Getting a new HDD, but I ahve 2 questions!

1031982 · 30th Jan 2007, 12:58 AM

Ok, I want to thoroughly test the new HDD. So, does anyone know what free program can do this? It's going to be a WD Raptor 74GB. I will be setting that up as the OS drive, so I don't want to worry about it having pre-mature failures.

And the second question, I don't want to simply jump on the new drive. I want a month of failsafe in addition so I put Partition Magic on my system to hide my current OS partition. Unfortuntaly, I don't have the option to hide it, or make it inactive. Any ideas other then backing the partition up. This would really make it easy should something go wrong with the new drive.

Chai · 30th Jan 2007, 08:25 AM

Normally, I would just let the HDD run for 3 months with a backup. That's the most common period of failure rates. After that, I guess it's just a matter of luck. I have a WD740 and it's running fine for almost a year already.

Adrian Wong · 30th Jan 2007, 10:54 PM

Wow.. You really want to do that?

TBH, it's kinda rare for well-maintained drives to fail these days. But if you really want to stress it, I would suggest running Winbench 99 and have it loop the disk tests.

However, although you can turn off your cooling fans to stress it, that is not advisable. It will really cut down your hard drive's lifespan. Heat is a killer.

1031982 · 31st Jan 2007, 02:43 AM

Ok, so testing is covered. What about hiding my current active partition. Anyone know how to do that? It would be a lot easier and quicker to just enable a partition then to make and restore a backup.

neverthar · 31st Jan 2007, 02:37 PM

You could try ghosting/cloning your new harddrive onto another harddrive so when it fails, you won't risk losing data and when you get a new one, all you need is to clone it back with the original image saved

peaz · 31st Jan 2007, 03:00 PM

yup. the method nevethar describe works well. I've done it when I migrated my machine to a new harddisk.

1031982 · 2nd Feb 2007, 11:39 AM

Ya, it is doing a backup to a drive instead of a disk... rats. Seems to be the only way. Well, OK, thanks. I better get ready for backing up my drive.

ianho · 7th Mar 2007, 09:43 AM

I dont understand y ure so worried about the Raptor failing. It's as reliable as it gets. Server class HDD for consumer use. Anyway, what I do is keep a full Ghost clone of my Raptor 150 in a partition of my Caviar 250. Anything happens then just select the Caviar 250 as boot drive n voila! No downtime at all.

empire23 · 7th Mar 2007, 07:47 PM

Suggest Intel's IOMeter with Storagereview's 128 queue line config file. The most badasstic load i've ever known.

1031982 · 8th Mar 2007, 06:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ianho

I dont understand y ure so worried about the Raptor failing. It's as reliable as it gets. Server class HDD for consumer use. Anyway, what I do is keep a full Ghost clone of my Raptor 150 in a partition of my Caviar 250. Anything happens then just select the Caviar 250 as boot drive n voila! No downtime at all.

I am only slightly worried because I got it OEM, not retail. I know some OEM mechanical devices like DVD-ROM's, and HDD's can be sent to a store because it doesnt pass a test by a big maker, like Alienware, but it passes all the manufacturer tests. Plus, there is always a slight chance that it could bomb out.

30th Jan 2007, 12:58 AM	#1 (permalink)
1031982 Super Active Join Date: 25 Feb 2003 Location: USA Posts: 1,580 Reputation: 285 Rep Power: 9	Getting a new HDD, but I ahve 2 questions! Ok, I want to thoroughly test the new HDD. So, does anyone know what free program can do this? It's going to be a WD Raptor 74GB. I will be setting that up as the OS drive, so I don't want to worry about it having pre-mature failures. And the second question, I don't want to simply jump on the new drive. I want a month of failsafe in addition so I put Partition Magic on my system to hide my current OS partition. Unfortuntaly, I don't have the option to hide it, or make it inactive. Any ideas other then backing the partition up. This would really make it easy should something go wrong with the new drive. __________________ Running : Gigabyte EP45-DS3R, Intel E7200 C2D, 2GB DDR2 Dual Channel, WD Raptor 74GB, WD 500 GB HDD, ASUS 16X DVD-ROM, LiteOn 16X DVD+/-RW, 1.44 MB Floppy, ATI Radeon HD 3450, Dell 2005FPW, and a SB Audigy2 ZS PRO with Logitech Z5300e speakers.

30th Jan 2007, 08:25 AM	#2 (permalink)
Chai Administrator Join Date: 6 Oct 2002 Location: Maranello Posts: 26,669 Reputation: 3984 Rep Power: 72	Normally, I would just let the HDD run for 3 months with a backup. That's the most common period of failure rates. After that, I guess it's just a matter of luck. I have a WD740 and it's running fine for almost a year already. __________________ Chai (Contributor & Forum Admin) http://www.techarp.com/

30th Jan 2007, 10:54 PM	#3 (permalink)
Adrian Wong Da Boss Join Date: 10 Oct 2002 Location: In front of my BenQ Joybook 7000 notebook! Posts: 29,960 Reputation: 2958 Rep Power: 65	Wow.. You really want to do that? TBH, it's kinda rare for well-maintained drives to fail these days. But if you really want to stress it, I would suggest running Winbench 99 and have it loop the disk tests. However, although you can turn off your cooling fans to stress it, that is not advisable. It will really cut down your hard drive's lifespan. Heat is a killer. __________________ Dr. Adrian Wong Tech ARP \| Blog @ Tech ARP \| The Free Trade Zone DYKT : The only offshore account I have is at the sand bank? Keep Tech ARP free! Visit our sponsors! We need PROGRAMMERS and TECHNICAL WRITERS! Contact us if you are a hot shot programmer or technical writer! My items for sale : 50x SD Card \| Memory Stick PRO \| Cyclone Energy Saver \| Seiko SS watch \| Tiger/Carlsberg beer jugs \| Travel Speakers \| Motorola V600 \| Nokia N90 SOLD! \| New Lowepro Mini Trekker AW Other items for sale @ the FTZ : Zalman CNPS9500 LED @ $20 \| Zalman CNPS7700 Cu @ $20 \| Zalman CNPS7000 Cu @ $20 \| Swarovski bracelet watches \| Dell 17" LCD \| Hi-Fi speakers \| English DIVX movies \| HP LaserJet toners! \| Office chairs

31st Jan 2007, 02:43 AM	#4 (permalink)
1031982 Super Active Join Date: 25 Feb 2003 Location: USA Posts: 1,580 Reputation: 285 Rep Power: 9	Ok, so testing is covered. What about hiding my current active partition. Anyone know how to do that? It would be a lot easier and quicker to just enable a partition then to make and restore a backup. __________________ Running : Gigabyte EP45-DS3R, Intel E7200 C2D, 2GB DDR2 Dual Channel, WD Raptor 74GB, WD 500 GB HDD, ASUS 16X DVD-ROM, LiteOn 16X DVD+/-RW, 1.44 MB Floppy, ATI Radeon HD 3450, Dell 2005FPW, and a SB Audigy2 ZS PRO with Logitech Z5300e speakers.

31st Jan 2007, 02:37 PM	#5 (permalink)
neverthar I'm a regular Join Date: 17 Oct 2006 Posts: 280 Reputation: 234 Rep Power: 5	You could try ghosting/cloning your new harddrive onto another harddrive so when it fails, you won't risk losing data and when you get a new one, all you need is to clone it back with the original image saved __________________ Only available by PM. Will help if possible Wanted: 2nd hand good condition IS lense for Canon 400D

31st Jan 2007, 03:00 PM	#6 (permalink)
peaz ARP Webmaster Join Date: 13 Oct 2002 Location: http://atpeaz.placidthoughts.com/ Posts: 8,500 Reputation: 1633 Rep Power: 31	yup. the method nevethar describe works well. I've done it when I migrated my machine to a new harddisk. __________________ Ken Ng Tech ARP Visit my web gallery - Ken's Digital Canvas Shoot and Earn Money from Stock Photography Sterling@PJ Community Forums

2nd Feb 2007, 11:39 AM	#7 (permalink)
1031982 Super Active Join Date: 25 Feb 2003 Location: USA Posts: 1,580 Reputation: 285 Rep Power: 9	Ya, it is doing a backup to a drive instead of a disk... rats. Seems to be the only way. Well, OK, thanks. I better get ready for backing up my drive. __________________ Running : Gigabyte EP45-DS3R, Intel E7200 C2D, 2GB DDR2 Dual Channel, WD Raptor 74GB, WD 500 GB HDD, ASUS 16X DVD-ROM, LiteOn 16X DVD+/-RW, 1.44 MB Floppy, ATI Radeon HD 3450, Dell 2005FPW, and a SB Audigy2 ZS PRO with Logitech Z5300e speakers.

7th Mar 2007, 09:43 AM	#8 (permalink)
ianho Getting there Join Date: 27 Feb 2007 Location: Malaysia Posts: 184 Reputation: 71 Rep Power: 2	I dont understand y ure so worried about the Raptor failing. It's as reliable as it gets. Server class HDD for consumer use. Anyway, what I do is keep a full Ghost clone of my Raptor 150 in a partition of my Caviar 250. Anything happens then just select the Caviar 250 as boot drive n voila! No downtime at all. __________________ King Kong Intel Q6600\|\| Arctic Cooling Freezer7Pro\|\| Arctic Cooling MX-2 TIM\|\| Asus Striker II Formula\|\| 2X Nvidia 8800GTX SLi\|\| ATI 2400Pro 3rd GFX card\|\| \|\| 150Gb Raptor + 250Gb Caviar WD HDD\|\| 1200W Silverstone Decathlon PSU\|\| Logitech G9 n G15\|\| Corepad Eyepad\|\| Edifier E3350 Speakers\|\| Sennheiser HD580 Precision Headphones\|\| Apple Cinema Display 30in & 20in\|\| Silverstone TJ07.

7th Mar 2007, 07:47 PM	#9 (permalink)
empire23 BRB. Attacking Russia Join Date: 4 Feb 2006 Location: Ze Fatherland Posts: 279 Reputation: 390 Rep Power: 6	Suggest Intel's IOMeter with Storagereview's 128 queue line config file. The most badasstic load i've ever known. __________________ I'm in Ur Forums, Spamming Ur Boards.

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