Hard Disk Storage 3

[dik]

A question has come up regarding old mechanical drives. When a drive becomes full, is it possible to simply remove it and store it? Is there a safe way to store it? and does lack of motion cause it to 'stiffen up'? I usually have bigger drives and copy the old data to the new drive and discard the old drive.

Thanks for any info, Dik

 

[Scott24x7]

So long as the drive is not a boot drive (i.e. a data only drive) it can be removed and stored.
Keep the temperature and humidity in ranges of the storage conditions (0C to 40C and 50% +/- 15% RH), then you should be fine for decades.
Vibration is a bigger issue. Keep it stable.
If it's a boot drive, it is more problematic because you will have to reinstall the OS and all the applications to keep using the same machine.


Best Regards,
Scott
MSc ISM, MIET, MASHRAE, CDCP, CDCS, CDCE, CTDC, CTIA, ATS

"I try to be nice, but sometimes my mouth doesn't cooperate.

 

[dik]

Thanks very much.

Dik

 

[hairlessupportmonkey]

If the drives are not in enclosures, I would recommend using sealed antistatic bags, with silica gel packs in them.

Very much the same way they are shipped out of the factory.

ACSS - SME
General Geek

 

[dik]

Thanks for the added information... Dik

 

[Rechird5k]

Store your driver in a safe place such as in a small box wrapped with a paper or sheet

 

[dik]

thanks...

 

[technome]

Once all the above is done find the deepest iron mine you can, and rent some space at it's lowest point and store the drive there. Now this is not fail-safe you never know when a neutron or or a dark energy particle will penetrate all the iron above, smash into a critical area of data or servo date and cause critical data loss. My suggestion, wrap it in newspaper and stick it in a shoe box; biggest danger to your data is someone tossing out in the trash.

........................................

"Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons."
Popular Mechanics, 1949

 

[dik]

tech... Hehehehe...

 

[Stephen_Hawk]

Just ensure that the hard disk is stored in a place that is free from any vibrations and moisture.
Otherwise, it is perfectly safe.

 

[dik]

Thanks for the added information.