Two new internal drives

PSM · 09-30-2009, 02:48 PM

I recently had an issue with my current 500GB hard drive and almost lost some files, so I've decided to play it safe and just purchase two new 2TB internal hard drives for my desktop to keep each other backed up. The 500GB will remain installed as a third drive in case I forgot to back up any files from it but it won't really be used for much except access to old files I might have missed, or maybe a third-level of backup for really important files (you can never be too safe with backups, I've come to realize).

One of the 2TB drives will be the primary drive and the other just a backup of the main one but I was thinking: is there any reason I can't or shouldn't install Windows and all of my software on both hard drives so that I literally have another one to just boot the system from and run everything off of if I ever have an issue with the main one? Is there any downside to this aside from taking up some extra space on the second hard drive for the OS and software?

Also, if I do this, are there any options for actually mirroring the two drives somehow so that new files are backed up onto the other one automatically, or will I always have to click and drag to back them up? I know some sort of RAID setup would probably work, but I know very little about RAID (just started doing some research on it) and I don't know if it would affect my "installing Windows and software on both drives" idea.

Thoughts?

PS - If anyone has any advice on which drives I should go with, I'm always open to suggestions. I'm researching those right now, as well.

kimsland · 09-30-2009, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PSM

I know some sort of RAID setup would probably work, but I know very little about RAID.

Look others may say Raid is a great idea and all (starting with Raid 1)
But personally I say no, just copy or create backup archives or something. But forget Raid, its another entagled mess if things ever go wrong again

That's all I wanted to say, all the other stuff I'll leave to those who know about best pricing and performance options

PSM · 09-30-2009, 03:41 PM

Yeah, after some more research, it really seems like the simplest way to do things (in terms of backup and if I ever have an issue) is to just backup manually from one drive to another. I still think the Windows/software install on both makes sense (at least I haven't found any reasons why it doesn't), but in terms of the setup and backup, I'll just do it manually with click and drag.

Fatback · 09-30-2009, 03:44 PM

I would go with 2 500 GB hard drives. The bigger the hard drive the more chance it has of failing.

PSM · 09-30-2009, 03:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fatback

I would go with 2 500 GB hard drives. The bigger the hard drive the more chance it has of failing.

I'm gonna need 2TB over the next year or so, though. We recently purchased an HD video camera for my band (shows, behind the scenes, etc) and it chews up space like no other. In the past two months I've gone through a couple hundred gigs of space. The whole point of having two of them is so that I don't have to worry about failures, though, so as long as I keep current with the backups, should I be worried about something?

Fatback · 09-30-2009, 03:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PSM

I'm gonna need 2TB over the next year or so, though. We recently purchased an HD video camera for my band (shows, behind the scenes, etc) and it chews up space like no other. In the past two months I've gone through a few hundred gigs. The whole point of having two of them is so that I don't have to worry about failures, though, so as long as I keep current with the updates, should I be worried about something?

Well if you need that much space then it's fine. I was just letting you know that 1TB hard drives have a slightly higher failure rate then the usual 500GB-750GB hard drives. Just make sure you keep all of your stuff backed up you should probably set you computer up to do a back up at least once a week. If you could I would do one for ever 2 days or so. I wouldn't worry about it too much most likely you will be fine and the drives will last a long time.

Also make sure you get a Western Digital Caviar Black or a Seagate 7200.12. Those are probably the 2 most reliable hard drives out right now.

kimsland · 09-30-2009, 03:56 PM

Well they keep advertising these things, I'm sure the whole world will go Terrabyte minimum oneday (or more)

The only other option is a backup Server for about $10K

Actually here's some backup software: http://www.backuptoserver.com/

PSM · 09-30-2009, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fatback

Well if you need that much space then it's fine. I was just letting you know that 1TB hard drives have a slightly higher failure rate then the usual 500GB-750GB hard drives. Just make sure you keep all of your stuff backed up you should probably set you computer up to do a back up at least once a week. If you could I would do one for ever 2 days or so. I wouldn't worry about it too much most likely you will be fine and the drives will last a long time.

Also make sure you get a Western Digital Caviar Black or a Seagate 7200.12. Those are probably the 2 most reliable hard drives out right now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kimsland

Well they keep advertising these things, I'm sure the whole world will go Terrabyte minimum oneday (or more)

The only other option is a backup Server for about $10K

Actually here's some backup software: http://www.backuptoserver.com/

All great info, guys. Thanks for the advice, especially on which hard drives to go with. I'm researching them right now as I'll have to buy them today or tomorrow most likely (I hate having this computer down at the moment). My current one is a Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 and it's always been fine up to now. I still think it's probably fine as the most likely culprit based on the symptoms is a corrupted Windows file or something (seeing as how I have been able to access the drive without issue now and backup my files), but that doesn't mean I trust it with anything important at this point. And it's just not big enough anyways, so I'll just hold onto it for now.

Fatback · 09-30-2009, 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PSM

All great info, guys. Thanks for the advice, especially on which hard drives to go with. I'm researching them right now as I'll have to buy them today or tomorrow most likely (I hate having this computer down at the moment). My current one is a Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 and it's always been fine up to now. I still think it's probably fine as the most likely culprit based on the symptoms is a corrupted Windows file or something (seeing as how I have been able to access the drive without issue now and backup my files), but that doesn't mean I trust it with anything important at this point. And it's just not big enough anyways, so I'll just hold onto it for now.

I have a Seagate 250GB 7200.10 which has over 8000hours on it and is still running good. I still have a western digital caviar blue 320GB for backups just in case my Seagate decides to go AWOL.

PSM · 09-30-2009, 04:13 PM

kimsland, I like the looks of that Backup Server software. Chances are, there will only be a few main folders (My Documents, etc) that will have important files changing on a regular basis I'll need to backup, so it sounds like a good option for making file backups easier. I might also use it to back up pictures and less space-consuming files (basically non-video) to the server for our website, since we get 150GB of space and don't use too much of that at the moment.

09-30-2009, 02:48 PM	#1 (permalink)
PSM Bronze Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 29	Two new internal drives - best setup option? I recently had an issue with my current 500GB hard drive and almost lost some files, so I've decided to play it safe and just purchase two new 2TB internal hard drives for my desktop to keep each other backed up. The 500GB will remain installed as a third drive in case I forgot to back up any files from it but it won't really be used for much except access to old files I might have missed, or maybe a third-level of backup for really important files (you can never be too safe with backups, I've come to realize). One of the 2TB drives will be the primary drive and the other just a backup of the main one but I was thinking: is there any reason I can't or shouldn't install Windows and all of my software on both hard drives so that I literally have another one to just boot the system from and run everything off of if I ever have an issue with the main one? Is there any downside to this aside from taking up some extra space on the second hard drive for the OS and software? Also, if I do this, are there any options for actually mirroring the two drives somehow so that new files are backed up onto the other one automatically, or will I always have to click and drag to back them up? I know some sort of RAID setup would probably work, but I know very little about RAID (just started doing some research on it) and I don't know if it would affect my "installing Windows and software on both drives" idea. Thoughts? PS - If anyone has any advice on which drives I should go with, I'm always open to suggestions. I'm researching those right now, as well. __________________ Built 01/08/08 - XP Pro, Ultra Aluminus Mid Tower ATX Case, XFX nForce 680i LT SLI Socket 775 Mobo, Intel Quad Core Kentsfield 2.4Ghz Q6600, OCZ 2048MB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz (2x1024MB), NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512MB PCIe, Seagate 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G, Ultra 600w X-Finity Power Supply w/2 80mm / Titan, THERMALTAKE RSI Socket 775 CPU Cooler, 2 Cooler Master 120MM Fans, LG L1953TX-BF 19" 5ms DVI LCD Monitor

09-30-2009, 03:41 PM	#3 (permalink)
PSM Bronze Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 29	Yeah, after some more research, it really seems like the simplest way to do things (in terms of backup and if I ever have an issue) is to just backup manually from one drive to another. I still think the Windows/software install on both makes sense (at least I haven't found any reasons why it doesn't), but in terms of the setup and backup, I'll just do it manually with click and drag. __________________ Built 01/08/08 - XP Pro, Ultra Aluminus Mid Tower ATX Case, XFX nForce 680i LT SLI Socket 775 Mobo, Intel Quad Core Kentsfield 2.4Ghz Q6600, OCZ 2048MB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz (2x1024MB), NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512MB PCIe, Seagate 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G, Ultra 600w X-Finity Power Supply w/2 80mm / Titan, THERMALTAKE RSI Socket 775 CPU Cooler, 2 Cooler Master 120MM Fans, LG L1953TX-BF 19" 5ms DVI LCD Monitor

09-30-2009, 03:44 PM	#4 (permalink)
Fatback Diamond Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Kannapolis, NC Age: 18 Posts: 2,517	I would go with 2 500 GB hard drives. The bigger the hard drive the more chance it has of failing. __________________ Display: 40" Polaroid LCD TV Mobo: ASUS M4A78-EM CPU:AMD Phenom X3 8650 @2.6Ghz RAM: 4GB OCZ Blade Series @908Mhz GPU: XFX HD 4850 512MB PSU: 400w Corsair HDD: OS:250GB Seagate 7200.10/Storage:WD Caviar Blue 320GB OS: Windows Vista Home Premium 32bit/Linux Ubuntu 32bit Fatback Definition

09-30-2009, 04:13 PM	#10 (permalink)
PSM Bronze Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 29	kimsland, I like the looks of that Backup Server software. Chances are, there will only be a few main folders (My Documents, etc) that will have important files changing on a regular basis I'll need to backup, so it sounds like a good option for making file backups easier. I might also use it to back up pictures and less space-consuming files (basically non-video) to the server for our website, since we get 150GB of space and don't use too much of that at the moment. __________________ Built 01/08/08 - XP Pro, Ultra Aluminus Mid Tower ATX Case, XFX nForce 680i LT SLI Socket 775 Mobo, Intel Quad Core Kentsfield 2.4Ghz Q6600, OCZ 2048MB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz (2x1024MB), NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512MB PCIe, Seagate 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G, Ultra 600w X-Finity Power Supply w/2 80mm / Titan, THERMALTAKE RSI Socket 775 CPU Cooler, 2 Cooler Master 120MM Fans, LG L1953TX-BF 19" 5ms DVI LCD Monitor

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09-30-2009, 03:56 PM	#7 (permalink)
kimsland Platinum Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 882	Well they keep advertising these things, I'm sure the whole world will go Terrabyte minimum oneday (or more) The only other option is a backup Server for about $10K Actually here's some backup software: http://www.backuptoserver.com/

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