Be proactive - check your drives - portable users especially

MacDoc · Dec 27th, 2005, 05:34 PM

For your New Year's resolution list.......

Ever since the portables got faster and hotter we've been seeing a lot of failures anything from about 1 year to 30 months out on the hard drives.

and extended warranties only get your drive replaced NOT your data.

Can I suggest that people really be careful with regular backup and perhaps even consider putting in a current cooler running Seagate 2.5" if they are keeping their portables.

The unfortunate situation is that bad blocks are not so easy to detect - it's something I wish Disc Warrior would address and most of the 2.5" appear not to be SMART savvy.

A recovery on a 2.5' failed is perilous at best so please be extra careful of backup and alert to pending problems.

Odd noises, especially clicking. Continual beachballing and gradual slowing of drive performance are signs of possible failure.
The slowing can have several causes especially if the drive is getting full but it could be bad blocks if the drive is not full up yet is slowing badly.

Backup, run a utility like Onyx and see if performance picks up.

If you suspect drive issues. - backup and run off the external using Superduper to clone.

If your backup fails for any reason you are in danger zone. Try and get key User folder and other docs to the external - most cases bad blocks only affect a small part of the failing drive.

If you do get a backup successfully - a good test for bad blocks is to erase the suspect drive with the option of "write zeros".

Bad blocks often are at the beginning of the drive ( this erase will take some time ) and if it stalls with little or no progress that's an indicator of problems.

I would also advise anyone with desktops with IBM Deskstars to do the same as they are prone to problems.
Really any drive more than 3 years old could do with a once over.

Newer drives are better all around, cooler running, better bearings and faster.
Money well spent.

and please please backup.........

MACSPECTRUM · Dec 27th, 2005, 05:38 PM

I tell my clients to rotate dirves OUT of their computer (better yet entire computer) on a regular basis
Much easier [read cheaper] to x-fer data pro-actively than to react to an emergency
Not to mention the unscheduled downtime and reduced productivity of a user without their computer

like the Fram oil filter guy says; "Pay me now or pay me later."

and for mac os x users - OS X ain't OS 9
you can't just cut and paste together the operating system
clones are your friend

MacDoc · Feb 24th, 2007, 08:13 PM

I'm gonna bang this drum louder tonight.

Don't expect drives to last forever and back the damn things up ESPECIALLY critical data.

New client tonight - pro user - usually have backup - LacIe 320 array failed......yeah Maxtor drives no cooling fan -. Internal drive failure so here's what he's facing.

$1000 emergency evaluation and $4-10,000 in recovery costs.

ANYONE in critical data situations has to have a plan to rotate any drives older than 2 years to non critical service and have their techs surface scan and check the drives on a regulary basis......a failure is just too expensive.
This guy is in a bind - project due Monday.

Now the ONLY small silver lining is the second matching LacIe array he brought out for parts swap if we needed it ( no joy ) - the same drive in the same rear bay location is showing some evidence of head mechanism failure - same CLUNK on spin down but this one still functions.

He ALSO once he spoke to me thinks another of his same drive is also making noise.

Now with the thick aluminum case it's hard to hear this in a pro environment but when you take the case off it's very obvious and you'd immediately be alerted to potential trouble brewing.

If you are in a Pro environment and have drives more than a year old that have not been evaluated lately take the time to have a good listen on boot up and shut down.
Also do a surface scan on them for bad blocks.
Arrays are notorious because they run hot and if one drive fails it's a huge hassle to recover.
It's really important that media drives external and internal be fully backed up as much as possible to limit risk as the potential costs are so high.- far more than doubling the entre drive stable.

This case - the normal backup server was having problems and Murphy struck.
I HATE being the bearer of bad tidings to clients like this

Maybe this note will prevent even ONE similar mishap.

••••

On a Murphy note - my normally rock solid boot drive had a hiccup ( not hardware as it turned out ) while I was in Africa. Staff just booted off the backup and carried on. Murphy KNOWS when you can least afford a problem

Gremlins never sleep...

Vandave · Feb 24th, 2007, 08:21 PM

Google just did one of the largest assessments of drive performance. They found that heat related issues aren't as significant as previously thought.

http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/18/m...resting-thing/

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6376021.stm

groovetube · Feb 24th, 2007, 08:44 PM

isn't apple still using seagates in their portables?

The 1.67 I have has a seagate momentus in it.

AppleAuthority · Feb 24th, 2007, 11:04 PM

Ditto all the above.

And at the very least, install SMARTReporter and work out a regular backup strategy that you perform with a program like SuperDuper!.

Both you can get from the links in my signature below.

MacDoc · Feb 25th, 2007, 12:06 AM

Google is talking abut drives in server housings with full cooling. Not externals and I'd be willing to bet the fact they are not talking about specific manufacturers is GOOD thing for Maxtor.

Do you also think it's immaterial that Apple puts sensors in the drive bays.

I have yet to see a Maxtor in any recent Apple machines.

I'm impressed with the build quality on the WD RAID rated drives.

Carl · Feb 25th, 2007, 02:44 AM

When I read the Google paper, I was surprised to find that they just buy off the shelf brand names. Lower temperatures had the higher failure rates and higher temps had the lower failure rates.
I think it is a good idea to have a bootable backup of my main computer, then if anything dies, I just switch up one. It is pretty cheap these days to backup 500 Gigs, but people seem adamant about not doing it.

MacDoc · Feb 25th, 2007, 03:14 PM

Um it's not quite lower/higher - it's extremes at either end - ie over cooled.

That's one reason we don't like drives spinning down - we feel it hurts their longevity. Either off or spinning. Not asleep.

Server drives also have the advantage of being in use 24/7 rather than the stop/start of desktop use.

Steady condition operating is best - one reason the "heavy use" factor is marginal as a predictor of failure.

There are only a few manufacturers left so I'm puzzled by your comment of "off the shelf " drives.

I do suspect now they are likely to be using the heavier duty RAID rated drives with heavier chassis and I suspect heftier internal components.
Gonna be putting a couple in my MacPro today.
I was surprised how weighty the new WD version is - feels and looks like a Raptor builder quality.

The Doug · Feb 25th, 2007, 03:24 PM

This thread might be the best place to ask...

I'm going to plop a new HD in my G5 this week. Likely a Seagate Barracuda, unless someone can give me a compelling reason to consider another make such as Western Digital or whatever. Not that the OEM Barracuda is showing any signs of trouble, but my machine is 3.5 years old now and I'd feel better with a brand new drive doing duty in there.

Anyway, I want the new drive to serve as my main (startup) disk, while the OEM will serve as a back-up until I get a second new drive in a few weeks.

I know that installing the new HD in will be a snap, as will be a fresh install of Tiger, but I'm a dunce when it comes to the thought of migrating all my data over to the new disk. What's the best way to do that - would Migration Assistant do the trick? I know it's there but I've never ever touched it...