3 750gb HDD hard drives, which to use in my Macbook Pro?

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robodelfy

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May 20, 2013
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Hi

I plan to put an HDD in the optical bay of my macbook pro. I have 3 750gb 7200rpm HDD's, two from my old pc and one that is currently in the main bay of the macbook pro.

Two are identical, WD Scorpio Blacks, and the one in the MBP is a Hitachi. I have to choose one, and am not sure which one. Firstly of the two brands, but also as I dont know if one is healthier than the other.

Is there any way to check if one is functioning better or has more life in it than the others?

Thanks

Alex
 
Solution
fchung0712
When you plug them in, first make sure that the S.M.A.R.T checks out fine (in Disk Utility, at the bottom it will say). Then, just to see if brand matters for transfer speed (it shouldn't, but just in case) get Blackmagic Disk Speed Test, and run the test on all drives, to see if it matters. Make sure to select the target drive, and the amount of data you want to run the test with. If all pass the S.M.A.R.T test, and they all transfer at the same speed, just choose one at random. For the one already in your Macbook, verify the disk (in Disk Utility), to check for any errors. The one in your Mac is best left alone, if you are booting from it, because, either you clone the partition to another hard drive, which takes a long time, or you...
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fchung0712

fchung0712

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When you plug them in, first make sure that the S.M.A.R.T checks out fine (in Disk Utility, at the bottom it will say). Then, just to see if brand matters for transfer speed (it shouldn't, but just in case) get Blackmagic Disk Speed Test, and run the test on all drives, to see if it matters. Make sure to select the target drive, and the amount of data you want to run the test with. If all pass the S.M.A.R.T test, and they all transfer at the same speed, just choose one at random. For the one already in your Macbook, verify the disk (in Disk Utility), to check for any errors. The one in your Mac is best left alone, if you are booting from it, because, either you clone the partition to another hard drive, which takes a long time, or you install Mac OS to another hard drive, which then requires getting back all important data, which also takes a while.
To simplify all I just said:
-Plug them in one by one, and go to disk utility to check the S.M.A.R.T Status
-Download Blackmagic Disk Speed Test (Available on the Mac App Store)
-Run the test on all drives
-Verify the drive that is already inside your computer for any errors.
-Choose the higher performance drives, unless all of them are equal, then just choose one at random
P.S. If you have to replace the internal drive, and you want to clone the drive to one of the other drives, use a program like Carbon Copy Cloner.
 
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robodelfy

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May 20, 2013
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Hi Fchung

Thanks for all that, amazing.

Im just wondering, how should I plug each one in to test. I have a caddy, so should I just plug them in by USB, or I also have an OWC data doubler, which goes in the optical bay and I can then put the hard drive in there.

What do you suggest

Thanks
 
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fchung0712

fchung0712

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It would be best to plug it into the Macbook through the adapter that goes into the optical drive. It should result in faster and accurate transfer speed than the USB ports. S.M.A.R.T though, can be through the USB port, because it isn't transferring very much data.
 
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robodelfy

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Ok great

Thanks for that. I will try it soon. I have been using one of the 750gb WD drives in my PC for a few years now, where as the other one has not been used much. Would it be an obvious choice to choose the less used one? Im just wondering if they wear out like that, or if the one in my pc has proved its reliability!!

Thanks
 
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fchung0712

fchung0712

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If you have had any errors on your drives before, than choose the one that has never had an error, or has had less errors. The less used one might be the better choice because, over time, the magnets inside the drives start to wear out, so I would recommend the less used one, even if it is older

By the way, if both have been used for at least three months, then you are safe. Hard drives fail mostly within three months of first use, and once it gets past that point, they should be usable for a lot longer
 
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