Can an external HDD be stored outside in a shed?

[Jumpem]

Temperatures would be well below zero in the winter, and get to near one hundred in the summer. It could also be humid in the warmer half of the year.

 

[Rifter]

most HDD's will tell you to keep them from 0c-60c so if it stays at that temp should be fine. I think it will take the below zero temps but you will not be able to use it while its that cold.

 

[RebateMonger]

Western Digital SATA drive non-Operating Environment:
Temperature –40°C to 65°C
Humidity 5–95% RH non-condensing
Thermal gradient 30°C/hour

 

[ozias21]

Why would you want to store it in a shed?

If it's important backup, and you wan to be sure it doesn't get destroyed in a house fire, a safety deposit box at a bank would make more sense.

If it's being "hidden" so another family member doesn't find it, buy an old hard cover book that's about twice as thick and cut out the pages in the middle so it can be set inside, and then close the book, so it looks just like a book when viewed on a shelf, and unless someone sees you cutting the pages out, no one will know, unless they pick up the book.

 

[Jumpem]

Why would you want to store it in a shed?

If it's important backup, and you wan to be sure it doesn't get destroyed in a house fire, a safety deposit box at a bank would make more sense.

If it's being "hidden" so another family member doesn't find it, buy an old hard cover book that's about twice as thick and cut out the pages in the middle so it can be set inside, and then close the book, so it looks just like a book when viewed on a shelf, and unless someone sees you cutting the pages out, no one will know, unless they pick up the book.

It's in case of theft or fire. I have thought about a safe deposit box, but the nearest bank is seventeen miles. I don't think I would end up keeping the drive up to date in that case.

 

[RebateMonger]

Depending on how much data you have and your Internet connection, you might also consider online backups. Mozy and Carbonite are about $55 a year for "unlimited" data backup. Realistically, unlimited probably means around 100 GB.

 

[ozias21]

It's in case of theft or fire. I have thought about a safe deposit box, but the nearest bank is seventeen miles. I don't think I would end up keeping the drive up to date in that case.

Have you looked into the Fire Proof safes? They have all kinds of different models out, and I'm sure something could fall into your price range.

Do you have a family member living close by, or a trusted friend/neighbor? You can always encrypt the drive so no one can access it without the proper password.

 

[LtGoonRush]

Have you looked into the Fire Proof safes? They have all kinds of different models out, and I'm sure something could fall into your price range.

Just a quick note that most Fire Proof safes will not protect electronics. They're designed to keep the temperature inside the box low enough that paper doesn't burn, but electronics likely wouldn't survive. I did a quick look and the high quality fireproof safes tend to only be rated to keep the temperature under 180C.

 

[arrfep]

Maybe check out something like one of these:

http://www.sentrysafe.com/products/productDetail.aspx?s=274

http://www.hddfiresafe.com/

 

[Yellowbeard]

Get an old school .50 cal ammo can from a military surpluss store. Put the drive in it and it will be fine in your shed. I'd store it down low close to the ground to avoid the heat.

 

[Modelworks]

Put it inside a ziplock bag to keep moisture out. They will keep like that for years. Biggest thing is to make sure you let the drive reach current room temperature before turning it on.

 

[taltamir]

for theft, you want to make DVD-R backups kept (and keep them in another room, in individual cases, which is not exposed to light, and is inside the house so it gets AC). any other method of backup will be valuable to a thief.
for fire you want it off property, a shed is likely to also catch on fire in case of a housefire.

For both, you should just get an online backup solution.