Question Doubts about damage to my external HDD ?

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cloudff7ps1

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Some people say that there are several models of the same brand and some stop spinning and others don't stop spinning when the HDD is ejected from Windows. Do manufacturers cut costs by reducing parts when manufacturing the 2.5" HDD?
 

USAFRet

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Some people say that there are several models of the same brand and some stop spinning and others don't stop spinning when the HDD is ejected from Windows. Do manufacturers cut costs by reducing parts when manufacturing the 2.5" HDD?
That is a completely new question, and cannot be answered.

2.5" HDDs have been used in laptops for decades.
I have a couple, from before the turn of the century.

If they were as fragile as you seem to think, we would never have had laptops.
 

cloudff7ps1

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Why do some 2.5" HDDs not turn off after ejecting in Windows 10? Is this behavior common? Two people told me that they have several models of the same brand, some turn off, others do not, and this is a problem if when the hand hits the HDD case, the mechanical arm and the needle scratch the HDD. My HDD is very quiet. I only saw the LED turn on after ejecting in Windows 10. I have the models Seagate ST500LM030, WD WD10JPVX-08JC3T5, HGTS HTS541010A99E662
enclosure cases USB 3.0 Orico 25pw1 and Kesu 2530
If Windows 10 eject fails and does not power off the HDD, is there any other protection against hand shocks on the side of the case not damage or generates bad secxtors in hdd?
0edfcab7-c9ac-4c92-90d7-8373f7a7e8dc.png
 

USAFRet

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If Windows 10 eject fails and does not power off the HDD, is there any other protection against hand shocks on the side of the case not damage or generates bad secxtors in hdd?
Hard drives are built to withstand a certain amount of shock or movement.

I don't know what specific drive you have, but as an example...
Western Digital 3.5" Blue
Shock limit, in Gs:
When operating, 70g for 2ms
When not operating, 250g for 2ms.

If you had hit that drive with your hand, with anything approaching "70g"...it would have left a very nasty bruise, at the least.

It.
Is.
Fine;
 

cloudff7ps1

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Hard drives are built to withstand a certain amount of shock or movement.

I don't know what specific drive you have, but as an example...
Western Digital 3.5" Blue
Shock limit, in Gs:
When operating, 70g for 2ms
When not operating, 250g for 2ms.

If you had hit that drive with your hand, with anything approaching "70g"...it would have left a very nasty bruise, at the least.

It.
Is.
Fine;
Is this resistance to prevent the HDD from dying or preventing any type of damage, including the actuator arm scratching the magnetic disks generates bad sectors? Do all 2.5" HDD models and any brand have this protection? I mentioned the 3 models that I have

I had never read about this resistance, they told me that HDDs were very fragile for any type of impact, shock

my models Seagate ST500LM030, WD WD10JPVX-08JC3T5, HGTS HTS541010A99E662

you posted resistance for 3.5" hdds more my hdds are 2.5"
 

cloudff7ps1

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2 ms: 300 g is strong for 2.5" hdds? I don't know how to measure the force of a shock when you pull the USB 3.0 cable from your PC it comes out and your hand hits the side of the HDD
what they told me was that 2.5" HDDs were very fragile
 

USAFRet

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2 ms: 300 g is strong for 2.5" hdds? I don't know how to measure the force of a shock when you pull the USB 3.0 cable from your PC it comes out and your hand hits the side of the HDD
what they told me was that 2.5" HDDs were very fragile
"fragile", as in if you knock it off the desk onto a tile floor, while running.

Hitting it with your hand?
No.
 

cloudff7ps1

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WD WD10JPVX-08JC3T5, HGST HTS541010A99E662 i not found informations these protections i have two models

this protection is related with auto-parking?
 

cloudff7ps1

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auto-parking technology is present in 2.5" HDDs manufactured 12 years ago?

Does the plastic enclosure case (I think the material is ABS) provide any protection for the 2.5" HDD in case of shocks or knocks or is it unrelated because it is a rigid material?
 

cloudff7ps1

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If the 2.5" HDD + enclosure case usb 3.0 is ejected from Windows 10 but HDD it remains connected and energized, what would be the position of the mechanical arms and actuator after ejecting?
03.png
 

USAFRet

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If the 2.5" HDD + enclosure case usb 3.0 is ejected from Windows 10 but HDD it remains connected and energized, what would be the position of the mechanical arms and actuator after ejecting?
03.png
At whatever space is reserved for 'parking'.

It does this automatically.
Some drives even 'park' when any read/write operation is done, not just during power off.

But that is invisible and irrelevant for the user.
 

cloudff7ps1

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Do all 2.5" HDDs that have auto-parking from any manufacturer behave similarly? eject in windows 10/ hdd continue power on/not read/not write/parked or is there a lot of variation between models and brands?
 

cloudff7ps1

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After ejecting the 2.5" HDD through Windows 10 and the HDD remains connected in operation, how many seconds does it take for the drive to recognize that there is no reading or writing and enter autoparking?

I have a 2.5" HDD purchased on Aliexpress and people say that the Chinese reset the SMART or modify the firmware to show good health and few hours of use. Do these changes also compromise the autoparking system?
 

USAFRet

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After ejecting the 2.5" HDD through Windows 10 and the HDD remains connected in operation, how many seconds does it take for the drive to recognize that there is no reading or writing and enter autoparking?
Seeing as some external drives can detect if it is falling and can invoke the parking routine...probably no more than a second or two.

I have a 2.5" HDD purchased on Aliexpress and people say that the Chinese reset the SMART or modify the firmware to show good health and few hours of use. Do these changes also compromise the autoparking system?

I have no opinion on drives purchased from an unknown retailer on AliExpress, other than to say...I wouldn't buy one.
 

Misgar

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Does the plastic enclosure case (I think the material is ABS) provide any protection for the 2.5" HDD in case of shocks or knocks or is it unrelated because it is a rigid material?
Check out this video for a more thorough understanding of "proper" shock testing,

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5s2c3770-pQ

I have performed shock, vibration and climatic tests (in chambers using LN2) for Industrial and MILSPEC/Aerospace apps. It's surprising just how much abuse a drive can take when operating or switched off. For example, the 3.5" drives I tested worked at -20°C (-4°F) but I wouldn't test them at -40°C (-40°F) or -51°C (-60°F). They also survived hours on vibration tables, plus drop and impact tests.

Hard disks are more susceptible to shocks during operation, but you could reasonably expect a 2.5in drive to survive a trip down a flight of steps. The outer case might be smashed but the drive inside might still work. The same applies if you drive a car into a brick wall. You too might survive.

I doubt many people on Tom's have perfomed shock tests on hard drives, so might I respectfully suggest you contact the manufacturers yourself? That way you'll get information straight from the horse's mouth which should allay most of your fears.

Stop reading clickbait "scare" stories online, most of which are written by people who aren't qualified mechanical systems design engineers (I'm certainly not). I wouldn't trust them to tie my bootlace.

If you're that paranoid about damage, throw your hard disks in the skip and switch to portable SSDs.
https://www.techradar.com/news/best-portable-ssd
 

cloudff7ps1

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My 2.5" HDDs are a bit old, I don't know if they have the function of having automatic parking technology only when inactive? no read/no write/park

My models are: WD10JPVX-08JC3T5 and HGST HTS541010A99E662

Auto park technology has evolved in recent years

In the reports of people I see some 2.5" HDD + enclosure case USB 3.0 after being ejected in Windows 10 they remain connected and operating