Best way to store a hard drive?

[ipxxx]

Hi All,

I have a smaller capacity hard drive that contains old documents - mostly school related assignments etc. - that I probably will never really open again but they are still important to me (I may want to look at them for whatever reason, in the future - via External Enclosure).

In order to expand the capacity of my system I want to replace this hard drive with a larger capacity hard drive. The question is, what is the "safest" way to store a hard drive (for a very long time) and what kind of things should I be worried about? Should I just find one of those clam shell things, throw it in there, and that should suffice? Or can I just use one of those dark "static shielding bags"?

I understand that the cheaper solution may be to backup the data on DVD and just throw the hard drive somewhere but DVD's are also prone to their own problems as well such as scratches, etc. and since I have this drive that would be just sitting there I might as well use it for something.

I'm pretty sure there's nothing to it as I have a few old IDE drives that I used to just throw around and they still work fine but now with data I want to keep "in tact" on the drives I want to take a little more precaution.

Thanks!

[Silver Bullet]

Stick in it one of those "dark static shielding bags" seal it and put one of those moisture absorbing things in it as well. Then store in cool dry place. I would think the only problem you might have is the if you wait too long you won't be able to find any way of hooking it up to the 'lastest' computers

[willy]

Let hope that USB 9.0 will be backward compatible to USB 2.0 ;)

[ipxxx]

Hey thanks to all that replied
What is this "moisture absorbing things"? :| A sponge? haha


Stick in it one of those "dark static shielding bags" seal it and put one of those moisture absorbing things in it as well. Then store in cool dry place. I would think the only problem you might have is the if you wait too long you won't be able to find any way of hooking it up to the 'lastest' computers

[Silver Bullet]

Those little bags that say 'don't eat me' ... come in HD bags.

Example:

http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/9186/containerdri299x399gp6.jpg

[jory29]

Those little bags that say 'don't eat me' ... come in HD bags.

Example:

http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/9186/containerdri299x399gp6.jpg

Oh, man! I never noticed the 'don't eat me' instructions. I thought they were including some free clear 'Nerds' candy inside. :( No wonder they didn't taste as sweet as I thought they should be. :twisted:

Good question, OP, and good answers, too. I wonder if one of those packets that are inside of vitamin containers to absorb moisture would work. The silica gel pack inside of a new purse, or inside of a shoe box would work as well, I would think.

[7jaii]

Silca gel is required if you're storing in areas where moisture fluctuates like basements & unheated rooms. HDDs contain moving parts and therefore prone to fail - no manufacturer offers crash proof drives. They only replace drives and not the data.

If your data is important I would do 2 things. 1, backup your data to USB, solid state in this situation is more reliable than conventional HDD. 2, backup to DVDR, even though we don't know actual shelf life it's good to have an optical data copy. Put those discs in a CD wallet and keep them near your computer.

Anytime you store something away, you're bound to forget, it gets thrown out, you lose it, someone else comes along and breaks it. If it's nearby then you know its condition and can re-image that backup to newer devices in the future.

shameless plug -> I sell 2.5" & 3.5" enclosures so it's as simple as tossing your HDD inside and backup.

[balou911]

online storage.

Ive got tons of stuff stored in my hotmail and google accounts, just rar'd and p/w protected.

[Phils]

Let hope that USB 9.0 will be backward compatible to USB 2.0 ;)

I like it. LOL

[dighn]

If your data is important I would do 2 things. 1, backup your data to USB, solid state in this situation is more reliable than conventional HDD. 2, backup to DVDR, even though we don't know actual shelf life it's good to have an optical data copy. Put those discs in a CD wallet and keep them near your computer.

Ditto. and also 3: periodically refresh the data i.e. copy onto new media, and/or moving them onto new media types as they become common. The non-volatile storage techs we have today aren't that reliable in the long term.

[TruE SkiLLS]

you should put it into a vacuum sucked bag =D, then no bacteria would dissolve it

[mrlarouc]

you should put it into a vacuum sucked bag =D, then no bacteria would dissolve it

How 'bout throwing it in some tinfoil too, to protect it from being bombarded by gamma rayz! :lol:

[TruE SkiLLS]

How 'bout throwing it in some tinfoil too, to protect it from being bombarded by gamma rayz! :lol:

yeah, tin foil is good... and maybe outside, put a polarized glass dome over it.

[blainehamilton]

If you are going to store like this, use at least 2 different mediums at 2 different sites.

Hard drives are a mechanical appliance, and do fail eventually. I have found some drives don't like to spin up after sitting dormant for years and years. I had some old 200mb to 500mb drives collecting dust, many wouldn't spin up or the heads would stick. Anything on them was inaccesable.

Also, what happens if you have a fire? Data gone. That's why I keep 2 dvd backups off site (one with the inlaws, one with my parents) as well as a raided backup at home.

[TruE SkiLLS]

If you are going to store like this, use at least 2 different mediums at 2 different sites.

Hard drives are a mechanical appliance, and do fail eventually. I have found some drives don't like to spin up after sitting dormant for years and years. I had some old 200mb to 500mb drives collecting dust, many wouldn't spin up or the heads would stick. Anything on them was inaccesable.

Also, what happens if you have a fire? Data gone. That's why I keep 2 dvd backups off site (one with the inlaws, one with my parents) as well as a raided backup at home.

note, u do have dust in some of your drives, we're trying to keep his drive dust free =D.

which reminds me... after that, u gotta put that uv glass dome inside a fireproof safe.