Ad
News

55 countries around the world celebrate Safer Internet Day

Published on February 12, 2008

Well, another year, another Safer Internet day. In it’s fifth year, Safer Internet Day runs every February and is all about teaching young people and parents about how to be safe online. Read more

Linux Security on the Ropes

Published on February 11, 2004

Microsoft chairman Bill Gates says it is dangerous to conclude that other operating systems are safer than Windows simply because they are not attacked as much. Read more

Australian labour government plans safer searching for children

Published on January 03, 2008

The Australian Labour government has unveiled new plans to develop safer online searching for children. Read more

Interactive display system knows users by touch

Published on May 25, 2006

An interactive computer display that keeps track of multiple users by differentiating between their touch could lead to safer vehicle controls and smarter video games, its makers claim. Read more

Last Reviews & Articles
Stalker: Clear Sky--Is Your System Ready?

Stalker: Clear Sky--Is Your System Ready?

Published on September 30, 2008

Thinking about picking up the latest update to Stalker, but not sure if your graphics subsystem can handle it? Hang on as we take you through a performance tour and demonstrate how the game has been prettied up. Read more

Part 4: Avivo HD Vs. PureVideo HD

Part 4: Avivo HD Vs. PureVideo HD

Published on September 29, 2008

The 780G chipset/Radeon HD 3200 and the MCP78S chipset/GeForce 8200 provide the first integrated graphics solutions that can accelerate Blu-ray playback. We dig deep into how well they work with high quality Blu-ray 1080p video playback. Read more

Four GeForce 9600 GT Cards Compared

Four GeForce 9600 GT Cards Compared

Published on September 26, 2008

Manufacturers really love the first Geforce 9. The graphic chip is fast, the cards are inexpensive, and some retailers offer more than ten variations. Read more

Maxtor's Shared Storage Does NAS At Home

Maxtor's Shared Storage Does NAS At Home

Published on September 25, 2008

What do you do with all the data you collect at home? Network attached storage is the solution. We test Maxtor's Shared Storage II and find that it is also suitable for use in small businesses. Read more

All the Reviews & Articles
  Tom's Hardware UK and Ireland Forums » Storage » Hard Disks » One safer than Two??
 

One safer than Two??

Advanced Search

There are 361 identified and unidentified users. To see the list of identified users, Click here
Add a reply



 Word :   Username :  
 
Bottom
Author
 Thread : One safer than Two??
 
cowboi123
Why do cows eat grass??
Profile: member
More Information
n°1746669
06-22-2008 at 08:43:46 AM

Is it safer to have two smaller hard drives or one large one??

Related Pr oduct
 Register or log in to remove.

tank_atlan tis
Profile: newbie
More Information
n°1746670
06-22-2008 at 09:02:38 AM

Safer? I am not sure what you are asking. Really either one is not safe with out a backup of your important information. By only having one drive and having just the chance of that drive failing would be worse than having two drives and having one fail and you only lose half your information. Either way is a losing situation because you are losing your information. My suggestion would be to get a smaller faster drive for your OS, program files and important information. Then get a larger drive that you can ghost the image of the smaller drive to and use the rest of the space for storage.


Message edited by tank_atlan tis on 06-22-2008 at 09:03:54 AM
cowboi123
Why do cows eat grass??
Profile: member
More Information
n°1746676
06-22-2008 at 03:12:49 PM

safer, as in their MTBF value. I have heard that the chances of any one drive failing increases exponentially with the number of drives you own... is it true or not???

Slobogob
Profile: nimble knuckle
More Information
n°1746682
06-22-2008 at 03:35:40 PM

If you are after that, get a single platter harddrive. Their size is somewhat limited, but since they have only a single platter their chance of failure is lower. In addition they tend to run cooler which should be benefical for their MTBF.

runswindow s95
Profile: nimble knuckle
More Information
n°1746685
06-22-2008 at 03:41:59 PM

As tank_atlantis mentioned, have a good backup plan regardless how you go. Personally, I have two hard drives and I will never go back to just one. Here's my setup:

 

HDD #1: OS's and programs
HDD #2: Data

 

I find it easier to reinstall if the OS is on a physically separate drive than your data.


Message edited by runswindow s95 on 06-22-2008 at 03:38:12 PM
vochtige
Profile: enthusiast
More Information
n°1746686
06-22-2008 at 03:49:17 PM

i have the same. 1 with os and one for games and data.

cowboi123
Why do cows eat grass??
Profile: member
More Information
n°1746688
06-22-2008 at 03:54:59 PM

okey....so, are the chances of any one harddrive failing increases exponentially with the number of harddrives you own... is it true or not???

Message quoted 2 times
Modtech
Now that is just absolutely ludicrous
Profile: enthusiast
More Information
n°1746689
06-22-2008 at 03:58:00 PM

cowboi you're thinking about raid0.

angry_duck y
Profile: Ancient Poster
More Information
n°1746690
06-22-2008 at 04:03:25 PM

cowboi123 wrote :

okey....so, are the chances of any one harddrive failing increases exponentially with the number of harddrives you own... is it true or not???



The failure rate for each individual drive will stay the same; you're just more likely to have a drive fail because you have multiple drives. You can take the failure rate for a single drive and multiply it by the number of drives that you have...


---------------
DFI nF4-DAGF
A64 3700+
1GB DDR400
ASUS Radeon HD 2600XT 256MB
halcyon
The Order Odonata - We do what we must
Profile: Faithful Poster
More Information
n°1746692
06-22-2008 at 04:14:25 PM

The safety is to be found is having a good and regularly tested backup plan. I have six drives, only one of them is for backup. I use 2 x 2-disk RAID 0 arrays. ...and have one drive as a utility/scratch disk. My arrangement is...not safe. Except, that I regularly backup any data that is precious. Were I lazier I could even image the OS, and have and have that backed up as well.

I would not put my trust in the MTBF of any drive. Put the trust in the action you're taking to protect your data...your backups.


---------------
Yes, I use an Intel Quad. Sometimes its a little overclocked, sometimes a bit underclocked. Yet, its always nice and the virtualiztion is sick. And?
jitpublish er
Profile: Honorary Poster
More Information
n°1746694
06-22-2008 at 04:31:08 PM

cowboi123 wrote :

okey....so, are the chances of any one harddrive failing increases exponentially with the number of harddrives you own... is it true or not???

 

Let me explain how this would work in a real life scenerio:
If you own 0 hard drives, there is 0 chance of a failure.
If you own 1 hard drive, there is a slim chance of a failure.
If you own 2 hard drives, there are 2 slim chances of a failure.
If you own 3 hard drives, there are 3 slim chances of a failure.
If you own 4 hard drives, there are 4 slim chances of a failure.

Does that help? ;)

cowboi123
Why do cows eat grass??
Profile: member
More Information
n°1746715
06-23-2008 at 01:07:55 AM

ok..lol.....thanks!!!! Thanks everyone!!

Modtech
Now that is just absolutely ludicrous
Profile: enthusiast
More Information
n°1746721
06-23-2008 at 10:52:34 AM

On the other hand each hard drive's failure rate is pretty much untouched (unless you get overheating caused by cramped conditions and insufficient cooling). So it can be the difference between having one big hard drive and losing everything or having multiple HDs and losing only part of your data. So basically if you have 2 hard drives you're safer by putting seriously important data on both drives since the drives are independent of each other.

cowboi123
Why do cows eat grass??
Profile: member
More Information
n°1746722
06-23-2008 at 11:44:27 AM

modtech.....u have answered my question!!! THANKS!!!

halcyon
The Order Odonata - We do what we must
Profile: Faithful Poster
More Information
n°1746724
06-23-2008 at 12:46:32 PM

I don't quite agree, I'd use at least 2 drives and have one backup the other, heck, maybe even use a RAID1 mirror. The chance of both drives failing simultaneously is quite slim...so your chances of being able to retreive ALL of your valuable data in a disaster is higher than if you split up your valuable data between two drives.

 

So, you've got your My Documents, porn, music, and data (just kidding...no porn) on drive A and those folders are backed up daily to drive B. When disaster strikes you you have your data on at least 1 of the drives.


Message edited by halcyon on 06-23-2008 at 12:47:07 PM

---------------
Yes, I use an Intel Quad. Sometimes its a little overclocked, sometimes a bit underclocked. Yet, its always nice and the virtualiztion is sick. And?
superfuzzy
Profile: newbie
More Information
n°1746804
06-24-2008 at 04:34:17 PM

If you're doing critical work with deadlines, etc. RAID 1 is the way to go.

Here's my configuration:
1. Primary drives (2) RAID 1
OS and Programs - no data

2. 500GB drive
data only

3. two 750GB drives USB enclosure
back up of data and a disk image of drive 1.


Go to:
Add a reply
  Tom's Hardware UK and Ireland Forums » Storage » Hard Disks » One safer than Two??
 

Forum map
MyDiscussions.Net Forum, Version 2007.1
© 2000-2006 No1Dev
Page generated in 0.859 seconds
Google ads