HDD recommendation for backup?

[CASMAS]

Well, I have 4x WD RED HDD with 8TB for each but so far, 2 of them failed and I had to replace them. I have no idea why they failed but I really feel that they are not that reliable since they are only 2 years old. I put them in QNAP TR-004 btw. I'm not using RAID but 2 of them are back up HDDs with Chronosync.

I really dont use NAS and I just turn them on every morning and then turn them off later that day. I would say 12 hours per day? I'm wondering if Segate's Barracuda 8TB is totally fine or not cause it's cheap and should be enough to use as a storage. I just dont know if that HDD is reliable or not. I have a lot of pics but I really frustrating about HDD failure within 2 years. I may need to get 8 bay with RAID 5,6. I also use Backblaze but it's just a backup, nothing more.

Thoughts?

 

[OldMacs4Me]

FWIW I have several WD Caviar Blacks that I use in my ancient Mac Pro 4,1. All are in great shape including the main drive which has been running daily since 2016. The others are back-ups and get very light use.

 

[kenoh]

Maybe it is just me, YMMV but I have little faith in WD drives. I have had failures in WDs more frequently than other drives. My preferred option currently is Seagate IronWolfs. They are quick, relatively quiet and so far problem free.

Barracudas are good drives, they are cheap because they are older tech but on the whole as reliable as any.

Beyond these I would maybe consider Hitachi too.

 

[Fishrrman]

I'd avoid WD and Seagate.
Try Hitachi (HGST).
Also, Toshiba.

May not be available in 8tb sizes.

 

[CASMAS]

I'd avoid WD and Seagate.
Try Hitachi (HGST).
Also, Toshiba.

May not be available in 8tb sizes.

I tried HGST and I do like it. But it does NOT work with QNAP TR-004. I bought HGST Ultrastar but none of them are supported.

 

[cthompson94]

I use the Seagate Iron wolf and I have within Synology (I forgot the name) to check the drives once a week along with seagates monitoring once a week and I haven't had issues so far

 

[AlaskaMoose]

I haven't had any issues withs Seagate hard drives, including the newer USB 3 from 2TB to 4TB ones sold at Costco and other places. But I never leave them connected to the computers longer than necessary. Instead, I eject them, and put them away. Also, no issues with the USB 2 WD hard drives, although I don't like the WD software inside.

Never had a hard drive failure.

 

[tcphoto1]

I have owned eleven G Technology Mini drives over the past twenty years and have had one failure. I backup in pairs so I simply pulled it, replace and copy from the matching drive. At this point, I would buy 1 or 2TB drives so they're as fast as possible and it's not like they take up much room on the desk or in the safe.

 

[deep diver]

Well, I have 4x WD RED HDD with 8TB for each but so far, 2 of them failed and I had to replace them. I have no idea why they failed but I really feel that they are not that reliable since they are only 2 years old. I put them in QNAP TR-004 btw. I'm not using RAID but 2 of them are back up HDDs with Chronosync.

I really dont use NAS and I just turn them on every morning and then turn them off later that day. I would say 12 hours per day? I'm wondering if Segate's Barracuda 8TB is totally fine or not cause it's cheap and should be enough to use as a storage. I just dont know if that HDD is reliable or not. I have a lot of pics but I really frustrating about HDD failure within 2 years. I may need to get 8 bay with RAID 5,6. I also use Backblaze but it's just a backup, nothing more.

Thoughts?

Have you considered SSD instead?

 

[CASMAS]

Have you considered SSD instead?

I have 16TB of files. SSD is TOO expensive.

 

[CASMAS]

Then I have no idea why WD RED HDD keep failing within 2 years. This is a problem that I need to solve.

 

[deep diver]

I have 16TB of files. SSD is TOO expensive.

It is expense but that needs to be weighed against the cost of replacing HDDs more frequently and the cost of your worrying. For me, the bight out of my wallet is worth the peace of mind.

As for brand of HDD: I have always used WD and Seagate. I think the Seagates have been a bit better for me.

 

[CASMAS]

It is expense but that needs to be weighed against the cost of replacing HDDs more frequently and the cost of your worrying. For me, the bight out of my wallet is worth the peace of mind.

As for brand of HDD: I have always used WD and Seagate. I think the Seagates have been a bit better for me.

SSD is not yet reliable for long term storage.

 

[OldMacs4Me]

SSD is not yet reliable for long term storage.

I recall writing an article for our local Mac club rag many many years ago lamenting the fact that there was no such thing as archival storage in the digital world. I would argue the same holds true today.

 

[Bandaman]

I have a Yottamaster enclosure with 4 Seagate drives. I have 3 clones and 1 Time Machine backup. I also have Disk Drill (which is free) running in the background to monitor all 4 drives for failure. And I occasionally run FreeFileSync to keep them all mirrored. And once a week I'll just run a quick repair with Disk Utility on all the drives to see if they're functioning properly. I've been doing this for years and it's worked fine.

 

[CASMAS]

I recall writing an article for our local Mac club rag many many years ago lamenting the fact that there was no such thing as archival storage in the digital world. I would argue the same holds true today.

In server grade, it wont be matter but I dont have that. I dont see the point and SSD are still way more expensive than HDD as of today.

 

[AlaskaMoose]

In server grade, it wont be matter but I dont have that. I dont see the point and SSD are still way more expensive than HDD as of today.

I prefer to use 2TB to 4TB (maximum) to store my photos, documents, and files. For a backup of the computer, I choose a hard drive that is of a similar size as the one in the computer. For example, my 2019 photo-editing iMac has a 2TB Fusion drive, so the backup drive is a 2TB one.

I use two types of drives for storing my photos, drives with enclosures, and without enclosures like the ones inside of the computer.

a. I have a self-powered USB 3 to SATA dock that has a built-in cooling fan, and I plug to my iMac. Then I insert one of the drives that don't have an enclosure into the dock, drag all the photos and files from my computer to the drive, eject it, unplug the dock from my computer, remove the drive from the dock, and store it. 2TB-4TB drives like this cost from $40.00 to less than $100.00. While hard drives made for gaming machines or heavy use cost more.

b. The other hard drives, from 2 to 4 TB each, have enclosures, but not all are self-powered. For example, the 2TB USB 3 Seagate Rescue edition sold at Costco for perhaps $74.00 have enclosures, but aren't self-powered. These drives are very small dimensionally (about 3" wide x long 4-1/2" x less than 1/2" thick). The 4TB ones are of similar dimensions, and cost a little more, but the 8TB ones are larger, self-powered, heavier, and cost around $160.00.

Those in this forum who like Toshiba hard drives (also watch the short video about hard drives, NAS, and SSDs):

Amazon.com: Toshiba Hard Drive 4tb

Amazon.com: toshiba hard drive 4tb

www.amazon.com

 

[dimme]

I have had great luck with the WD reds. I use the Red plus version and have 10 4 tb disk. I have read the "non plus" version may have problems in a nas.
Backblaze has published statistics and insights based on the hard drives they use in their data center.

Hard Drive Test Data

Hard Drive test data from the Backblaze data center. Backblaze is affordable, easy-to-use cloud storage.

www.backblaze.com

 

[AndrewWx]

I have a Synology server with 7 WD reds in them that I have been using for the last 7 years. I got one bad drive right out of the box and BH photo exchanged it right away. The only other bad drive was reported by the Synology self check and WD replaced it without hassle.

Not sure why your drives failed so fast.

 

[kenoh]

I have a Synology server with 7 WD reds in them that I have been using for the last 7 years. I got one bad drive right out of the box and BH photo exchanged it right away. The only other bad drive was reported by the Synology self check and WD replaced it without hassle.

Not sure why your drives failed so fast.

I think my failures are a case of being used in an uncontrolled environment, being stopped and started too frequently and generally not being particularly careful with them.

Actually reminded me - note my experience of WD drives ended immediately prior to the time they started with the RED, Blue, Black categorisation. The drives I was using were storage array drives (I got a good deal from the employee store at HP)

 

[cthompson94]

Possibly could be a contributing factor, I do not turn off my Synology at all. Depending on what kind of update is available I may need to restart it, but other than that nope.