Where does the Hard Drive reliability Depend ON

Do you want to know where does the hard drive reliability depend on? You are on the right spot to know the answer of this question.

The most reliable external hard drives are a guarantee that the most important information will not be lost at the first change.

We all accumulate a large amount of data during our lives, some the most basic, others save everything, as if it were a digital Diogenes syndrome.

Be that as it may, nobody wants the hard drive where they store that data or the backup copies to go to waste. For this reason, you should know how to choose a robust hard drive.

See Also: How to Choose the an External Hard Drive

Which are the best current brands and models, and other alternatives so as not to lose the stored information?

Hard Drive Reliability Depend on What?

SSDs were criticized for the first few years of their appearance, claiming that they were less reliable than HDDs. However, now all this has turned around.

In addition to the type of hard drive, other factors also play a role in the reliability and robustness of the storage medium.

See Also: What is an SSD Drive

Therefore, to know how to choose the best and most reliable external hard drives, you should attend to:

1. Type

Whether it’s an SSD or an HDD matters when it comes to reliability. During the first releases of SSDs, they had a bad reputation.

However now that has changed. It is true that if the information is damaged it will be unrecoverable, while in the HDD it could be recovered in a laboratory specialized in data recovery (quite expensive service).

But it is also true that the chances of having problems are lower than those of an HDD as it lacks mechanical parts.

On the other hand, the head and its proximity to the platters is another factor to take into account in HDDs.

If it is bumped or dropped while it is running, the head will hit the platter and most likely render the hard drive unusable. This does not happen in the solid state.

2. Size

Size has also been shown to matter in this regard. Something that may seem absurd is not, since the lower the mass, the lower the consequences will be in the event of a fall.

For this reason, the smaller the disc, the less likely it is to break. For example, the reliability of 2.5″ vs. 3.5″ HDDs has been analyzed, the former being the ones that withstand greater impacts.

See Also: How to Choose an External Hard Drive for PS5

3. Capacity

Another detail that would not seem at first glance to affect reliability, but it does in some cases, especially when it comes to immature technologies that lead to important steps in increasing capacity or density.

The most mature and proven technologies are always better than the new ones when it comes to seeking maximum reliability. In addition, some brands have had significant reliability drops with the increase in the capacity of their hard drives.

For example, Seagate was one of the most reliable in the pre-750 GB era, but from that capacity they began to have some problems against their competitors (according to failure rate analysis).

4. Temperature

It is another of the factors that most affects electronics and mechanical elements. With the increase in temperature, serious problems can occur at the electronic level if certain values ​​are exceeded.

In addition, the temperature dilates the materials, and changes in temperature generate tension in the materials, which can cause breakage or cracks. Again, SSDs withstand somewhat higher temperatures than HDDs.

See Also: My External Hard Drive Says It Needs to Be Formatted: Solution

5. Relative Humidity

Relative humidity in the air is also important to monitor. It is something that is taken into account in data centers, but that is not controlled in homes or offices.

Above or below certain RH values, systems suffer more, either due to ESD, or due to condensation.

6. Manufacturing

Of course the manufacturer of the hard drive can offer one quality or another, and the weak points of each vary.

Although there are many brands, there are few producers of memory units. Some brands simply buy units from manufacturers and mark them with their name, that is, they are simple producers.

The big memory manufacturers are Samsung, Seagate, Western Digital, Micron, etc., while other brands simply distribute, such as Iomega, Intense, Verbatin, SanDisk (WD), Plextor, Corsair, GSkill, OCZ, Patriot, A-DATA, and Transcende etc.

In general, the units with the lowest failure rate in terms of HDDs are WD and Toshiba, while in SSDs the best are Samsung.

7. Model

On the other hand, brands usually have several models or series, each one aimed at a specific segment, and with notable differences in reliability and performance. For example, WD differentiates them by colors in both its SSDs and HDDs:

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• Green: For domestic users, with less intensive use, that is, for more occasional uses.
• Blue: similar to the previous ones, although somewhat superior.
• Black: For the most demanding users, for enthusiast PCs, with performance improvements over previous ones.
• Network: Designed for use in NAS, that is, a drive connected to the network.
• Purple: Specially designed for home video surveillance systems operating 24/7.
• Gold: They are a special series for business environments, designed for high workloads, that is, for very intensive use 24 hours a day, such as those in data centers. Therefore, they are the most reliable of all.

8. Disk Controller

Again, there are many brands of external hard drives, but few manufacturers of their controller chips.

Therefore, it is another detail to take into account. For example, Samsung is one of the best when it comes to SSD controllers, Toshiba is another manufacturer, Fusion I/O, Xilinx, etc.

For example, Samsung’s have been used by SSDs from brands like OCZ, Corsair, and of course their own drives.

With this data you can better select your future storage units so that they are among the most reliable external hard drives.

Since they are data that are not always taken into account, much less for reliability reasons, since users tend to focus more in performance than in other respects. Big mistake when it comes to storing important data!

See Also: How to remove the Hard Drive from a Laptop

Is there any other Storage Medium?

Cloud storage services have proliferated, and are already the favorite solution for many users and companies that want to have their data wherever they are.

Being a reliable medium, since the data centers where these services are hosted use RAID configurations, that is, redundancy in the storage media so that no data is deleted.

If a hard drive in these data centers fails and needs to be replaced, the RAID configuration will ensure that no data is lost as it is backed up on other drives.

As soon as the new hard drive that will take the place of the problematic one is replaced, the data will return to it.

That is, unless the data center closes, has a fire or some other catastrophe, the data will not be lost. That is why it is one of the most reliable solutions for storing important data.

These are the great advantages of the cloud world, although it also has its dangers. Mainly that the data is hosted on company servers that could be using your data, metadata, or viewing what you store on their servers.

That is why they must be reliable data centers, which have servers in Europe and respect European data protection laws.

This way you guarantee that your rights are not being violated with services that work with other more permissive data policies such as those of Google, Microsoft, AWS, MEGA, etc., which come from countries such as the United States, China, etc.

See Also: How to Defragment Hard in Drive Windows 11

My recommendations to choose the best cloud storage service where you can trust your information and not worry about it are:

1. pCloud

This service has servers in the United States and in the European Union, being able to choose. The company is based in Europe, specifically in Switzerland.

When you choose a region, no data will be transferred to other servers installed in other territories without your permission.

In addition, it is quite reliable and of great quality, with certifications of the highest standards. Security is also a key factor, using AES-256 encryption algorithms during transfer to servers. It has an individual, family and business plan.

Prices ranging from $49 to $99 per year for individual 500GB and 2TB plans, at $7.99-9.99/month for business plans (for each user) and with 1TB for each user.

The positive thing about pCloud is that it also has one-time payments, pay a fee and you will have it for life.

2. Nextcloud

Allows hosting or self-hosting. Another company based in Europe, in Germany in this case, and that is oriented towards respecting your privacy.

The software is open source, has end-to-end protection, and is compatible with other third-party tools.

3. Tresorit

Is the other great alternative based in Europe. It is not the cheapest of all, but it offers good service and security. It is subject to the privacy laws of the Netherlands and Ireland.

It is based on zero trust protocols to improve security and prevent third party access. Of course, it uses AES-256 algorithms, and offers good Linux support.

For individuals, the prices range from $8.33 per month for 500 GB, up to $20/month for 2.5 TB. While for companies we have prices from $12 to $20 per user and per month, for capacities of 1 TB.

4. CloudMe

Next alternative, based in Sweden. This cloud storage system is the succession of what iCloud was (until Apple bought that domain).

It offers a good service, although it lacks encryption. Prices range from $149 per month for 1 TB, up to $759 per month for 5 TB for companies. And for users it ranges from $4/month to $30/month for 25 to 500 GB respectively.

5. Jottacloud

Is another of the great cloud storage services based in the EU, specifically under the strictest privacy regulations, those of Norway? The servers are hosted in Europe, respecting your data to the maximum, and with great services.

See Also: How to know if the Hard Drive is Damaged

Of course, it uses encryption and has clients for various operating systems, including Android, iOS, Windows, and macOS, as well as a Linux tool for CLI.

Home plans range from $0 for 5GB, up to $49.5/month for 10TB. There are also Business plans for companies.

And if you prefer, you can opt for a hybrid solution. That is, having backups of your data on your own external hard drives and copies in the cloud.

In this way, it will be rare that you lose the data ever. A something vital for companies and for telecommuting.