Question Preserving an unused HDD

[CubsWin]

I have a 4-drive NAS that I originally setup with 4 12 TB IronWolf HDD's, divided into 2 RAID1 arrays. After using the NAS for about 3 years, I needed more storage on one of the network drives, so I am swapping out 2 of the 12 TB drives in favor of new higher capacity drives.

I plan to hang onto the unused 12 TB drives in the inevitable event that one or both of my other in-use 12 TB drives fails in the future. Are there any recommendations for storing old, unused HDD's to maximize their lifespan? Should I format the unused drives before storing, keep the existing data in tact, or does it not matter? Should I plug them in to read them every so often, or just stick them in a closet and forget about them? Is there anything else I should consider so that my old drives remain working for when I eventually need them?

 

[Ralston18]

I would leave the data intact and set up plan where the drives can be "exercised" every so often.

Read, write, test....

And you never know when one of those drives might be the last place of existence for some suddenly needed file.

Sticking the drives etc. in a closet and forgetting about them will not serve well in the long run.

Mechnical things need maintenance. Even if rarely used which can easily become "never" and then something is astray and all is lost. Least of all closet storage space.

Best to know when, and if, that has happened in advance.

Keep the drives active. Make the maintenance cycle easy to set up and execute.

E.g., open closet, take out, plug in, read, write,test. Unplug and store again. Make it a kit or package with everything that will be neeed. No hunting for cables, adapters, plugs, whatever.

Document. Keep records of results so you can see if something changes.....

Just my thoughts on the matter.

 

[CubsWin]

Keep the drives active. Make the maintenance cycle easy to set up and execute.

E.g., open closet, take out, plug in, read, write,test. Unplug and store again. Make it a kit or package with everything that will be neeed. No hunting for cables, adapters, plugs, whatever.

Your reply has me thinking that maybe the best and simplest plan of action would be to buy an enclosure for the extra drives, then use them for occasional backups from the NAS. I could create a backup plan and plug the enclosure in a couple times a year to execute, which would accomplish the goal of "exercising" the drives while also giving them a purpose as emergency backup storage.

 

[Ralston18]

Simple is good.

I would probably increase the frequency beyond "a couple of times a year". And do not get pulled into some sort of RAID system,.

Life being as busy as it is for most people means that one missed backup could easily stretch into longer times where the current backups are literally out of date. Depends on what is being stored. Photographs - likely no problem. Important, active documents and records may require more frequent backups: older documents not being good for recovery purposes per se. Better than nothing though.....

And, if the storage is on-site in a closet then the NAS etc. could be lost if there is some catastropic event. Off-site storage is necessary for real protection from data loss.

There are some members here that are very knowledgeable about drives and storage.

Hopefully there will be other ideas and suggestions.

 

[CubsWin]

Simple is good.

I would probably increase the frequency beyond "a couple of times a year". And do not get pulled into some sort of RAID system,.

Life being as busy as it is for most people means that one missed backup could easily stretch into longer times where the current backups are literally out of date. Depends on what is being stored. Photographs - likely no problem. Important, active documents and records may require more frequent backups: older documents not being good for recovery purposes per se. Better than nothing though.....

And, if the storage is on-site in a closet then the NAS etc. could be lost if there is some catastropic event. Off-site storage is necessary for real protection from data loss.

There are some members here that are very knowledgeable about drives and storage.

Hopefully there will be other ideas and suggestions.

Yeah, we could get into a whole other debate about backup strategies, but for my purposes this NAS data is not critical and could mostly be replaced. Using the extra drives to backup the NAS drive is more of an added bonus than an actual requirement, and would be a way to ensure that I'm writing to the drives on a semi-regular basis. My important documents and photos are backed up both locally and to the cloud on a regular basis through an entirely separate incremental process.

 

[USAFRet]

Yeah, we could get into a whole other debate about backup strategies, but for my purposes this NAS data is not critical and could mostly be replaced. Using the extra drives to backup the NAS drive is more of an added bonus than an actual requirement, and would be a way to ensure that I'm writing to the drives on a semi-regular basis. My important documents and photos are backed up both locally and to the cloud on a regular basis through an entirely separate incremental process.

Are you looking to preserve the physical drive, or the data and the physical drive?

 

[CubsWin]

Are you looking to preserve the physical drive, or the data and the physical drive?

Primarily the physical drive. The data will continue to live and grow in my active RAID1 array, which I realize is not foolproof, but for this data it is "good enough". My goal is to keep the unused drives in working order so that I can swap them in when one of the active drives eventually fails. Obviously if both active drives fail at the same time I would be out of luck, but I have determined that to be an acceptable risk.

 

[USAFRet]

Primarily the physical drive. The data will continue to live and grow in my active RAID1 array, which I realize is not foolproof, but for this data it is "good enough". My goal is to keep the unused drives in working order so that I can swap them in when one of the active drives eventually fails. Obviously if both active drives fail at the same time I would be out of luck, but I have determined that to be an acceptable risk.

Put in a padded something, on a shelf in the garage or desk drawer.
If desired, in a FoodSaver vacuum bag, and then the desk drawer.


There is no magical "Do X and it will preserve it forever"

Reduce heat and humidity, done.

 

[CubsWin]

I understand there is no magic answer and all drives will eventually go bad, but there are a few basic questions that I haven't been able to find definitive answers for:

1) Does keeping a HDD stored away for several years without using it pose a bigger risk for mechanical failure than if the drive is occasionally powered on and performs reads/writes?

2) When storing a drive for an extended period of time, does it make any difference to the health of the drive whether or not there is data on it? I suspect the answer for HDD's is no, because mechanical failure can happen with or without data present, but can anyone confirm that?

Beyond that, I agree that regulating exposure to heat and humidity will typically be the best way to maintain and electronic components.