• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

Using internal hard drive externally for backup

Joined
Mar 12, 2021
Messages
62 (0.06/day)
Hi guys, I have a question. Does an internal hard drive last longer than external drive? I have an extra internal hard drive, not sure whether I use that externally with sata to USB cable or buy an external drive for backup data.

I heard that external drive is definitely going to break as it has moving parts? Just the matter of time they said.
 

Toothless

Tech, Games, and TPU!
Supporter
Joined
Mar 26, 2014
Messages
9,224 (2.52/day)
Location
Washington, USA
System Name Veral
Processor 5950x
Motherboard MSI MEG x570 Ace
Cooling Corsair H150i Elite
Memory 4x16GB G.Skill TridentZ
Video Card(s) Powercolor 7900XTX Red Devil
Storage Crucial P5 Plus 1TB, Samsung 980 1TB, Teamgroup MP34 4TB
Display(s) Acer Nitro XZ342CK Pbmiiphx + 2x AOC 2425W
Case Fractal Design Meshify Lite 2
Audio Device(s) Blue Yeti + SteelSeries Arctis 5 / Samsung HW-T550
Power Supply Corsair HX850
Mouse Corsair Nightsword
Keyboard Corsair K55
VR HMD HP Reverb G2
Software Windows 11 Professional
Benchmark Scores PEBCAK
If it's on, it's wearing. Simple as that. If you keep moving it, it'll wear and/or die out.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Joined
Jun 13, 2012
Messages
1,316 (0.31/day)
Processor i7-13700k
Motherboard Asus Tuf Gaming z790-plus
Cooling Coolermaster Hyper 212 RGB
Memory Corsair Vengeance RGB 32GB DDR5 7000mhz
Video Card(s) Asus Dual Geforce RTX 4070 Super ( 2800mhz @ 1.0volt, ~60mhz overlock -.1volts. 180-190watt draw)
Storage 1x Samsung 980 Pro PCIe4 NVme, 2x Samsung 1tb 850evo SSD, 3x WD drives, 2 seagate
Display(s) Acer Predator XB273u 27inch IPS G-Sync 165hz
Power Supply Corsair RMx Series RM850x (OCZ Z series PSU retired after 13 years of service)
Mouse Logitech G502 hero
Keyboard Logitech G710+
Depends on the external you buy, a lot of them are just internal drives plugged in to a usb or network card with a case around it. All drives will break at some point but externals tend probably break more cause small case and more likely getting moved around to diff machines more offen.

If it's on, it's wearing. Simple as that. If you keep moving it, it'll wear and/or die out.
I have had very good luck with leaving drives in my comp i leave on 24/7. IMO turning them off and on is more wear on them then just leaving them powered on.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Toothless

Tech, Games, and TPU!
Supporter
Joined
Mar 26, 2014
Messages
9,224 (2.52/day)
Location
Washington, USA
System Name Veral
Processor 5950x
Motherboard MSI MEG x570 Ace
Cooling Corsair H150i Elite
Memory 4x16GB G.Skill TridentZ
Video Card(s) Powercolor 7900XTX Red Devil
Storage Crucial P5 Plus 1TB, Samsung 980 1TB, Teamgroup MP34 4TB
Display(s) Acer Nitro XZ342CK Pbmiiphx + 2x AOC 2425W
Case Fractal Design Meshify Lite 2
Audio Device(s) Blue Yeti + SteelSeries Arctis 5 / Samsung HW-T550
Power Supply Corsair HX850
Mouse Corsair Nightsword
Keyboard Corsair K55
VR HMD HP Reverb G2
Software Windows 11 Professional
Benchmark Scores PEBCAK
Depends on the external you buy, a lot of them are just internal drives plugged in to a usb or network card with a case around it. All drives will break at some point but externals tend probably break more cause small case and more likely getting moved around to diff machines more offen.


I have had very good luck with leaving drives in my comp i leave on 24/7. IMO turning them off and on is more wear on them then just leaving them powered on.
My main stuff just stays on. Can't fail if it's not off to fail.
 
Joined
Mar 12, 2021
Messages
62 (0.06/day)
All drives will break at some point but externals tend probably break more cause small case and more likely getting moved around to diff machines more offen.
Yeah that's what I heard.

It would be better for me to just use the internal hard drive as backup as well because I can save money by not having to buy an external drive.

My main stuff just stays on. Can't fail if it's not off to fail.
I shutdown my laptop every night, is it bad?
 

Toothless

Tech, Games, and TPU!
Supporter
Joined
Mar 26, 2014
Messages
9,224 (2.52/day)
Location
Washington, USA
System Name Veral
Processor 5950x
Motherboard MSI MEG x570 Ace
Cooling Corsair H150i Elite
Memory 4x16GB G.Skill TridentZ
Video Card(s) Powercolor 7900XTX Red Devil
Storage Crucial P5 Plus 1TB, Samsung 980 1TB, Teamgroup MP34 4TB
Display(s) Acer Nitro XZ342CK Pbmiiphx + 2x AOC 2425W
Case Fractal Design Meshify Lite 2
Audio Device(s) Blue Yeti + SteelSeries Arctis 5 / Samsung HW-T550
Power Supply Corsair HX850
Mouse Corsair Nightsword
Keyboard Corsair K55
VR HMD HP Reverb G2
Software Windows 11 Professional
Benchmark Scores PEBCAK
Yeah that's what I heard.

It would be better for me to just use the internal hard drive as backup as well because I can save money by not having to buy an external drive.


I shutdown my laptop every night, is it bad?
It's been proven that shutting down cold and starting all the time is not as good as leaving it on, but YMMV.
 
Joined
Jun 13, 2012
Messages
1,316 (0.31/day)
Processor i7-13700k
Motherboard Asus Tuf Gaming z790-plus
Cooling Coolermaster Hyper 212 RGB
Memory Corsair Vengeance RGB 32GB DDR5 7000mhz
Video Card(s) Asus Dual Geforce RTX 4070 Super ( 2800mhz @ 1.0volt, ~60mhz overlock -.1volts. 180-190watt draw)
Storage 1x Samsung 980 Pro PCIe4 NVme, 2x Samsung 1tb 850evo SSD, 3x WD drives, 2 seagate
Display(s) Acer Predator XB273u 27inch IPS G-Sync 165hz
Power Supply Corsair RMx Series RM850x (OCZ Z series PSU retired after 13 years of service)
Mouse Logitech G502 hero
Keyboard Logitech G710+
It's been proven that shutting down cold and starting all the time is not as good as leaving it on, but YMMV.
i have 3x4tb drives, one is at 61000 hours yes 61k, other 2 are 68500 hours. Respectively 7-8years of powered on time still 0 problems
 

Mussels

Freshwater Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 6, 2004
Messages
58,413 (8.21/day)
Location
Oystralia
System Name Rainbow Sparkles (Power efficient, <350W gaming load)
Processor Ryzen R7 5800x3D (Undervolted, 4.45GHz all core)
Motherboard Asus x570-F (BIOS Modded)
Cooling Alphacool Apex UV - Alphacool Eisblock XPX Aurora + EK Quantum ARGB 3090 w/ active backplate
Memory 2x32GB DDR4 3600 Corsair Vengeance RGB @3866 C18-22-22-22-42 TRFC704 (1.4V Hynix MJR - SoC 1.15V)
Video Card(s) Galax RTX 3090 SG 24GB: Underclocked to 1700Mhz 0.750v (375W down to 250W))
Storage 2TB WD SN850 NVME + 1TB Sasmsung 970 Pro NVME + 1TB Intel 6000P NVME USB 3.2
Display(s) Phillips 32 32M1N5800A (4k144), LG 32" (4K60) | Gigabyte G32QC (2k165) | Phillips 328m6fjrmb (2K144)
Case Fractal Design R6
Audio Device(s) Logitech G560 | Corsair Void pro RGB |Blue Yeti mic
Power Supply Fractal Ion+ 2 860W (Platinum) (This thing is God-tier. Silent and TINY)
Mouse Logitech G Pro wireless + Steelseries Prisma XL
Keyboard Razer Huntsman TE ( Sexy white keycaps)
VR HMD Oculus Rift S + Quest 2
Software Windows 11 pro x64 (Yes, it's genuinely a good OS) OpenRGB - ditch the branded bloatware!
Benchmark Scores Nyooom.
Whatever you get, you'll want it powered off as much as possible and moved as little as possible.

It's been proven that shutting down cold and starting all the time is not as good as leaving it on, but YMMV.
Modern drives have "green" features to auto power down no matter what the OS says, so that's not much of a thing any more.
 

Toothless

Tech, Games, and TPU!
Supporter
Joined
Mar 26, 2014
Messages
9,224 (2.52/day)
Location
Washington, USA
System Name Veral
Processor 5950x
Motherboard MSI MEG x570 Ace
Cooling Corsair H150i Elite
Memory 4x16GB G.Skill TridentZ
Video Card(s) Powercolor 7900XTX Red Devil
Storage Crucial P5 Plus 1TB, Samsung 980 1TB, Teamgroup MP34 4TB
Display(s) Acer Nitro XZ342CK Pbmiiphx + 2x AOC 2425W
Case Fractal Design Meshify Lite 2
Audio Device(s) Blue Yeti + SteelSeries Arctis 5 / Samsung HW-T550
Power Supply Corsair HX850
Mouse Corsair Nightsword
Keyboard Corsair K55
VR HMD HP Reverb G2
Software Windows 11 Professional
Benchmark Scores PEBCAK
Whatever you get, you'll want it powered off as much as possible and moved as little as possible.


Modern drives have "green" features to auto power down no matter what the OS says, so that's not much of a thing any more.
Flash backs to WD Caviar Green.
 
Joined
Jan 17, 2010
Messages
12,280 (2.37/day)
Location
Oregon
System Name Juliette // HTPC
Processor Intel i7 9700K // AMD Ryzen 5 5600G
Motherboard ASUS Prime Z390X-A // ASRock B550 ITX-AC
Cooling Noctua NH-U12 Black // Stock
Memory Corsair DDR4 3600 32gb //G.SKILL Trident Z Royal Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 3600
Video Card(s) ASUS RTX4070 OC// GTX 1650
Storage Samsung 970 EVO NVMe 1Tb, Intel 665p Series M.2 2280 1TB // Samsung 1Tb SSD
Display(s) ASUS VP348QGL 34" Quad HD 3440 x 1440 // 55" LG 4K SK8000 Series
Case Seasonic SYNCRO Q7// Silverstone Granada GD05
Audio Device(s) Focusrite Scarlett 4i4 // HDMI to Samsung HW-R650 sound bar
Power Supply Seasonic SYNCRO 750 W // CORSAIR Vengeance 650M
Mouse Cooler Master MM710 53G
Keyboard Logitech 920-009300 G512 SE
Software Windows 10 Pro // Windows 10 Pro
Six of one, a half dozen of another. Its doesn't matter. To many variables to say ether way. Nothing is definitive

It's why we have back ups
 
Joined
Jan 8, 2017
Messages
8,863 (3.36/day)
System Name Good enough
Processor AMD Ryzen R9 7900 - Alphacool Eisblock XPX Aurora Edge
Motherboard ASRock B650 Pro RS
Cooling 2x 360mm NexXxoS ST30 X-Flow, 1x 360mm NexXxoS ST30, 1x 240mm NexXxoS ST30
Memory 32GB - FURY Beast RGB 5600 Mhz
Video Card(s) Sapphire RX 7900 XT - Alphacool Eisblock Aurora
Storage 1x Kingston KC3000 1TB 1x Kingston A2000 1TB, 1x Samsung 850 EVO 250GB , 1x Samsung 860 EVO 500GB
Display(s) LG UltraGear 32GN650-B + 4K Samsung TV
Case Phanteks NV7
Power Supply GPS-750C
They can always fail anyway. I had 3 HDDs fail in one year and I decided to never touch mechanical drives again.
 
Joined
May 12, 2017
Messages
2,178 (0.87/day)
i have 3x4tb drives, one is at 61000 hours yes 61k, other 2 are 68500 hours. Respectively 7-8years of powered on time still 0 problems

Well I have a 13 year old TV... & I bought a External hard drive around that time It's still going strong as of today.. It s always recording when TV is on for live TV pausing, but it also has TV films recoding going back the full 13 years..
 
Top