I don't get it. Why is it hard drives these days only last a few years?

[Shawn]

I am currently using an old PowerPC right now that's over 10 years old and it has the original 1GB hard drive still running perfectly. I just did a disk check and it passed with flying colors. I also have several old hard drives sitting in a box in the closest that still work, ranging from 100mb to 4gb.

 

[dug777]

My 160GB WD is going fine two years down the track, i've no reason to expect it to asplode any time soon...

My 20GB Maxtor is god only knows how old, and it's running fine too...

 

[Forsythe]

I've got some WD harddrives that are nearly 3 years old, and working fine. Well, one of them, i broke the controller board on the other.

One thing i do know is that NTFS is the worst pile of crap. It screws up everything from time to time.

 

[Kelnoen]

Revolutions:
7200 per minute
432,000 per hour
10,368,000 per day
3,784,320,000 per year
3 years @ 24/7 operation = 11.4 billion revolutions
3 years at 8/7 operation = 3.8 billion revs

Lucky to last that long IMO

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

Not to mention the increased heat in current systems...

 

[n7]

Originally posted by: Kelnoen
Revolutions:
7200 per minute
432,000 per hour
10,368,000 per day
3,784,320,000 per year
3 years @ 24/7 operation = 11.4 billion revolutions
3 years at 8/7 operation = 3.8 billion revs

Lucky to last that long IMO

Indeed.

 

[Eeezee]

Your hard drive is probably only 5400 RPMs, thus it's expected to last longer.. Hard drives just eventually wear out due to wear and tear, unfortunately.

 

[dug777]

Originally posted by: Eeezee
Your hard drive is probably only 5400 RPMs, thus it's expected to last longer.. Hard drives just eventually wear out due to wear and tear, unfortunately.

My 160GB is 7200rpm..

My gf's comp has an 80GB 7200rpm WD in it as her OS drive, from way back in 2002, and it's still going strong...

 

[Czar]

only my sata drives are starting to fail me, the others, from 60gb to 200gb ide are fine, two new 250gb sata drives are bad

then ofcorse I have a few older 1 and 2gb drives which work perfectly

and to show how durable old hardrives are, at work we have one old victor computer, a p100mhz or there abouts, been running almost non stop since it was bought

 

[0roo0roo]

less reason toleave those pre broadband internet systems on all the time?

 

[TheStu]

I agree with the heat and speed considerations. But I think it also has alot to do with the environment. I have this old 10 gig that has been through any number of systems that is still going strong.... but then there is a 20 in my parent's machine that is making the most god awful sounds due to all the dust where their computer is located (it is the only thing I can think of.. I don't know how the dust got in there, I'm not sure if it is a sealed atmosphere or not)

 

[SunnyD]

You have to admit that drives these days are doing a hell of a lot more than they used to thanks to (mostly) Windows. Half the reason why you can't use a flash drive for a Windows drive is that a flash drive has a limited amount of practical read/write cycles before the cells get shot. People have estimated on a typical production Windows system a flash drive would last only a handful of days. Hell, I have a friend that can attest, he had run a BartPE install on a 1GB compact flash and has had to replace the CF card just about every 6 months... and that's a stipped down windows with no pagefile!

Harddrives are mechanically more durable, but they're pushing the envelope of mechanical technology. Think of modern harddrives as the same breed as high performance F1 engines. I believe, though I may be mistaken, that they swap out the engines in those cars every race or so. Compare that with your typical Hyundai... which the engine is supposed to last (or is warranteed at least) for 10 years. That's where we've gone in harddrive technology... sacrificing durability for performance.

 

[j00fek]

iv had 2x200gb maxtors for 5 yrs now. never been replaced. sorry to hear this. try putting a fan on them

 

[PlatinumGold]

it should be obvious why harddrives are not as reliable as they used to be, they run faster and more dense. the possibility of data corruption increases significantly.

 

[acemcmac]

Raid 1 FTW

 

[sao123]

Originally posted by: Shawn
I am currently using an old PowerPC right now that's over 10 years old and it has the original 1GB hard drive still running perfectly. I just did a disk check and it passed with flying colors. I also have several old hard drives sitting in a box in the closest that still work, ranging from 100mb to 4gb.

As the size of the drive increases, so must the size of the surface and the number of moving parts...

More complexity = easier failure.

 

[SuperNaruto]

1GB drives back then spins around 3600.. most drive spins around 3600

http://redhill.net.au/d/d-a.html

Classic drives spin around 3600rpms

Old drives were barely WARM to touch.. unlike today's burning hdds..

 

[her209]

Because they are manufactured in China...