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second hand harddrive advice

  • 20-10-2012 8:59pm
    #1
    patrickc68
    Registered Users Posts: 76 ✭✭


    hi every1,,i'm buying a second hand external hdd,and just wondering what should i check for before i actully buy it,,,i know very little bout this ,so any advice and i would be greatfull,,,thanks


Comments

  • #2
    JDxtra
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,944 ✭✭✭JDxtra


    You'd be better of buying new. Hard drives fail, so there is a risk of getting a dud - or one that hasn't had the best care taken of it. Definitely only get new if it is for backups of any type.

    Otherwise, plug it in and check it shows up as a drive. Check the power lead (if it comes with one) and connections for any damage.


  • #3
    Torqay
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,835 ✭✭✭Torqay


    patrickc68 wrote: »
    should i check for before i actully buy it

    You should definitely do that. You can run HD Tune from a USB stick and run an error scan (this may take a couple of hours, depending on the size of the disk). Better safe than sorry.


  • #4
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭ [Deleted User]


    You would be nuts to buy a used HDD unless it was for peanuts or was still in warranty.

    There's certain things you can look for in the SMART data which will give you an idea of the age and health of the drive, such as power on hours, reallocated sectors, pending sectors etc. But unless you already know how to interpret these from experience then they're going to be of no use to you, its not something you can just understand from a post in a forum.

    And even then its just a best guess. HDDs can die at any moment. Even a brand new HDD off the shelf. Which is why a warranty is essential if you're paying any kind of money for it.


  • #5
    riclad
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,184 ✭✭✭riclad


    In peats today ,i say drive 1 tb, 1000 gig 80 euro.
    if you are buying one ,it should be very cheap,
    if you have critical data on it, backup important files ,data.
    if you hear any grinding,clicking noise dont buy it.
    copy 200gig file to it.do you hear any noise when its copying.noise may mean drive is close to failing.almost dead.
    http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-performance/using-windows-7-how-do-i-run-chkdsk/a68b3e4d-1a42-e011-9767-d8d385dcbb12


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