2. misc-audio
  3. 1339374557

I give up . . . HD to HD2 Radio

Every year I am replacing external HD's to enjoy my library. Maybe it is the high humidity in the summer but it really gets old.

My new thought is to give up storing a library and hook up with a couple of the better HD2 streaming audio stations.

Any suggestions?
puerto

Showing 2 responses by almarg

almarg's avatar
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almarg
9,670 posts
 
While of course any hard drive can fail at any time, the frequent failures you appear to be describing should not be happening.

Have you been able to determine if the failures are due to the actual drive assembly that is installed within the external enclosure, or to the interface circuitry that is in the enclosure that is not part of the actual drive, or to the wall wart power supply that most of them use? If you have multiple failed drives of the same type, you may be able to determine that by swapping parts.

Are you using a quality surge suppressor for both the drive and the computer it is attached to?

Have you looked at the user comments on your particular drives at Newegg.com or elsewhere, to see if there are a high percentage of unfavorable comments, and/or reports of failures?

What are the particular makes and models that have failed?

Regards,
-- Al
almarg's avatar
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almarg
9,670 posts
 
Hi Puerto,

Would that be this one, or this one?

The first one (more expensive) only has 1 feedback comment at NewEgg, which is positive. But the second one (less expensive) has seven comments, many of which describe serious problems.

Given also that WD Black HD's are generally excellent drives, IME and IMO, it sure sounds like the Cavalry unit may be the problem.

Also, my philosophy is that RAID 1 should not be counted on as a backup solution, or at least as the only backup solution, because it is conceivable that a failure of the RAID controller hardware, or the power supply, or the operating system, or a virus infection, could simultaneously corrupt or destroy both drives in the array. Thankfully you've recognized that possibility by keeping a separate single HD as an additional backup.

So I would think that the best approach to resolving these frustrating experiences would be to forget about RAID and simply store your music on at least two non-RAID external hard drives, preferably Western Digitals IMO. And preferably drives that are fully enclosed, as opposed to being dock-mounted, which may help with respect to the humidity situation.

Regards,
-- Al
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