexing scanner, Canon 9000F flat bed scanner, Corsair SP2500 2.1 speakers, Samsung CLP 415nw laser color printer, Cyberpower PP2200SW UPS
Well I am sorry I trod on your toes Jeannie you are right with personal choice of course but I am logic driven:geek:

Quite frankly and hoping I don't provoke any more offence but storing that much data is a mystery to me simply because if you have read or watched that much surely you would not trawl back through it to see it again and storing that much music well how is there enough hours in a day to hear it again??
 

My Computer My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Own build (new) Desk1 / Asus ROG Win 7 / Desk2 1st build
OS
Desk1 7 Home Prem / Desk2 10 Pro / Main lap Asus ROG 10 Pro 2 laptop Toshiba 7 Pro Asus P2520 7 & 10
CPU
Desk1 i5 3750K / Laptop i7 GTX 860M / Desk2 i5 2500
Motherboard
Desk1 Asus P877-V / Desk2 Gigabyte H67 UD3H / Laptop ?
Memory
Desk1 8GB (1866) / Desk2 16GB (1333) / Laptop 8Gb DDR3
Graphics Card(s)
Desk 1& 2NVidia GTX 650 & Laptops on board Intel
Sound Card
Desk 1 & 2 -XONAR DG Realtek High Def audio Laptop
Monitor(s) Displays
Desk 1 Benq HD 2450 / Desk2 Philips 24" / Laptop 17.5"
Screen Resolution
1920x1080 D1 & D2 & Laptop 1
Hard Drives
Desk1 Samsung 120GB 830 SSD
Asus ROG 256GB 850 Pro SSD
Desk2 Samsung 840 256 SSD
Toshiba 120GB EVO
PSU
Desk 1 Corsair HX 1050/ Laptop ? / Desk 2 Corsair HX 650
Case
Desk 1 Cooler HAF XM ? Toshiba laptop / Desk2 Coolermaster
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Fans on all Desk1 -2 Desk2 - all Coolermasters 5 Laptop ?
Keyboard
Desk 1 MS Sidewinder X6 Desk 2 MS Sidewinder X 4
Mouse
Desk 1&2 - Gigabyte MS 900 gamer - laptop - Logitec wireless
Internet Speed
ADSL2+
Other Info
One other Desktop (tester) and spare Toshba laptop both with SSD's
Running Kaspersky 2016 ISS on all machines config'd identically
Logitec audio stereo systems on each machine (x3)
Canon MG5250MFC
Router/modem TP-Link running WPA2SK
I have long believed that the larger drives available at any given time are pushing the envelope of what technology can provide at a reasonable price. A problem that has plagued drive manufacturers for a long time is the constant pressure for larger and faster drives without raising the price. Better manufacturing techniques and a bigger market can only go so far in making that possible. Reliability often suffers.
 

My Computer My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
HP
OS
Windows 7 Pro 64 bit
CPU
Xeon W3520
Memory
8 GB
Graphics Card(s)
Nvidia Geforce 210
Well I am sorry I trod on your toes Jeannie you are right with personal choice of course but I am logic driven:geek:

Quite frankly and hoping I don't provoke any more offence but storing that much data is a mystery to me simply because if you have read or watched that much surely you would not trawl back through it to see it again and storing that much music well how is there enough hours in a day to hear it again??

So you are saying I'm illogical?

Other than your fallacy of spreading data out over multiple HDDs to merely minimize loss (instead of utilizing proper backup procedures to eliminate data loss), my biggest issue was you imposing your needs and values on others, which you have just done again. You may not want to listen to much music, watch many movies, or do much reading. I, and many others, can listen to music all day, and listening to the same old same old would get boring, hence the desire and need for a large variety. I can easily go through an eight hour play list in one day. Same for books and movies. I have one book I reread once a year (Wind in the Willows). There are a several others that I read every two or three years. Other books I may not read again for many years but, unless the book was a dud, I will eventually reread it, often more than once. Same for movies, I eventually rewatch most of them, some more than others. I'm not the only one who does this.
 

My Computer My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom Build
OS
Win 7 Ultimate 64 bit
CPU
Intel i7-3930K
Motherboard
ASUS P9X79 WS
Memory
Kingston HyperX Genesis 32GB Kit (8x4GB Modules) 1600MHz DDR
Graphics Card(s)
MSI R7850 Twin Frozr 2GD5/OC Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-bit GDDR
Sound Card
Asus Xonar Essence STX
Monitor(s) Displays
3x Asus VG248QE 24", Vizio 32" TV
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080, ?
Hard Drives
Samsung 128GB 840 Pro SSD (1),
Samsung 4TB 850 EVO SSDs (4)
Samsung 4TB 850 EVO SSDs (16) external backup drives used in 2.5" hot swap bays in the computer.
PSU
Corsair HX750w
Case
Antec Two Hundred v2 (modified)
Cooling
Cooler Master GeminII S524 120mm (fan replaced with a 140mm)
Keyboard
Logitech G510s
Mouse
Logitech M525 (two in use)
Internet Speed
=< 32Mbps down, 8Mbps up
Antivirus
AVAST!, MBAM, SAS, Spybot S&D (all but MBAM free) Glary Util
Browser
IE11
Other Info
LSI 9211-8i HBA card (8 SATA III ports), 2.5" & 3.5" Hot Swap Bays, HooToo HT-CR001 PCI-E to USB 3.0 Internal Hub + 6 Slot Card Reader, and LG Model CH12LS28 BD-ROM Optical Drive. Also, ScanSnap S1500 ADF duplexing scanner, Canon 9000F flat bed scanner, Corsair SP2500 2.1 speakers, Samsung CLP 415nw laser color printer, Cyberpower PP2200SW UPS
Backups, Backups, Backups ...

If you can't use more than a few hundred GB, you aren't creating enough backups. :D

Ignoring my Music (120 GB) and Video (1.5 TB) partitions, my standard monthly backups are ~120 GB in size (documents, pictures and operating systems).

My PC has ~5.5 TB of internal storage.
I have ~9 TB of backup capacity on external HDDs (used for music, video, documents, pictures, VMs and operating systems).

When I work on videos I normally end up with at least 3 complete versions (original, partially modified and final).

You may not want to listen to much music, watch many movies, or do much reading. I, and many others, can listen to music all day, and listening to the same old same old would get boring, hence the desire and need for a large variety.
I have ~11500 mp3 files.
I let Winamp play them in Shuffle mode, whilst I do other stuff on my PC. :)
 
Last edited:

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PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
n/a
OS
W7 Ultimate SP1, LM19.2 MATE, W10 Home 1703, W10 Pro 1703 VM, #All 64 bit
CPU
AMD Phenom II x6 1100T, 3.3 GHz
Motherboard
ASUS M4A88T-M/USB3 (AM3)
Memory
12GB DDR3 1333 G-Skill (4GB x 2), G-Skill (2GB x 2)
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660
Sound Card
Realtek?
Monitor(s) Displays
Samsung S23B350
Screen Resolution
1920x1080
Hard Drives
WD Green 2TB (SATA), WD Green 3TB (SATA), WD Blue 4TB (SATA), WD Blue 6TB (SATA)
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Cooler Master
Case
Antec GX300 Tower
Cooling
3x Antec TRICOOL 120mm Fans
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Wired Optical
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DSL
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Avast
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Pale Moon (64 bit)
Other Info
2018-12-27 Upgraded HDDs
2015-12-10 Upgraded case, graphics card, storage
2015-08-15 Upgraded motherboard & RAM
2015-07-15 Upgraded LM17.1 to LM17.2
Call me Simple Spencer, but 500 GB is still pretty much a bottomless pit for me.
 

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OS
Windows 7 Home Premium x64
I don't really like HDDs with bigger capacities. Bigger capacity means slower performance. I wish to buy an SSD but unfortunately I don't have money for it :(
 

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Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
ASUS X550ZE
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-BIT
CPU
AMD A8 7200P
Motherboard
N/A
Memory
8GB 1600mhz
Graphics Card(s)
Radeon R5 (APU) + Radeon R5 M230 2GB Dual Graphics
Sound Card
Realtek ALC269 with SonicMaster
Monitor(s) Displays
Laptop Display
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080 @60hz
Hard Drives
WDC WD50 00LPVX-80V0TT0 (500GB)
PSU
Laptop Charger
Mouse
ARMAGGEDON TEXTRON SCORPION 7
Internet Speed
100 mbps DOWN / 50 mbps UP
Antivirus
Windows Defender
Browser
Mozzila FireFox, Valve Steam in-game internet browser
Well I am sorry I trod on your toes Jeannie you are right with personal choice of course but I am logic driven:geek:

Quite frankly and hoping I don't provoke any more offence but storing that much data is a mystery to me simply because if you have read or watched that much surely you would not trawl back through it to see it again and storing that much music well how is there enough hours in a day to hear it again??

So you are saying I'm illogical?

Other than your fallacy of spreading data out over multiple HDDs to merely minimize loss (instead of utilizing proper backup procedures to eliminate data loss), my biggest issue was you imposing your needs and values on others, which you have just done again. You may not want to listen to much music, watch many movies, or do much reading. I, and many others, can listen to music all day, and listening to the same old same old would get boring, hence the desire and need for a large variety. I can easily go through an eight hour play list in one day. Same for books and movies. I have one book I reread once a year (Wind in the Willows). There are a several others that I read every two or three years. Other books I may not read again for many years but, unless the book was a dud, I will eventually reread it, often more than once. Same for movies, I eventually rewatch most of them, some more than others. I'm not the only one who does this.
Ah well I do listen to a lot of music and watch films but not through a computer I don't see the need. But I have obviously upset you so I shall duck out as you seem to think I am some sort of crank or an idiot who just wants to stir things up when I am doing nothing of the sort. I just said big drives big crash and therefore big data loss if that is not logical well perhaps I should give this all away. That tells me straight away that you have your opinion and woe betide the person who even goes close to disagreeing with you.
As for you saying I was imposing my will or thought on anyone is really quite offensive and preposterous. It implies that the others are like lemmings with no minds of their own and would follow my every move or suggestion.
Moreover it proves to me that you do not know me at all and I am at a loss as to why you should even suggest that for that reason alone .
 

My Computer My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Own build (new) Desk1 / Asus ROG Win 7 / Desk2 1st build
OS
Desk1 7 Home Prem / Desk2 10 Pro / Main lap Asus ROG 10 Pro 2 laptop Toshiba 7 Pro Asus P2520 7 & 10
CPU
Desk1 i5 3750K / Laptop i7 GTX 860M / Desk2 i5 2500
Motherboard
Desk1 Asus P877-V / Desk2 Gigabyte H67 UD3H / Laptop ?
Memory
Desk1 8GB (1866) / Desk2 16GB (1333) / Laptop 8Gb DDR3
Graphics Card(s)
Desk 1& 2NVidia GTX 650 & Laptops on board Intel
Sound Card
Desk 1 & 2 -XONAR DG Realtek High Def audio Laptop
Monitor(s) Displays
Desk 1 Benq HD 2450 / Desk2 Philips 24" / Laptop 17.5"
Screen Resolution
1920x1080 D1 & D2 & Laptop 1
Hard Drives
Desk1 Samsung 120GB 830 SSD
Asus ROG 256GB 850 Pro SSD
Desk2 Samsung 840 256 SSD
Toshiba 120GB EVO
PSU
Desk 1 Corsair HX 1050/ Laptop ? / Desk 2 Corsair HX 650
Case
Desk 1 Cooler HAF XM ? Toshiba laptop / Desk2 Coolermaster
Cooling
Fans on all Desk1 -2 Desk2 - all Coolermasters 5 Laptop ?
Keyboard
Desk 1 MS Sidewinder X6 Desk 2 MS Sidewinder X 4
Mouse
Desk 1&2 - Gigabyte MS 900 gamer - laptop - Logitec wireless
Internet Speed
ADSL2+
Other Info
One other Desktop (tester) and spare Toshba laptop both with SSD's
Running Kaspersky 2016 ISS on all machines config'd identically
Logitec audio stereo systems on each machine (x3)
Canon MG5250MFC
Router/modem TP-Link running WPA2SK
I don't really like HDDs with bigger capacities. Bigger capacity means slower performance. I wish to buy an SSD but unfortunately I don't have money for it :(
Hmm well if you lived a bit closer I have a spare or two and you could have it for nothing:)
 

My Computer My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Own build (new) Desk1 / Asus ROG Win 7 / Desk2 1st build
OS
Desk1 7 Home Prem / Desk2 10 Pro / Main lap Asus ROG 10 Pro 2 laptop Toshiba 7 Pro Asus P2520 7 & 10
CPU
Desk1 i5 3750K / Laptop i7 GTX 860M / Desk2 i5 2500
Motherboard
Desk1 Asus P877-V / Desk2 Gigabyte H67 UD3H / Laptop ?
Memory
Desk1 8GB (1866) / Desk2 16GB (1333) / Laptop 8Gb DDR3
Graphics Card(s)
Desk 1& 2NVidia GTX 650 & Laptops on board Intel
Sound Card
Desk 1 & 2 -XONAR DG Realtek High Def audio Laptop
Monitor(s) Displays
Desk 1 Benq HD 2450 / Desk2 Philips 24" / Laptop 17.5"
Screen Resolution
1920x1080 D1 & D2 & Laptop 1
Hard Drives
Desk1 Samsung 120GB 830 SSD
Asus ROG 256GB 850 Pro SSD
Desk2 Samsung 840 256 SSD
Toshiba 120GB EVO
PSU
Desk 1 Corsair HX 1050/ Laptop ? / Desk 2 Corsair HX 650
Case
Desk 1 Cooler HAF XM ? Toshiba laptop / Desk2 Coolermaster
Cooling
Fans on all Desk1 -2 Desk2 - all Coolermasters 5 Laptop ?
Keyboard
Desk 1 MS Sidewinder X6 Desk 2 MS Sidewinder X 4
Mouse
Desk 1&2 - Gigabyte MS 900 gamer - laptop - Logitec wireless
Internet Speed
ADSL2+
Other Info
One other Desktop (tester) and spare Toshba laptop both with SSD's
Running Kaspersky 2016 ISS on all machines config'd identically
Logitec audio stereo systems on each machine (x3)
Canon MG5250MFC
Router/modem TP-Link running WPA2SK
I just said big drives big crash and therefore big data loss if that is not logical well perhaps I should give this all away...

Sigh! You are completely missing the point.

...That tells me straight away that you have your opinion and woe betide the person who even goes close to disagreeing with you...

Classic case of the pot calling the kettle black.
 

My Computer My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom Build
OS
Win 7 Ultimate 64 bit
CPU
Intel i7-3930K
Motherboard
ASUS P9X79 WS
Memory
Kingston HyperX Genesis 32GB Kit (8x4GB Modules) 1600MHz DDR
Graphics Card(s)
MSI R7850 Twin Frozr 2GD5/OC Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-bit GDDR
Sound Card
Asus Xonar Essence STX
Monitor(s) Displays
3x Asus VG248QE 24", Vizio 32" TV
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080, ?
Hard Drives
Samsung 128GB 840 Pro SSD (1),
Samsung 4TB 850 EVO SSDs (4)
Samsung 4TB 850 EVO SSDs (16) external backup drives used in 2.5" hot swap bays in the computer.
PSU
Corsair HX750w
Case
Antec Two Hundred v2 (modified)
Cooling
Cooler Master GeminII S524 120mm (fan replaced with a 140mm)
Keyboard
Logitech G510s
Mouse
Logitech M525 (two in use)
Internet Speed
=< 32Mbps down, 8Mbps up
Antivirus
AVAST!, MBAM, SAS, Spybot S&D (all but MBAM free) Glary Util
Browser
IE11
Other Info
LSI 9211-8i HBA card (8 SATA III ports), 2.5" & 3.5" Hot Swap Bays, HooToo HT-CR001 PCI-E to USB 3.0 Internal Hub + 6 Slot Card Reader, and LG Model CH12LS28 BD-ROM Optical Drive. Also, ScanSnap S1500 ADF duplexing scanner, Canon 9000F flat bed scanner, Corsair SP2500 2.1 speakers, Samsung CLP 415nw laser color printer, Cyberpower PP2200SW UPS
Larger drives come in handy when you have limited case space and don't want a bunch of external drives cluttering up a desk. You can break up the large drive into smaller drives and only takes up 1 slot.
 

My Computer My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Homebuilt
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit
CPU
i7-3930K
Motherboard
Gigabyte Socket LGA2011
Memory
16Gb
Graphics Card(s)
2 nVidia GeForce GTX550Ti in SLi
Sound Card
MB Integrated
Monitor(s) Displays
Viewsonic 22" & LG 23" in Extended Desktop
Hard Drives
480Gb SSD OS drive
2Tb secondary drive
Case
Corsair Carbon Series Spec 2
Cooling
Corsair Liquid Cooler
Keyboard
Logitech backlit
Mouse
Microsoft gaming
Internet Speed
20Mbps
Antivirus
ESET Security Suite 7
Browser
IE 11
Larger drives come in handy when you have limited case space and don't want a bunch of external drives cluttering up a desk. You can break up the large drive into smaller drives and only takes up 1 slot.

For most people, there is nothing to be gained by breaking up a data only drive into partitions (note that I said most people).
 

My Computer My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom Build
OS
Win 7 Ultimate 64 bit
CPU
Intel i7-3930K
Motherboard
ASUS P9X79 WS
Memory
Kingston HyperX Genesis 32GB Kit (8x4GB Modules) 1600MHz DDR
Graphics Card(s)
MSI R7850 Twin Frozr 2GD5/OC Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-bit GDDR
Sound Card
Asus Xonar Essence STX
Monitor(s) Displays
3x Asus VG248QE 24", Vizio 32" TV
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080, ?
Hard Drives
Samsung 128GB 840 Pro SSD (1),
Samsung 4TB 850 EVO SSDs (4)
Samsung 4TB 850 EVO SSDs (16) external backup drives used in 2.5" hot swap bays in the computer.
PSU
Corsair HX750w
Case
Antec Two Hundred v2 (modified)
Cooling
Cooler Master GeminII S524 120mm (fan replaced with a 140mm)
Keyboard
Logitech G510s
Mouse
Logitech M525 (two in use)
Internet Speed
=< 32Mbps down, 8Mbps up
Antivirus
AVAST!, MBAM, SAS, Spybot S&D (all but MBAM free) Glary Util
Browser
IE11
Other Info
LSI 9211-8i HBA card (8 SATA III ports), 2.5" & 3.5" Hot Swap Bays, HooToo HT-CR001 PCI-E to USB 3.0 Internal Hub + 6 Slot Card Reader, and LG Model CH12LS28 BD-ROM Optical Drive. Also, ScanSnap S1500 ADF duplexing scanner, Canon 9000F flat bed scanner, Corsair SP2500 2.1 speakers, Samsung CLP 415nw laser color printer, Cyberpower PP2200SW UPS
The big problem with breaking up a drive into partitions is that one or more will be too small while others have space to spare. Even experts get this wrong. Folders are better for organizational purposes.

There are exceptions, such as when dual booting multiple operating systems. Create as many partitions as you need, but no more.
 

My Computer My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
HP
OS
Windows 7 Pro 64 bit
CPU
Xeon W3520
Memory
8 GB
Graphics Card(s)
Nvidia Geforce 210
The big problem with breaking up a drive into partitions is that one or more will be too small while others have space to spare. Even experts get this wrong. Folders are better for organizational purposes.

There are exceptions, such as when dual booting multiple operating systems. Create as many partitions as you need, but no more.

:ditto:
 

My Computer My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom Build
OS
Win 7 Ultimate 64 bit
CPU
Intel i7-3930K
Motherboard
ASUS P9X79 WS
Memory
Kingston HyperX Genesis 32GB Kit (8x4GB Modules) 1600MHz DDR
Graphics Card(s)
MSI R7850 Twin Frozr 2GD5/OC Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-bit GDDR
Sound Card
Asus Xonar Essence STX
Monitor(s) Displays
3x Asus VG248QE 24", Vizio 32" TV
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080, ?
Hard Drives
Samsung 128GB 840 Pro SSD (1),
Samsung 4TB 850 EVO SSDs (4)
Samsung 4TB 850 EVO SSDs (16) external backup drives used in 2.5" hot swap bays in the computer.
PSU
Corsair HX750w
Case
Antec Two Hundred v2 (modified)
Cooling
Cooler Master GeminII S524 120mm (fan replaced with a 140mm)
Keyboard
Logitech G510s
Mouse
Logitech M525 (two in use)
Internet Speed
=< 32Mbps down, 8Mbps up
Antivirus
AVAST!, MBAM, SAS, Spybot S&D (all but MBAM free) Glary Util
Browser
IE11
Other Info
LSI 9211-8i HBA card (8 SATA III ports), 2.5" & 3.5" Hot Swap Bays, HooToo HT-CR001 PCI-E to USB 3.0 Internal Hub + 6 Slot Card Reader, and LG Model CH12LS28 BD-ROM Optical Drive. Also, ScanSnap S1500 ADF duplexing scanner, Canon 9000F flat bed scanner, Corsair SP2500 2.1 speakers, Samsung CLP 415nw laser color printer, Cyberpower PP2200SW UPS
Larger drives come in handy when you have limited case space and don't want a bunch of external drives cluttering up a desk. You can break up the large drive into smaller drives and only takes up 1 slot.

For most people, there is nothing to be gained by breaking up a data only drive into partitions (note that I said most people).

Personally, I just found it easier to use a drive for one purpose. All my CG/CAD programs are installed on one drive with the files I create, another is games, 3rd is music ripping/capture programs and my mp3s. Its a 3Tb drive split into 3 1Tb partitions. All 3 back up to a Buffalo NAS.
 

My Computer My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Homebuilt
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit
CPU
i7-3930K
Motherboard
Gigabyte Socket LGA2011
Memory
16Gb
Graphics Card(s)
2 nVidia GeForce GTX550Ti in SLi
Sound Card
MB Integrated
Monitor(s) Displays
Viewsonic 22" & LG 23" in Extended Desktop
Hard Drives
480Gb SSD OS drive
2Tb secondary drive
Case
Corsair Carbon Series Spec 2
Cooling
Corsair Liquid Cooler
Keyboard
Logitech backlit
Mouse
Microsoft gaming
Internet Speed
20Mbps
Antivirus
ESET Security Suite 7
Browser
IE 11
Larger drives come in handy when you have limited case space and don't want a bunch of external drives cluttering up a desk. You can break up the large drive into smaller drives and only takes up 1 slot.

For most people, there is nothing to be gained by breaking up a data only drive into partitions (note that I said most people).

Personally, I just found it easier to use a drive for one purpose. All my CG/CAD programs are installed on one drive with the files I create, another is games, 3rd is music ripping/capture programs and my mp3s. Its a 3Tb drive split into 3 1Tb partitions. All 3 back up to a Buffalo NAS.

I'm assuming you're using drive and partition interchangeably in which case, read LMiller7's post about using folders instead of partitions.
 

My Computer My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom Build
OS
Win 7 Ultimate 64 bit
CPU
Intel i7-3930K
Motherboard
ASUS P9X79 WS
Memory
Kingston HyperX Genesis 32GB Kit (8x4GB Modules) 1600MHz DDR
Graphics Card(s)
MSI R7850 Twin Frozr 2GD5/OC Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-bit GDDR
Sound Card
Asus Xonar Essence STX
Monitor(s) Displays
3x Asus VG248QE 24", Vizio 32" TV
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080, ?
Hard Drives
Samsung 128GB 840 Pro SSD (1),
Samsung 4TB 850 EVO SSDs (4)
Samsung 4TB 850 EVO SSDs (16) external backup drives used in 2.5" hot swap bays in the computer.
PSU
Corsair HX750w
Case
Antec Two Hundred v2 (modified)
Cooling
Cooler Master GeminII S524 120mm (fan replaced with a 140mm)
Keyboard
Logitech G510s
Mouse
Logitech M525 (two in use)
Internet Speed
=< 32Mbps down, 8Mbps up
Antivirus
AVAST!, MBAM, SAS, Spybot S&D (all but MBAM free) Glary Util
Browser
IE11
Other Info
LSI 9211-8i HBA card (8 SATA III ports), 2.5" & 3.5" Hot Swap Bays, HooToo HT-CR001 PCI-E to USB 3.0 Internal Hub + 6 Slot Card Reader, and LG Model CH12LS28 BD-ROM Optical Drive. Also, ScanSnap S1500 ADF duplexing scanner, Canon 9000F flat bed scanner, Corsair SP2500 2.1 speakers, Samsung CLP 415nw laser color printer, Cyberpower PP2200SW UPS
For most people, there is nothing to be gained by breaking up a data only drive into partitions (note that I said most people).

Personally, I just found it easier to use a drive for one purpose. All my CG/CAD programs are installed on one drive with the files I create, another is games, 3rd is music ripping/capture programs and my mp3s. Its a 3Tb drive split into 3 1Tb partitions. All 3 back up to a Buffalo NAS.

I'm assuming you're using drive and partition interchangeably in which case, read LMiller7's post about using folders instead of partitions.

Since the partitions are seen as drives D, G and H by the computer, that's how I refer to them. I also saw the post about folders. I'd rather not dig through a folder tree to get to what I want. If I want a DWG file I created, I click G:, then DWGs.
 

My Computer My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Homebuilt
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit
CPU
i7-3930K
Motherboard
Gigabyte Socket LGA2011
Memory
16Gb
Graphics Card(s)
2 nVidia GeForce GTX550Ti in SLi
Sound Card
MB Integrated
Monitor(s) Displays
Viewsonic 22" & LG 23" in Extended Desktop
Hard Drives
480Gb SSD OS drive
2Tb secondary drive
Case
Corsair Carbon Series Spec 2
Cooling
Corsair Liquid Cooler
Keyboard
Logitech backlit
Mouse
Microsoft gaming
Internet Speed
20Mbps
Antivirus
ESET Security Suite 7
Browser
IE 11
Personally, I just found it easier to use a drive for one purpose. All my CG/CAD programs are installed on one drive with the files I create, another is games, 3rd is music ripping/capture programs and my mp3s. Its a 3Tb drive split into 3 1Tb partitions. All 3 back up to a Buffalo NAS.

I'm assuming you're using drive and partition interchangeably in which case, read LMiller7's post about using folders instead of partitions.

Since the partitions are seen as drives D, G and H by the computer, that's how I refer to them. I also saw the post about folders. I'd rather not dig through a folder tree to get to what I want. If I want a DWG file I created, I click G:, then DWGs.

One additional folder in string is that big a deal? If so, just make a shortcut for your final destination.
 

My Computer My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom Build
OS
Win 7 Ultimate 64 bit
CPU
Intel i7-3930K
Motherboard
ASUS P9X79 WS
Memory
Kingston HyperX Genesis 32GB Kit (8x4GB Modules) 1600MHz DDR
Graphics Card(s)
MSI R7850 Twin Frozr 2GD5/OC Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-bit GDDR
Sound Card
Asus Xonar Essence STX
Monitor(s) Displays
3x Asus VG248QE 24", Vizio 32" TV
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080, ?
Hard Drives
Samsung 128GB 840 Pro SSD (1),
Samsung 4TB 850 EVO SSDs (4)
Samsung 4TB 850 EVO SSDs (16) external backup drives used in 2.5" hot swap bays in the computer.
PSU
Corsair HX750w
Case
Antec Two Hundred v2 (modified)
Cooling
Cooler Master GeminII S524 120mm (fan replaced with a 140mm)
Keyboard
Logitech G510s
Mouse
Logitech M525 (two in use)
Internet Speed
=< 32Mbps down, 8Mbps up
Antivirus
AVAST!, MBAM, SAS, Spybot S&D (all but MBAM free) Glary Util
Browser
IE11
Other Info
LSI 9211-8i HBA card (8 SATA III ports), 2.5" & 3.5" Hot Swap Bays, HooToo HT-CR001 PCI-E to USB 3.0 Internal Hub + 6 Slot Card Reader, and LG Model CH12LS28 BD-ROM Optical Drive. Also, ScanSnap S1500 ADF duplexing scanner, Canon 9000F flat bed scanner, Corsair SP2500 2.1 speakers, Samsung CLP 415nw laser color printer, Cyberpower PP2200SW UPS
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