External or Internal HD?

[evosmudge]

I have always had a dual HD setup for my last 2 computers. One for programs/apps and the second all for storage. A while back, someone told me this was the route to go in case your hard drive crashes and it would not affect the storage HD. My comps have been fine so far just because I have never had a HD crash on me for years. I run this setup because of my large music library and video editing I have worked on.

Is having a second internal HD the best way to go, besides backing up with tape drives and discs? I ask this because I will be upgrading my cousins computer and he mixes music. I recommended a second internal HD but wondered if going external would be any better. What are the good/bad reasons going with each?

Darwin

 

[wolluf]

External drive obviously easier to move - but will be a bit slower (as USB 2 interface is slower than IDE and SATA).

If the drive is intended to be used just with the one machine all the time, I'd make it internal.

 

[evosmudge]

Thanks wolluf for your input. I'm thinking faster is always better. The reason why I asked for reasoning because I have never seen a website that recommends having a second internal HD used only for storage. I'm guessing that ext HD is the easier solution for less computer savy people because all they need is a USB connect.

 

[edfair]

Using SCSI gives a better option. All SCSI, all the time. But it is more expensive.


Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.

 

[paparazi]

evosmudge
An external might be slightly slower but has several major advantages over an internal.

1)You can just unplug it in an instance and take your whole collection away for security

2)Whilst turned off it is not being sujected to potential virus's or the chance of catastrophic power supply failure which often results in HDD damage

3)Portability means your files can easily be shared, instantly just by plugging into another PC.

4)You can just turn it on when you need it! less power, less wear and tear because it's not running and less vulnerable to attacks.

5)Many of the major (ready made) units have extra features such as "One Touch Backup"
Martin

We like members to GIVE and not just TAKE.
Participate and help others.

 

[Freestone]

A caveat to the two internal drive setup is if a power failure occurs that take out both drives, then you've lost all data. I had this happen to me. A power supply went bad and it took out all attached IDE devices, including CD-ROM and CD-RW drives. Total loss of two hard drives and two opticals. I lucked out only by the fact I had just replaced the second drive with a newer, larger drive prior to the failure and kept the old drive intact. I lost some, but not all backup data.

Granted, a failure like this is rare, but it is an exposure.

 

[evosmudge]

Thank you for all the replies.

Power failures do not happen much where I live but they have occured before while I was on my computer before. My HDs never went out and all my information was saved except for the work I was doing before the power failure. How does information get deleted if data is saved on the disc? Also, ext HD also have a spinning HD and wouldn't they also be affected by a power failure? Is having a good surge protector and/or a backup battery the only solutions to prevent data lose?

 

[Freestone]

I misworded my previous post and should have included the word "supply" between the words power and failure. It wasn't a power failure that took my drives out, but the power supply inside the PC itself that went bad, taking out the drives. This is rare, but all the same, something to be aware of.

 

[paparazi]

Not that rare especially if evosmudge is still using a generic cheap power supply (the one that came with the case) we see at least two a week through our workshop.
It is fairly common and the most catastrophic failure that can happen in your system. The power supply fails creating a massive voltage spike which blows the PCB (printed circuit board) on the hard drives.

An external 3.5inch caddy, on the other hand, has it's own power supply so is extremely unlikely to be effected by the internal PSU throungh the USB bus.
Also as I pointed out, an external HDD doesn't necessarily need to be turned on or even connected, you carn't get more protection than that.
Martin

We like members to GIVE and not just TAKE.
Participate and help others.

 

[rvnguy]

evosmudge,

Just a thought;

Try to assertain how critical your cousins files are.

Is this for personal use or business?

What type of apps does he use?

Does he have disks for or can he restore all of them?
(some areas of speciality use older apps that may not be replaceable easily)

If found to be any of the above or just for additional insurance. As all of this is "in the event of" that item that takes one or more devices out of service.

You might consider:

1. Building with quality components i.e. power supply on up.

2. Configuring with 2 internal HD's of a size of your choosing. You might also consider partitioning the primary drive into two segments, the first being just over adequate to contain the OS.

3. Obtaining an external drive or build it i.e. case + drive, of a size over the combined capacity of your 2 drives. This will allow partitions (up to 4) to contain images of all information including an image of the OS.

In the event of a major problem, he will always have his complete system & data secured. This is providing that he backs altered data on some schedule.

Just another approach.

rvnguy
"I know everything..I just can't remember it all

 

[garebo]

Can i just add one more item. Since you are upgrading, can i suggest you protect it well with a decent but low-cost UPS?
Aside from power supplies blowing up, power issues at the plug cause a lot of problems and a lot of them even go mis-diagnosed. Power surges and worse still, power brown-outs can kill hard drives, power supplies, optical drives, video cards and motherboards, sometimes all at once.
Especially considering you can get one these days for under $100, its a very very wise investment. I lost a lot of good equipment until someone wised me up. I have lost very little since. I found out that my area is particularly bad for that and the local power company is never going to tell the truth about it, either.



Good advice + great people = tek-tips

 

[garebo]

I rant about the UPS quite a bit here. But if i can get one person for each rant to go out and buy a UPS, then i figure its worth any criticism i might get. So far i havent gotten any.
Again I will say how important it is. The worst thing is that a power brown-out (interrmittent power shortage) is the worst thing and it can happen to your pc in less time than the blink of an eye.
When buying a UPS, for most at-home situations even an inexpensive unit is fine. The main difference is how long your pc will keep running when the power is out. I figure that as long as you have, say, 5 to 10 minutes to power down your pc, that should be enough for most cases. The pc is protected from brown-outs and power surges and thats what is most important. If one is away from their pc then it usually doesnt matter wether the UPS will hold up for 10 min or 30 min. I am basically talking about those who leave their pcs on 24/7. That is why i say that for most home applications a lower priced unit will do fine.
I feel so strongly about this that i feel there should be a law that any pc sold must come with a UPS. I bet they will one day become part of the case, but thats maybe quite a way down the road.


Good advice + great people = tek-tips

 

[paparazi]

garebo
Whilst I totally agree with what you are saying I will just point out that here in the UK the quality of supply, it's regulation and the frequency of power cuts is much better than over the pond in the US and Canada.
For this reason the necessity for an UPS might not be quite as high for us.
Thats not to say your advice is not sound just less applicable, if that's the word.
The power supply recommendation on the other hand is universally applicable, there is just nothing more important than a good quality PSU as the backbone of any stable reliable system, full stop.

Martin

We like members to GIVE and not just TAKE.
Participate and help others.

 

[garebo]

I have heard that some places overseas have better power (U.K as you point out) and then some with even worse power.
I just wouldnt want to say this country does and that country doesnt without knowing for sure. So i just speak for over this side of the pond.
Im sure that even in Canada and the U.S. there are likely places where the power is of better quality than other places. But its better to be safe than sorry and it only takes once to blow more than half the parts in your pc!

I know its bad in my area. What gets me is that i lost a lot of hardware before i even found out about it. Sure, i can blame some of it on me being new to pc's and some to wear and tear and some to just plain bad or poor parts, but i just lost too much. In the past so many years though i have lost almost nothing. I attribute 95% of that to my UPS's.
Speaking of power supplies, it would be great if the rules and regs regarding the building of these units were tightened up enough that the cheapest units still did a good job. As it stands now, maybe some of these units cost about a dollar to produce, little wonder they blow up and take your system with them.


Good advice + great people = tek-tips

 

[jurgen36]

If you consider the relative low cost of a UPS versus the high costs of PC parts anybody at all should use a UPS system. Even in countries with a high quality power line a lightning strike into the grid or worse into the home supply line can generate very high peak voltages. So IMHO anybody not using a UPS is a fool and deserves what he gets. Sorry this sounds nasty but is the truth as far as I can see it.
Regards

Jurgen

 

[paparazi]

jurgen36
I don't disagree!
Good PSU first though.
Martin

We like members to GIVE and not just TAKE.
Participate and help others.

 

[garebo]

One part of this power supply and especially UPS debate is that a lot of people just dont know. Especially the UPS issue. People trust that the power coming in from the wall is good, clean, etc when its just not always the case. And of course there are the brown-outs that can happen in the blink of any eye and I hear that is the worse thing for a pc and its parts. People trust that the power is good and dont know that they should have a UPS to protect themselves when there is a brown-out or power surge. Of course sometimes its not even the power company, sometimes the power supply goes bad and the power supply is the cause of the problem.
Thats why i go on about it, if just one person reads this and goes out and buys a UPS then its worth it! Having a UPS sure has saved me a lot of money and i just hate knowing that others will suffer the same as i did at one time. On top of all this we install new parts only to have them go bad for the same reason. Until we install a UPS.
Course there are plenty of other reasons for parts to go bad, im not saying bad power at the wall is the only reason, lol.





Good advice + great people = tek-tips

 

[Prydonian]

Garebo;

I'm 100% with you about UPS systems. They are really cheap insurance. As a matter of fact, a popular electronics chain with the initials CC has an APC 650KVA unit for under $50.00 USD. Compare that to replacing an entire PC!!!

Mike, The IT Guy.

Life is too short to drink warm beer....

 

[garebo]

I cant think of who cc would be, probably should, but its ok to spell it out here. We use links to online stores all the time, so just using a name like, say, computergeeks or newegg is ok. Must be, i never got in trouble for it and i do it all the time. So do others.
As long as we arent spamming, i think thats the only thing.




Good advice + great people = tek-tips

 

[Prydonian]

Thanks, Garebo...

I wasn't sure where the line was drawn and didn't want to violate through ignorance....

Anyway, CC is Circuit City which has pretty good prices on name brands for a consumer outlet.

Mike, The IT Guy.



Life is too short to drink warm beer....