Topic: Hard drives

[BillB]

I'm starting to consolidate all my files on a single computer. I went looking for a 1 TB hard drive so I can put everything under "My Documents"*. Top of the list when I searched for the options was a 2 TB drive for $110 (WD Caviar Green WD20EARS - hard drive - 2 TB - SATA-300).

Is 2 TB on a single spindle a reliable technology for September 2010? I know the WD Green gets good reviews, but with my corporate budgets hadn't even been looking at anything that big.

* If I put all my files together, I can get unlimited backup for $4.95/month from Carbonite: http://www.carbonite.com/en/how-it-works.aspx#;

Bill

http://bloghd.zaitech.com

[dewey]

Can you set the drives you have into the Video folder (assuming Windows 7) and link that to Carbonite?

I hesitate to put so much on one drive, but I was like that when 100Gb came available also.  It just takes me time to trust new storage tech.

I did a check on this drive and here is an interesting section on one review:

Advanced Format

You may not be able to see it by taking the drive apart, but another important change is lurking under the WD20EARS's hood: Advanced Format. The WD20EARS, along with the companion 1TB WD10EARS, are the first 3.5" drives to hit the market with Western Digital's new formatting structure, which divides the drive into 4,096-byte sectors instead of the smaller 512-byte sectors used in current drive technology.

The advantage? Fewer, larger sectors mean less drive space devoted to lead-ins and inter-sector gaps, which allows for formatting efficiencies in the high-90% range and usable-space increases of more than 10%. In short, it's a way to get more actual storage space from the same physical drive.

While larger sectors make sense for battling the diminishing returns on usable space as drives grow in size, it's worth noting that not all operating systems support this new technology. Windows users (including WHS users) from Vista forward should have no trouble, and the latest versions of Mac OS X and Linux are reported to handle 4K sectors without third-party software. If you're running XP, however, be aware that you'll have to use a software solution (WD's supplied WD Align tool, which provides 512-byte emulation) to get optimal performance, and you'll have to be even more creative in patching together a workable solution if you happen to use Windows Home Server 2003. We tested hits particular drive in a number of environments, including a custom Linux server running Ubuntu 10.04, a Synology DS410j Home Server, and inside Windows 7 with no 4K related problems.

Read full review here http://www.storagereview.comwestern_digital_caviar_green_2tb_review_wd20ears

I remember the problems with OS and mainboard controllers not recognizing large hard drives < back in the day > without specialized software.  This could be a concern if you aren't running Windows 7.

Let me know what you decide - a 2 TB may be in my future also.

[BillB]

Let me know what you decide - a 2 TB may be in my future also.

That's reason enough to get it. I'll let you know how it works.

Look for a report on Carbonite once I get some experience. They say they'll backup anything and everything on one computer - no network or attached drives. If I'm using a Win7 computer as my "file server," they shouldn't be able to tell the files are actually modified from multiple users.

Bill Barnes