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Your professional opinion

0098386

0098386

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Original poster
Jan 18, 2005
21,574
2,908
I know the answer already. But what do you think?

I've have an external HDD for the past 4 years. It's a pleasant 60gb to go alongside my other, and newer HDD. It failed on me about 18 months ago resulting in a format. And just last week, after a marathon video rendering session it packed in again. I've tried repairing disk but I get a "B-node tree error" or something. So I tried DiskWarrior at college. Oh dear! It can see the drive but can't rebuild it.

This HDD has failed twice now. It's been put through a lot. Sometimes it doesn't even appear in Disk Utility. Does it sound dead to you? I think it's time for a burial.
 
I'm no professional but I think it's time to move on. If you're relying on this drive to store your data and have it accessible at all times, then you'll need a new one. The good thing is that hard rives are actually quite cheap nowadays. :)

Okay, now I feel old. I said nowadays. :eek:
 
It sounds like it's falling to bits. What good is a drive you can't rely upon?

Get a new drive and put it in the same enclosure. 60gb drives are pretty cheap.
 
I think it's time for that HDD to go to the big second-hand sale in the sky. Give it a good send off though, something involving big magnets, a sledgehammer, and a long drop with a sudden stop.
 
dogbone said:
Why not leave all your personal data on it and sell it to some poor sap on Ebay?
Click to expand...

THANK YOU!

I'm going to play these pranksters at their own game. I'll try and flog it (making a little money as I go :cool: )

I'll do that super-clean format in Disk Utility, put on some "compromising" fake images, trying to make clear that it is all a big joke and see what happens with the papers and that.

I think it's time my joke character "Sumok Taboon" made a recurrence :cool:
 
I guess to could be used as a 3rd back up, buy a new one, your internal and this old one.. for really important files, but no i would not use it as my main back up drive/
 
raggedjimmi said:
THANK YOU!

I'm going to play these pranksters at their own game. I'll try and flog it (making a little money as I go :cool: )

I'll do that super-clean format in Disk Utility, put on some "compromising" fake images, trying to make clear that it is all a big joke and see what happens with the papers and that.

I think it's time my joke character "Sumok Taboon" made a recurrence :cool:
Click to expand...
There was just a story on our local news about a Best Buy which failed to erase or destroy a hard drive that they had replaced in some guy's computer. The old HD -- with the customer's name on it -- was just thrown on a junk pile, and somebody must've picked it up, because it made its way to some guy in another state.

Fortunately for the original owner, the second guy traced it down and returned it, but based on what you said, it does give me ideas.

Fill it with S&M porn, write "D. Cheney, V.P." on it, leave it someplace where it's likely to be picked up by someone, and see what happens.
 
raggedjimmi said:
I know the answer already. But what do you think?

I've have an external HDD for the past 4 years. It's a pleasant 60gb to go alongside my other, and newer HDD. It failed on me about 18 months ago resulting in a format. And just last week, after a marathon video rendering session it packed in again. I've tried repairing disk but I get a "B-node tree error" or something. So I tried DiskWarrior at college. Oh dear! It can see the drive but can't rebuild it.

This HDD has failed twice now. It's been put through a lot. Sometimes it doesn't even appear in Disk Utility. Does it sound dead to you? I think it's time for a burial.
Click to expand...
Heavens no. You can keep using the Hard Drive...

...that is assuming your data is not important to you and that you don't mind loosing it again. :eek:

When you have B-Tree or B-Node Tree type failures that are non repairable, generally this indicates the start of something bad. In your case, you've dumped your data twice. Don't think you want to hang around and try it for the third time!

Can you keep using the drive. Probably. There are ways to get it working again. But remember, it will dump on you again. It's a question not of if, but when.

Hard Drives are cheap these days. Recommend that you go out and get a new on and trash your 60GB one.
 
sushi said:
Heavens no. You can keep using the Hard Drive...

...that is assuming your data is not important to you and that you don't mind loosing it again. :eek:

When you have B-Tree or B-Node Tree type failures that are non repairable, generally this indicates the start of something bad. In your case, you've dumped your data twice. Don't think you want to hang around and try it for the third time!

Can you keep using the drive. Probably. There are ways to get it working again. But remember, it will dump on you again. It's a question not of if, but when.

Hard Drives are cheap these days. Recommend that you go out and get a new on and trash your 60GB one.
Click to expand...

The only irreplaceable data on the drive is my iTunes library. Which isn't that serious really. It was about 16gb big. I have 6gb on my Mini and I managed to back up 1/3 of it onto my network once. But yea :( format is definitely in mind just to sort all this stuff out. then its onto the super secure wipeout before filling up with some random junk and eBayying it :)

damn drive though. I suppose 2 strikes means a definite out when drives and data are concerned.
 
I know this is not a hardware forum, nor do pro's need noob's opinions, but I have a joy of a mini HD, g-tech, that is earning its keep today. I had an issue yesterday with the latest security update, and after 2 applecare 1+hr calls each, am using me ole FW powered, bootable g-tech mini as my life bouy.

I know you don't need/want my opinion, but as an obnox. member, here goes

g-tech link
 
Here's a different idea. Budget $150 (or the equivalent) each year and replace your primary hard drive with the newest one that is in that price range. Last year it was a 160 Gb, earlier this year it is a 250 Gb, now it's probably a 300 Gb. Move the previous hard drive (your next-newest) to a backup role. Move the previous backup to a spare, and sell off your previous spare assuming it works.

That way, you stay ahead of the failure curve, because drives 1 and 2 are < 2 years old, you continually gain performance and storage space (because each year the mfgr's come out with bigger and faster for the same price) and you sell off the oldest drives just before their 3 or 5 year warranties are over.
 
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