Dying HDD... How should I replace it?

[jdta]

Whats up guys, Windows recently detected problems in my Seagate 500GB HDD and I ran tests and whatnot through SeaTools and it is showing SMART failure. I haven't been up to date with today's hardware and my computer is about 3 years old. I've noticed that SSD are becoming a popular choice and HDD prices are way too high right now. I did not plan on upgrading any hardware but it seems like I am forced to now.

My question is... what would be the best replacement for me? My initial thought was to just buy another 500GB HDD but then I saw the prices. I plan to upgrade the rest of my computer in the future and I really don't want to buy an HDD/SSD now that I will have to upgrade later on. I'm looking to spend up to around $150 but will consider anything a bit higher than that. Please help me out!

Also... my motherboard is the Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R so I have to buy something compatible. Another thing is I use my computer to produce music and occasionally play games so I need enough space for sounds, projects, etc.

Thank you for your time and your help is greatly appreciated! 🙂

 

[tweakboy]

Every since Seagate and Maxtor hopped into bed with each other, its downhill for Seagate, because their not the old seagate,,, now they are owned by maxtor and their drives are made by maxtor,, the worst HD company. So never get another seagate or maxtor,, instead get a WDC Black.....

Well you can grab a SSD and install the OS on it and applications. Then grab a 500GB drive from WD which will store your data and games lets say....

Start backing up everything.. then just pop a SSD instead of that hd, update firmware on SSD if you have to and then install OS,,,, you can grab a 80GB SSD for 80 bucks pretty much now adays,,, I know thats not enough for you which is why you also get your 500GB drive you wanted... anyhow let us /me know.

You say you produce music. If you have your samples in a SSD and your project drive the SSD you will see huge speed difference in loading of samples......

So you have 2 choices
Grab a SSD connect it and use it as your DAW or

Grab a SSD install your OS and apps on it and do your DAW on the 500GB drive,

Grab 2 SSDs one for DAW and one for OS .. thats another option.... gl

 

[Harvey]

Start by checking Seagate's site for warranty info for the exact model number for your drive. Some of their drives have three year warranties so it may still be covered. If so, all you'll have to pay is shipping one way to them.

If your drive's still working despite the SMART error message, BACK IT UP, NOW! If you have another drive large enough to hold all of what's on your drive, or you can borrow one, your best shot will be grab the free version of Acronis True Image Seagate offers to users of their drives. Western Digital also offers a free version for their users. In both cases, at least one of the drives in the chain must be from the company offering the program so if your new drive is either of those you'll be able to continue using one version or the other after you move to your new drive. Seagate owns Maxtor so their version works for both of those brands.

Acronis True Image is a program that can "clone" your hard drive. That is, it makes an exact, running duplicate of your hard drive. If your main drive fails, the cloned image can directly replace the old drive, or it can be used to reload everything, including your operating files, on a new drive without re-installing the system or your programs. If your hard drive fails or becomes irreparably infected, it WILL save your butt.

Unlike the older DOS based versions of Norton Ghost, which I love and still use with some XP installations, True Image works with Vista and Windows 7.

When cloning, the target drive does not have to be the same size as the source drive. It just has to be large enough to hold the entire contents of your current drive. I have read that there can be alignment problems when moving to an SSD so if that's what you decide to buy, you should do some homework before making this move. Meanwhile, cloning your drive to ANY other drive before it fails completely may save you a lot of grief.

Acronis True Image for Seagate and Maxtor drives:

Info:
http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.j...toid=d9fd4a3cdde5c010VgnVCM100000dd04090aRCRD

Program:
http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.j...toid=580a5e3ddbf60110VgnVCM100000f5ee0a0aRCRD

Manual:
http://www.seagate.com/support/discwizard/dw_ug.en.pdf

===

Acronis True Image for Western Digital drives:

Info:
http://support.wdc.com/product/downloaddetail.asp?swid=119&wdc_lang=en

Program:
http://download.wdc.com/atiwd/tih_s_e_14010.exe

Manual:
http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/library/?id=191&type=25

===

Basic info about Acronis True Image:

http://www.acronis.com

 

[jdta]

Thanks tweakboy for the very detailed and quick response. I doubt that 80GB SSD alone will be enough for my files. Now I am very interested in the upgrade in speed with the SSD but If I have to buy an HDD anyways then I will just get the WDC Black now and the SSD later on. I would rather spend less money just to be able to use my computer than spend more for a speed upgrade. I guess a better question would be... For around $150 should I spend money on an HDD thats price is heavily inflated or an SSD if there is even a good enough one performance/capacity wise for the price?

Maybe im just really bummed that HDD are so much higher than a year ago... lol. I was only expecting to drop $50 on a new drive.

Also thanks for your recommendation with booting DAW on the SSD. Will definitely take that into consideration. It was great to have someone reply that was knowledgeable about music production

 

[exdeath]

Stop being a pack rat and go Ess Ess Dee.