A lesson on the importance of backups...

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

The chances of two drives purchased at the same time same place failing at the same time are actually quite high.

In fact, they probably fail for the exact same reason too.

Precisely. Something like a lightning strike can fry multiple drives.

[Lin2412]

I usually start making my files on Google Drive so it's automatically saved, and in rare cases where the internet server would be down, I make sure to have it downloaded within the day so I won't lose the file.

@ngrant: I also try Dropbox and it's very convenient to use

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Precisely. Something like a lightning strike can fry multiple drives.

Or like I said, buying hard drives in bulk means they will have the same potential build flaws,

identical models have identical failings
coupled with
multiple drives from the same batch have the same age
and
if one drive is faulty, chances are the rest of the same batch may be too.

[BetterRed]

Many drive failures are due to surface faults, and most disks are still made in one of the Thai disk factories, so if you buy a WD and Samsung drive at a similar price at the same time there's a chance the disks will come from the same source. A disk drive's main enemy is heat - much, much more so than that old-chestnut of power up/down.

I've found the failure rate of HQ disks is a lot lower, eg none of the dozen or more WD Caviar Blacks I've bought over the last decade or so has failed, they have a 5 year warranty. The components the brand manufacturers install in their common-or-garden desk/laptops are often discontinued models of inferior quality.

Originally Posted by ngrant

... and I set up this folder in a partition separate from the system/OS partition so I can wipe and reinstall Windows & programs and maintain my data separate and intact.

- separate physical drives if possible, a head crash will probably trash both partitions. I installed a Toshiba 256GB 2.5" SSD a couple of months ago with a jury rigged carrier, now I have it + 2x2TB WD Blacks for internal storage.

BR

[DrNefario]

I keep backups of my ebooks on my ereaders.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

Many drive failures are due to surface faults, and most disks are still made in one of the Thai disk factories, so if you buy a WD and Samsung drive at a similar price at the same time there's a chance the disks will come from the same source. A disk drive's main enemy is heat - much, much more so than that old-chestnut of power up/down.

I've found the failure rate of HQ disks is a lot lower, eg none of the dozen or more WD Caviar Blacks I've bought over the last decade or so has failed, they have a 5 year warranty. The components the brand manufacturers install in their common-or-garden desk/laptops are often discontinued models of inferior quality.

I've used Toshiba external drives for many years and, in fairness, this is the first drive failure I've ever had with them. I don't know that the drive is actually faulty. I'm going to try reformatting it and see what happens. Certainly I can copy files from it, but something strange has happened to my Calibre library folder on it. Obviously I have multiple redundant copies of that!

[BetterRed]

On a couple of occasions I've found a disk that 'hard' fails on internal SATA will work on an external SATA/USB adapter, at least long enough to recover most/all of the data. No idea why this should work. I still use a couple of these in my USB3 dock - they've been reformatted - but one of them has given me 3-4 years of usage. I use them for just in case and short term backups. And system imaging; in this case it doesn't matter if they fail, I can reinstall all my software from original media/downloads to a blank disk in a day.

Yes Tosh disks are OK too, for some reason they're hard to get down here, yet their SSDs are everywhere, not cheap though. But I don't think brand matters much, a low-cost Tosh will be no more reliable than a similarly priced Seagate.

BR

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

Yes Tosh disks are OK too, for some reason they're hard to get down here, yet their SSDs are everywhere, not cheap though.

How are SSD compared to HDD concerning safety of backups? Or are they still to new for any reliable long term data?

[Greg Anos]

I keep the primary data, a secondary data, and an offsite tertiatary backup off-site in a safety deposit box. This method hasn't failed yet....

[Sweetpea]

My books, I backup on several drives. All thanks to OneDrive and Calibre (hey, all my ebook devices have the books, that's some form of backup, isn't it?)

All my photo's are on a NAS, with one drive being a perfect copy of the other.

[DiapDealer]

I've eliminated all my back-up needs by simply deciding not to give a damn about losing my data. Never had a problem since!

[ApK]

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

How are SSD compared to HDD concerning safety of backups? Or are they still to new for any reliable long term data?

My instincts say stay with the most proven reliable tech for backups.

If nothing else, with SSDs, you are paying a premium for speed. That's not really a prime concern for backups, so let SSDs get their long term field testing done where they do the most good.

That being said, SSDs made for constant operation in a computer have to be at least as reliable as a USB flash drive, so it that's what you were going to use for backup anyway.....

[Anthem]

I've been extremely fortunate with drives: I've never had a hard drive fail during my actual use of it in one of my personal machines (I obviously have no idea if they are dead NOW, because I no longer use them).

But, I have watched plenty of other people's and customers drives fail... and I'm not an idiot.

So I keep local backups and remote backups of all of my most important files. Local and remote. That is the real key.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Anthem

So I keep local backups and remote backups of all of my most important files. Local and remote. That is the real key.

Absolutely. I learnt my lesson after a "grinding metal" head crash of the disk of one of the first computers I ever had, back in the 1980s. Never again will I lose data if I have any way to avoid doing so.

[Fbone]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I've used Toshiba external drives for many years and, in fairness, this is the first drive failure I've ever had with them. I don't know that the drive is actually faulty. I'm going to try reformatting it and see what happens. Certainly I can copy files from it, but something strange has happened to my Calibre library folder on it. Obviously I have multiple redundant copies of that!

Have you ruled out a virus?