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

The "2.19TB" hard drive limit

qubit

Overclocked quantum bit
Joined
Dec 6, 2007
Messages
17,866 (3.00/day)
Location
Quantum Well UK
System Name Quantumville™
Processor Intel Core i7-2700K @ 4GHz
Motherboard Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
Cooling Noctua NH-D14
Memory 16GB (2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance Black DDR3 PC3-12800 C9 1600MHz)
Video Card(s) MSI RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming X Trio
Storage Samsung 850 Pro 256GB | WD Black 4TB | WD Blue 6TB
Display(s) ASUS ROG Strix XG27UQR (4K, 144Hz, G-SYNC compatible) | Asus MG28UQ (4K, 60Hz, FreeSync compatible)
Case Cooler Master HAF 922
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty PCIe
Power Supply Corsair AX1600i
Mouse Microsoft Intellimouse Pro - Black Shadow
Keyboard Yes
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
I thought this article from ExtremeTech quite interesting, even though I take issue with the author's "2.19TB" limit. It sounds like he's being naughty and using decimal to measure capacity, just like the HD makers.

He states that 512 bytes x 2^32 = 2,199,023,255,552 or 2.19TB. Actually, this is exactly 2TB.

Finally, did you know that the 4KB block addressing that completely solves this problem has been around since way back in the 90s? Me neither. Apparently, Windows XP and the manufacturers have held this improvement back for more than a decade.

Ever since hard drives went mainstream in the late 1980s, computer owners have been able to count on one thing: their increasing capacity. As a result, what once used to be little more than a convenient method for reducing disk swapping has now become an integral part of daily life, with hard drives today storing not just our programs and our documents, but our very memories in the form of the photos and videos. The ever-increasing numbers of those have forced storage capacity to skyrocket to still more dizzying levels, to the point where most ordinary people now only really think of it when they're in danger of filling it up. But there's a reason that really large hard drives should be at the forefront of every computer owner's mind: they're about to become unusable.

Okay, perhaps that's a bit hyperbolic—but only a bit. The fact is, we're not just approaching the threshold at which hard drives can't get bigger: We're already there. The advent of very large hard drives, we're talking over 2.19 terabytes (TB) in capacity, in 2010 has highlighted a problem that's been growing for well over a decade, and whose seeds were planted when the very first hard drives hit the market some 25 or 30 years ago. The good news is that there are some solutions to it; the bad news is, they're little more than workarounds for an issue that needs more than makeshift bandages.

ExtremelyTech
 

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.
the 2TB limit (or 2.19TB in HDD manufacturer terms) is well known.

windows 7 can use 2TB+ drives, but they arent bootable. To make them bootable we need to get off BIOS and onto EFI - and that aint happening very fast.
 

qubit

Overclocked quantum bit
Joined
Dec 6, 2007
Messages
17,866 (3.00/day)
Location
Quantum Well UK
System Name Quantumville™
Processor Intel Core i7-2700K @ 4GHz
Motherboard Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
Cooling Noctua NH-D14
Memory 16GB (2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance Black DDR3 PC3-12800 C9 1600MHz)
Video Card(s) MSI RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming X Trio
Storage Samsung 850 Pro 256GB | WD Black 4TB | WD Blue 6TB
Display(s) ASUS ROG Strix XG27UQR (4K, 144Hz, G-SYNC compatible) | Asus MG28UQ (4K, 60Hz, FreeSync compatible)
Case Cooler Master HAF 922
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty PCIe
Power Supply Corsair AX1600i
Mouse Microsoft Intellimouse Pro - Black Shadow
Keyboard Yes
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
+1 Mussels

Everything you've said and more is in the article, which is why I thought it interesting.
 
Joined
Oct 1, 2010
Messages
2,361 (0.48/day)
Location
Marlow, ENGLAND
System Name Chachamaru-IV | Retro Battlestation
Processor AMD Ryzen 9 5900X | Intel Pentium II 450MHz
Motherboard ASUS ROG STRIX X570-F Gaming | MSI MS-6116 (Intel 440BX chipset)
Cooling Noctua NH-D15 SE-AM4
Memory 32GB Corsair DDR4-3000 (16-20-20-38) | 512MB PC133 SDRAM
Video Card(s) nVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 FE | 3dfx Voodoo3 3000
Storage 1TB WD_Black SN850 NVME SSD (OS), Toshiba 3TB (Storage), Toshiba 3TB (Steam)
Display(s) Samsung Odyssey G5 27" @ 1440p144 & Dell P2312H @ 1080p60
Case SilverStone Seta A1 | Beige box
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster AE-7 (Speakers), Creative Zen Hybrid headset | Sound Blaster AWE64
Power Supply EVGA Supernova 750 G2 | 250W ASETEC
Mouse Roccat Kone Air| Microsoft Serial Mouse v2.0A
Keyboard Vortex Race3 | Dell AT102W
Software Microsoft Windows 11 Pro | Microsoft Windows 98SE
They're just scaremongering for the most part. Especially with the comment:

"And what happens when a huge HD crashes?

It will, you know."

Bullshit. Not if you look after it like you're supposed to.
 

qubit

Overclocked quantum bit
Joined
Dec 6, 2007
Messages
17,866 (3.00/day)
Location
Quantum Well UK
System Name Quantumville™
Processor Intel Core i7-2700K @ 4GHz
Motherboard Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
Cooling Noctua NH-D14
Memory 16GB (2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance Black DDR3 PC3-12800 C9 1600MHz)
Video Card(s) MSI RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming X Trio
Storage Samsung 850 Pro 256GB | WD Black 4TB | WD Blue 6TB
Display(s) ASUS ROG Strix XG27UQR (4K, 144Hz, G-SYNC compatible) | Asus MG28UQ (4K, 60Hz, FreeSync compatible)
Case Cooler Master HAF 922
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty PCIe
Power Supply Corsair AX1600i
Mouse Microsoft Intellimouse Pro - Black Shadow
Keyboard Yes
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
They're just scaremongering for the most part. Especially with the comment:

"And what happens when a huge HD crashes?

It will, you know."

Bullshit. Not if you look after it like you're supposed to.

Well, you will lose the data on a hard disc eventually, when it dies. That is a fact. Because of this and many other sources of data loss, one should always have at least two copies of their data.

Computer illiterate users have a habit of storing their life's work on just the one HD, with the inevitable consequence. So, to drum it into their heads, I always tell them that one copy is data that they haven't lost yet. This statement is absolutely true and it usually scares them enough to listen to what I have to say about backups.

I myself keep three copies of my data. I have one main drive and back it up to two others every night. The drives are in different computers too, for good measure.
 

freaksavior

To infinity ... and beyond!
Joined
Dec 11, 2006
Messages
8,095 (1.28/day)
System Name ZeroUptime | M.A.S.S / MM1
Processor Xeon 2659 v3 / Xeon 2683 v4 / ARM A14
Motherboard Asus X99-E-10G WS / ASRock x99 usb 3.1 / Apple
Cooling NZXT Kraken / Noctua NH-L12 / Apple
Memory 16Gb DDR4 / 32Gb DDR4 / 16GB HBLM
Video Card(s) Powercooler ATI vega 64 / GT 7300 / ARM
Storage Samsung 970 512 Evo NVMe / A lot. / 256 + 512 External TB3
Display(s) Acer Predator X34 / Headless / Acer X34 Non predator
Case NZXT H630 |Rosewill 8bay 4u server chasiss / MMM1
Audio Device(s) Onboard / Onboard / Onboard
Power Supply Corais HX850 | Corsair TX750 / Internal 250w
Mouse g502 proteus core / Headless / g502 proteus core
Keyboard Corsair K95 Cherry Blue / Headless / K65 Cherry Red
Software Windows 10 / ESXI / Big Sur 11.2.2
Well, you will lose the data on a hard disc eventually, when it dies. That is a fact. Because of this and many other sources of data loss, one should always have at least two copies of their data.

Computer illiterate users have a habit of storing their life's work on just the one HD, with the inevitable consequence. So, to drum it into their heads, I always tell them that one copy is data that they haven't lost yet. This statement is absolutely true and it usually scares them enough to listen to what I have to say about backups.

I myself keep three copies of my data. I have one main drive and back it up to two others every night. The drives are in different computers too, for good measure.

Happened to my girlfriend. She had malware which totally prevented windows from even booting.

I laughed at her, I know it was mean but she deserved it after I told her countless times.
 
Joined
Oct 10, 2008
Messages
3,471 (0.61/day)
System Name Acer Aspire V3-771G-53218G75Maii
Processor Core i5 3210M (2,5-3,1Ghz)
Memory 8GB DDR3 SODIMM
Video Card(s) Geforce GT650M
Storage Samsung 830 256GB - 750GB Toshiba drive
Software Windows 7 x64 Home Premium (non-acer-bloatware)
Happened to my girlfriend. She had malware which totally prevented windows from even booting.

I laughed at her, I know it was mean but she deserved it after I told her countless times.

She is now your ex?
 
Joined
Jul 14, 2009
Messages
913 (0.17/day)
Location
Baltimore, MD
System Name Cool Runnings Mark 2
Processor i7 4770k No OC
Motherboard MSI Z87 MPower
Cooling Noctua NH-D14
Memory GSkill TridentX 2400MHz 32GB
Video Card(s) MSI GTX 1070 Ti Duke, EVGA GTX 780 AC+
Storage Crucial MX500 1TB SSD, 3 more HDDs
Display(s) 2x MSI 32" 2560 x 1440 144Hz Optix MAG321CQR, Acer G276HLDbd Black 27" 6ms
Case Corsair 600t
Power Supply Corsair HX850
Mouse Razer DeathAdder
Keyboard Steelseries Merc Stealth
Software Win10 Pro 64-bit
Happened to my girlfriend. She had malware which totally prevented windows from even booting.

I laughed at her, I know it was mean but she deserved it after I told her countless times.

She is now your ex?

:roll:

seriously though, i am eager for motherboard manufactorers and chip makers to mmake the move to EFI. we embrace most other kind sof new tech, why is this tech taking so long?
 

qubit

Overclocked quantum bit
Joined
Dec 6, 2007
Messages
17,866 (3.00/day)
Location
Quantum Well UK
System Name Quantumville™
Processor Intel Core i7-2700K @ 4GHz
Motherboard Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
Cooling Noctua NH-D14
Memory 16GB (2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance Black DDR3 PC3-12800 C9 1600MHz)
Video Card(s) MSI RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming X Trio
Storage Samsung 850 Pro 256GB | WD Black 4TB | WD Blue 6TB
Display(s) ASUS ROG Strix XG27UQR (4K, 144Hz, G-SYNC compatible) | Asus MG28UQ (4K, 60Hz, FreeSync compatible)
Case Cooler Master HAF 922
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty PCIe
Power Supply Corsair AX1600i
Mouse Microsoft Intellimouse Pro - Black Shadow
Keyboard Yes
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
Happened to my girlfriend. She had malware which totally prevented windows from even booting.

I laughed at her, I know it was mean but she deserved it after I told her countless times.

Yeah, I'd be feeling smug too and have a chuckle, but would likely keep that bit to myself if I wanted to get laid that night. ;)

In fact, such events are a perfect time to offer professional-grade sympathy and explain the most suitable backup strategies available to them from now on. I'd try to recover the data too, if possible.
 
Joined
May 5, 2009
Messages
2,270 (0.42/day)
Location
the uk that's all you need to know ;)
System Name not very good (wants throwing out window most of time)
Processor xp3000@ 2.17ghz pile of sh** /i7 920 DO on air for now
Motherboard msi kt6 delta oap /gigabyte x58 ud7 (rev1.0)
Cooling 1 green akasa 8cm(rear) 1 multicoloured akasa(hd) 1 12 cm (intake) 1 9cm with circuit from old psu
Memory 1.25 gb kingston hyperx @333mhz/ 3gb corsair dominator xmp 1600mhz
Video Card(s) (agp) hd3850 not bad not really suitable for mobo n processor/ gb hd5870
Storage wd 320gb + samsung 320 gig + wd 1tb 6gb/s
Display(s) compaq mv720
Case thermaltake XaserIII skull / coolermaster cm 690II
Audio Device(s) onboard
Power Supply corsair hx 650 w which solved many problems (blew up) /850w corsair
Software xp pro sp3/ ? win 7 ultimate (32 bit)
Benchmark Scores 6543 3d mark05 ye ye not good but look at the processor /uknown as still not benched
best thing is if you don't want data loss is to avoid pata harddrive caddies, as the pins get dirty and then you get errors and data corruption

how do i know ?

well i have 4 of the damned things and yes i have lost a whole drives worth of data :cry:
so it's something to think about ;)
 

qubit

Overclocked quantum bit
Joined
Dec 6, 2007
Messages
17,866 (3.00/day)
Location
Quantum Well UK
System Name Quantumville™
Processor Intel Core i7-2700K @ 4GHz
Motherboard Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
Cooling Noctua NH-D14
Memory 16GB (2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance Black DDR3 PC3-12800 C9 1600MHz)
Video Card(s) MSI RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming X Trio
Storage Samsung 850 Pro 256GB | WD Black 4TB | WD Blue 6TB
Display(s) ASUS ROG Strix XG27UQR (4K, 144Hz, G-SYNC compatible) | Asus MG28UQ (4K, 60Hz, FreeSync compatible)
Case Cooler Master HAF 922
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty PCIe
Power Supply Corsair AX1600i
Mouse Microsoft Intellimouse Pro - Black Shadow
Keyboard Yes
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
best thing is if you don't want data loss is to avoid pata harddrive caddies, as the pins get dirty and then you get errors and data corruption

how do i know ?

well i have 4 of the damned things and yes i have lost a whole drives worth of data :cry:
so it's something to think about ;)

Oh god yes. :eek: Years ago, I had Syquest SparQ 1GB internal and external hard drives with removable discs and the reliability was absolute crap, the internal version especially. :shadedshu

I actually have to confess that I still have the damn things, but don't use them, of course. The internal drive completely gave up the ghost and won't even be recognized by the BIOS any more.

And finally, I've got one of the removable media, unused and still in its plastic sealed wrapper. :D
 

InnocentCriminal

Resident Grammar Amender
Joined
Feb 21, 2005
Messages
6,477 (0.93/day)
System Name BeeR 6
Processor Intel Core i7 3770K*
Motherboard ASUS Maximus V Gene (1155/Z77)
Cooling Corsair H100i
Memory 16GB Samsung Green 1600MHz DDR3**
Video Card(s) 4GB MSI Gaming X RX480
Storage 256GB Samsung 840 Pro SSD
Display(s) 27" Samsung C27F591FDU
Case Fractal Design Arc Mini
Power Supply Corsair HX750W
Software 64bit Microsoft Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores *@ 4.6GHz **@ 2133MHz
No digital data is truly safe, doesn't matter where you store it. Saying that, I'm running out of HDD space and need another HDD. I hate being poor.

:(
 
Joined
May 5, 2009
Messages
2,270 (0.42/day)
Location
the uk that's all you need to know ;)
System Name not very good (wants throwing out window most of time)
Processor xp3000@ 2.17ghz pile of sh** /i7 920 DO on air for now
Motherboard msi kt6 delta oap /gigabyte x58 ud7 (rev1.0)
Cooling 1 green akasa 8cm(rear) 1 multicoloured akasa(hd) 1 12 cm (intake) 1 9cm with circuit from old psu
Memory 1.25 gb kingston hyperx @333mhz/ 3gb corsair dominator xmp 1600mhz
Video Card(s) (agp) hd3850 not bad not really suitable for mobo n processor/ gb hd5870
Storage wd 320gb + samsung 320 gig + wd 1tb 6gb/s
Display(s) compaq mv720
Case thermaltake XaserIII skull / coolermaster cm 690II
Audio Device(s) onboard
Power Supply corsair hx 650 w which solved many problems (blew up) /850w corsair
Software xp pro sp3/ ? win 7 ultimate (32 bit)
Benchmark Scores 6543 3d mark05 ye ye not good but look at the processor /uknown as still not benched
back on topic :p,

i remember trying to use a 500gb then a 640gb harddrive in my old pc, only to realise that they weren't been seen by the bios, iirc it was something to do with the sata 1 chipset (a via 8237)

weird thing was the pc would act like it saw the drives (windows bar would stop for a second then continue at boot), but just couldn't see them
 
Joined
Jan 17, 2009
Messages
2,143 (0.39/day)
System Name THE MAD BEAST!!!
Processor Tinfoil rapper with some coathangers
Motherboard Graham cracker with with frosting
Cooling A shovel full of snow
Memory Grey matter out of a corpse
Video Card(s) Cat eyes
Storage A whales brain
Display(s) Cyclops eyeball
Case Inside a yetis hollowed out corpse
Audio Device(s) howling banchee
Power Supply 32 hamster on a massive wheel
Software WHo needs software when you have a box of kittens
Benchmark Scores IS gatrillions a number?
what happens when my harddrives crashes, i grab one of my other 19 harddrives put the bad one as a slave and boot and collect my data...whooo thats hard, lol, thats some stupid scaretactic crap
 

qubit

Overclocked quantum bit
Joined
Dec 6, 2007
Messages
17,866 (3.00/day)
Location
Quantum Well UK
System Name Quantumville™
Processor Intel Core i7-2700K @ 4GHz
Motherboard Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
Cooling Noctua NH-D14
Memory 16GB (2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance Black DDR3 PC3-12800 C9 1600MHz)
Video Card(s) MSI RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming X Trio
Storage Samsung 850 Pro 256GB | WD Black 4TB | WD Blue 6TB
Display(s) ASUS ROG Strix XG27UQR (4K, 144Hz, G-SYNC compatible) | Asus MG28UQ (4K, 60Hz, FreeSync compatible)
Case Cooler Master HAF 922
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty PCIe
Power Supply Corsair AX1600i
Mouse Microsoft Intellimouse Pro - Black Shadow
Keyboard Yes
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
what happens when my harddrives crashes, i grab one of my other 19 harddrives put the bad one as a slave and boot and collect my data...whooo thats hard, lol, thats some stupid scaretactic crap

If your hard drive crashes then it can't read any data, because it's f*cked. How will connecting it as a slave help you?

The best way to avoid this remains to have a minimum of two copies of your data, or your will lose it.
 

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.
If your hard drive crashes then it can't read any data, because it's f*cked. How will connecting it as a slave help you?

The best way to avoid this remains to have a minimum of two copies of your data, or your will lose it.

i believe he thinks a corrupted OS is the same as a hard drive crash. its clearly not.
 
Joined
Jan 17, 2009
Messages
2,143 (0.39/day)
System Name THE MAD BEAST!!!
Processor Tinfoil rapper with some coathangers
Motherboard Graham cracker with with frosting
Cooling A shovel full of snow
Memory Grey matter out of a corpse
Video Card(s) Cat eyes
Storage A whales brain
Display(s) Cyclops eyeball
Case Inside a yetis hollowed out corpse
Audio Device(s) howling banchee
Power Supply 32 hamster on a massive wheel
Software WHo needs software when you have a box of kittens
Benchmark Scores IS gatrillions a number?
If your hard drive crashes then it can't read any data, because it's f*cked. How will connecting it as a slave help you?

The best way to avoid this remains to have a minimum of two copies of your data, or your will lose it.

im talking about crashing like, blue screen, os corruptions, not a pickaxe threw the hardrive, lol
 

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.
im talking about crashing like, blue screen, os corruptions, not a pickaxe threw the hardrive, lol

that is not a hard drive crash. thats just data corruption (from a virus, bad OC, whatever) - nothing do with the drive failing itself.


when a drive fails you know it - all your datas fucked.
 
Joined
Jan 17, 2009
Messages
2,143 (0.39/day)
System Name THE MAD BEAST!!!
Processor Tinfoil rapper with some coathangers
Motherboard Graham cracker with with frosting
Cooling A shovel full of snow
Memory Grey matter out of a corpse
Video Card(s) Cat eyes
Storage A whales brain
Display(s) Cyclops eyeball
Case Inside a yetis hollowed out corpse
Audio Device(s) howling banchee
Power Supply 32 hamster on a massive wheel
Software WHo needs software when you have a box of kittens
Benchmark Scores IS gatrillions a number?
that is not a hard drive crash. thats just data corruption (from a virus, bad OC, whatever) - nothing do with the drive failing itself.


when a drive fails you know it - all your datas fucked.

ive had it happen, but the way they talk about it is like it happens all the time, i have harddrifves from 10 yrs ago that are still functioning. thats complete crap, as long as your not playing hackey sack with them and not letting them overheat for the most part thell last a long time, unless they were factory built with a default
 
Joined
Jul 30, 2007
Messages
6,560 (1.08/day)
System Name Vintage
Processor i7 - 3770K @ Stock
Cooling Scythe Zipang II
Memory 2x4GB Crucial DDR3
Video Card(s) MSI GTX970
Storage M4 124GB SSD// WD Black 640GB// WD Black 1TB//Samsung F3 1.5TB
Display(s) Samsung SM223BW 21.6"
Case Generic
Power Supply Corsair HX 520W
Software Windows 7
No digital data is truly safe, doesn't matter where you store it. Saying that, I'm running out of HDD space and need another HDD. I hate being poor.

:(

eBuyer constantly do deals on harddrives. Today the 2TB western digital is just over £70
 

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.
ive had it happen, but the way they talk about it is like it happens all the time, i have harddrifves from 10 yrs ago that are still functioning. thats complete crap, as long as your not playing hackey sack with them and not letting them overheat for the most part thell last a long time, unless they were factory built with a default

it doesnt happen often at all. the problem is that when it does, it hurts. i've had no drive failures in years, except for three WD 640GBs that all died within 48 hours of owning them (bad batch?). that sucked, since the first two had over 700GB of my data on them - no backups, made the stupid mistake of selling the old drives immediately.
 
Joined
Jan 17, 2009
Messages
2,143 (0.39/day)
System Name THE MAD BEAST!!!
Processor Tinfoil rapper with some coathangers
Motherboard Graham cracker with with frosting
Cooling A shovel full of snow
Memory Grey matter out of a corpse
Video Card(s) Cat eyes
Storage A whales brain
Display(s) Cyclops eyeball
Case Inside a yetis hollowed out corpse
Audio Device(s) howling banchee
Power Supply 32 hamster on a massive wheel
Software WHo needs software when you have a box of kittens
Benchmark Scores IS gatrillions a number?
it doesnt happen often at all. the problem is that when it does, it hurts. i've had no drive failures in years, except for three WD 640GBs that all died within 48 hours of owning them (bad batch?). that sucked, since the first two had over 700GB of my data on them - no backups, made the stupid mistake of selling the old drives immediately.

yeah that does suck, too be honest, i usually let a 1 week test for most my harddrives before i start pumping them full of data i learned from a bad exsperience in the past, was shitty
 

qubit

Overclocked quantum bit
Joined
Dec 6, 2007
Messages
17,866 (3.00/day)
Location
Quantum Well UK
System Name Quantumville™
Processor Intel Core i7-2700K @ 4GHz
Motherboard Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
Cooling Noctua NH-D14
Memory 16GB (2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance Black DDR3 PC3-12800 C9 1600MHz)
Video Card(s) MSI RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming X Trio
Storage Samsung 850 Pro 256GB | WD Black 4TB | WD Blue 6TB
Display(s) ASUS ROG Strix XG27UQR (4K, 144Hz, G-SYNC compatible) | Asus MG28UQ (4K, 60Hz, FreeSync compatible)
Case Cooler Master HAF 922
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty PCIe
Power Supply Corsair AX1600i
Mouse Microsoft Intellimouse Pro - Black Shadow
Keyboard Yes
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
@Marineborn: ok, I accept you meant a borked OS. :) It's still naughty to call it a "hard drive crash" though, because it isn't and is misleading. And yes, you can often recover files off it... but then again, an OS should always be in its own partition and all data in one or more others (and preferably on a separate HD) not in your profile buried in the OS. Then, if the OS goes south (north for Australians, of course) you're not sitting there sweating and stressed out trying to retrieve your data.

Data loss can occur in lots of ways other than a hard disc dying, so the possibilities should be covered.

There's this example of simple human error, if someone's not alert: our sleepy user deletes a folder chock full of data - many gigs of it. They then empty the Recycle Bin to recover the space and immediately realize they meant to delete the folder next to it instead.

Oops. :eek:

This happens quite often and I've fallen for it myself. You are now left with the option of attempting to use disc recovery tools or effortlessly restoring your data from your up to date backup. I know which option I'd prefer. ;)
 
Last edited:

xbonez

New Member
Joined
Nov 29, 2010
Messages
1,182 (0.24/day)
Location
Philly, PA (US)
System Name Winter
Processor AMD Phenom II x4 965 BE @ 4.0Ghz
Motherboard MSI 790FX-GD70
Cooling Corsair H50 Liquid Cooling
Memory 2 x 2Gb Gskill Ripjaws 1600Mhz (7-7-7-24@1.6V)
Video Card(s) Asus GTX 470 @ Stock (Zalman VF3000 cooler)
Storage 2 x Samsung Spinpoint F3 500GB (RAID 0)
Display(s) Hanns G 28" @ 1920x1200
Case Antec 1200
Audio Device(s) Onboard -- TosLink --> Z5500
Power Supply Corsair 850TX 850W PSU
Software Win 7 64-bit Ultimate
For the price that HDDs sell at, it shouldn't be expensive for anyone who would realky be hurt by data loss to set up a RAID 1 array.
Personally, all my documents, pics etc are in my dropbox (so i have a constant back up online, and on my laptop where I have my dropbox attached). My HDD contains movies, games etc. which I don't really care if I lose. Hence, I use a RAID 0 array.
 

qubit

Overclocked quantum bit
Joined
Dec 6, 2007
Messages
17,866 (3.00/day)
Location
Quantum Well UK
System Name Quantumville™
Processor Intel Core i7-2700K @ 4GHz
Motherboard Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
Cooling Noctua NH-D14
Memory 16GB (2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance Black DDR3 PC3-12800 C9 1600MHz)
Video Card(s) MSI RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming X Trio
Storage Samsung 850 Pro 256GB | WD Black 4TB | WD Blue 6TB
Display(s) ASUS ROG Strix XG27UQR (4K, 144Hz, G-SYNC compatible) | Asus MG28UQ (4K, 60Hz, FreeSync compatible)
Case Cooler Master HAF 922
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty PCIe
Power Supply Corsair AX1600i
Mouse Microsoft Intellimouse Pro - Black Shadow
Keyboard Yes
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
That sounds like a decent strategy xbonez. :)
 
Top