Drive for storage of backups

[Shene]

Hello,
I have a dell 9100 dual pentium with three 150 gig WD raptors and am adding a 600 gig velociraptor. (I do not use a raid configuration) I can insert it into a USB 3 port or into one of the internal ports and remove a 150 to allow it to fit. I got them due to the warrantee thinking a longer warrantee meant less likliehood of failure. Would it be safer for backups to use the USB3 and remove the drive when not in use? Is the internal plug for the drive hot swappable to allow just unplugging it when not in use or must I reboot and change it when the computer is off? Any recommendations would be appreciated

 

[John_VanKirk]

Hello,
I have a dell 9100 dual pentium with three 150 gig WD raptors and am adding a 600 gig velociraptor. (I do not use a raid configuration) I can insert it into a USB 3 port or into one of the internal ports and remove a 150 to allow it to fit. I got them due to the warrantee thinking a longer warrantee meant less likliehood of failure. Would it be safer for backups to use the USB3 and remove the drive when not in use? Is the internal plug for the drive hot swappable to allow just unplugging it when not in use or must I reboot and change it when the computer is off? Any recommendations would be appreciated

Hello,
The latest MB's with SATA ports are theoretically hot swappable as are the eSATA connections, and USB connections. They have to support AHCI. However I wouldn't take a chance and disconnect a mass storage device when there "some" chance while it is still reading or writing data, or has not yet saved the cache to the disk. That's why the USB removable storage devices have the "safe to remove" feature which causes the HDD or flash drive to flush the cache before being removed. With important data that you need, don't take a chance.

There are many views on backup safety and how to do it personally. The safest way is to back up your data or image your data to an external HDD or DVD, remove it, and take it "offsite" to a "safe" location (could still be lost in an earthquake). The next safest is to back it up (USB or eSATA or 1394) to an external HDD or DVD, and disconnect it from service (could still be lost in a house fire). The next level is to back it up to an internal HDD (SATA, USB, IDE automatically giving you daily redundancy (could be lost with a severe power surge or lightning strike). And by faaaaar the lease safe is to not back up your data & thinking your pri HDD is infallable.

It's just a value judgement - if you have a lockbox, a friend you can really trust, if your house has burnt down, been hit with lightning, had any thefts, if you have frequent power outages or power surges, and how important your data is. The NYSE in 2001 obviously had "offsite" "Hot" backup facilities in case of a problem or outage.

I would think most conscientious folks back their data up to an internal HDD, on a regular or even automatic Task Scheduler basis.

 

[Shene]

Hello,
Thanks JUohn;
there is nothing that critical on my drive it is just that with windows updates as well as sometimes adding a program things go bad and I need a backup to reload and recover or I wind up having to reinstall the world and get all the updates all over again. Easier to just do a reformat and reload what was in the backup of my entire drive. If I lose a few emails or a file or two, , so what. I just do not want to have my backup drive fail and then cannot recover. Thought maybe the raptor would be a sturdier more dependible drive. My WD essentials book usb2 500 gig has given me heartache with sometimes not being accessible or not allowing me to connect so I need to replace it as a large backup storage device.