Question Is this how I am supposed to store external/internal HDDs ?

[knowledge2121]

I have two external HDDs and I store them like this:

I put the external HDDs on a glass surface (table) and cover them with a piece of microfiber cloth....

Is this how I am supposed to store them ? Anything wrong ? Should I worry about ESD ?

How about drives with no enclosure ? can I put them on a glass surface and cover them with a piece of microfiber ?

 

[Lutfij]

I think they're fine for short term use but I tend to store my external and internal drives in a plastic tub, one that's known as a parts bin, but they're labelled and stacked in order of most important to least important or that the ones with data are towards the bottom and empty drives are towards the top. Microfiber tends to wick moisture from the atmosphere, that would be something I'd avoid and have drives in a container that has silica gel in said container.

 

[knowledge2121]

Are silica gels a must have ? If so, How often should I replace them ?

Should I put the bare drives in an anti static bag before putting them inside the plastic tub ?

Can I stack the bare drives and use an elastic to keep them together and then put all of them in an anti static bag ? or Should i use one anti static bag per drive ?

Also, Does it matter on which side I put the HDDs in the plastic tub ? Should I place them vertically or horizontally ?

 

[knowledge2121]

Seems fine for short term usage. But take care of the moisture.

What to do for long term ?

 

[fzabkar]

I would store bare HDDs in antistatic bags.

 

[USAFRet]

What to do for long term ?

How long is "long term"?

 

[knowledge2121]

How long is "long term"?

10-14 years ?

 

[USAFRet]

10-14 years ?

I'd be more concerned they get knocked off the desk.

You're going to leave them there, and then power up in 2031-2035?
What is on these drives?
Why aren't they being used, in a regular backup rotation?

 

[knowledge2121]

You're going to leave them there, and then power up in 2031-2035? I am filling them up with data and accessing them very infrequently.

What is on these drives? data.

Why aren't they being used, in a regular backup rotation? The data on them is non changing.

 

[USAFRet]

You're going to leave them there, and then power up in 2031-2035? I am filling them up with data and accessing them very infrequently.

What is on these drives? data.

Why aren't they being used, in a regular backup rotation? The data on them is non changing.

So NOT just leaving them there for a decade?

On any particular drive, is that drive the only copy of the data on it?

 

[knowledge2121]

On any particular drive, is that drive the only copy of the data on it?

no, I have backups.

 

[THRobinson]

I have a NAS setup for my media player and a 2TB backup of my PC, all have a mirrored backup copy on bare drives. I have one of those removable drive bays on my PC to make it easy.

I grabbed these on sale. Stack great, tough, padded inside, etc... keep them on a shelf and no worries. I hate spending money but, I really don't wanna lose all my files and media either.

I'm in Canada, but sure Amazon.com has a similar item.

https://www.amazon.ca/ORICO-Externa...ywords=hard+drive+case&qid=1637314609&sr=8-48

 

[sonofjesse]

I like the padded HD cases. But I would not trust a drive that won't attempt a spin up in 10+ years lol.