External Drive Help

I also received an error message - cyclic redundance check

That's a hardware error where the data in a sector does not match up with the number stored for verification. You were lucky that it was recovered. The only thing that may have caused that is if you lost power while the drive was writing data that is not the fault of hardware. When the hard drive writes data it also counts the number of bits that are active. Then it writes that number at the end of the sector.

That said I would personally consider another back up drive/device. Assuming the crc error was NOT as a result of a power failure or maybe a static discharge causing the crc not to be written. Otherwise it could happen again and not be recoverable. But the fact that is was recoverable this time is a pretty good indication it MIGHT not hardware.

It seems as if you already have a back up of your WD Passport on the Seagate. I would suggest replacing the WD with a NAS that runs mirroring and keep the Seagate. I have an inexpensive Iomega NAS that mirrors and if I have a drive failure when I replace the faulty drive it will automatically restore the replacement drive. I personally have Seagate drives in mine. I also have it on a battery. As far as brand I will say if man made it - it will break. Over the last 20 years I have seen less failures with Seagate. I also have some WD 4gb disks that still work and they are over 12 yrs old. My recommendation is never to buy the least expensive but somewhere in the middle of the line up. The most expensive only features faster read and writes which not necessary for audio streamers.

I agree with Michael's comments re Western Digital, and about the inevitability of drive failure. I would put it that backup strategies should be based on the assumption that any drive can fail at any time.

Regarding online backups, though, a point to keep in mind is that if and when it ever becomes necessary to download all of the online data, the time required may be very unreasonable. For example, downloading 2 terabytes of data on a 100 mbps internet connection, and assuming that the server at the other end can supply data at that rate (a big "if"), and assuming that the internet and ISP servers in between also do not limit that rate (another big "if"), would require around 56 hours of non-stop downloading. A 15 mbps connection would increase that to around 373 hours!

Regards,
-- Al

I do not know if you can take the warning against WD drives generally. I use WD Red 4T drives and they are rated well, 2nd only to the Hitachi drives in their category (SMB/SOHO/consumer). So far, none have failed me but, of course, nothing lasts forever.

I still use the Baetis and I am having it upgraded to XR3.

P.S. to my previous post: To be sure it's clear, when I said that "I agree with Michael's comments re Western Digital," I was agreeing with Michael/Sufentanil's statement that he "disagrees with the blanket statement that WD are unreliable."

I've used many WD drives over the years, with no failures at all in the last dozen or so years. Some of those drives have close to 60,000 hours on them.

Also, re the comment about speed, based on measurements I've performed on the WD drives I've purchased, all of which are either 7,200 or 10,000 rpm, those drives (at least) are certainly not slouches!

Regards,
-- Al

Recently I got into the digital arena of music, being mostly a vinyl listener.

For storage I have a Netgear ReadyNAS 102 connected to a switch at my stereo. This resides in the basement at the opposite end of the house from my backup. Backup is connected via USB to my router (the 102 is wired from the same router). It isn't an option to have backup via WiFi because there are too many users in the family. The router is on the first floor of may house at the opposite end. Therefore my NAS and it's backup are as far apart as possible and connected to the same LAN.

The only fear that remains is a whole house fire. I think of that as rather slim possibility, but possible. For somewhat foolproof backup I am considering a second ReadyNAS 102 to reside at an offsite location (work). Some of the latest NAS units have easy to setup software to encrypt data and talk to one another over the internet.

This is not an ad for Netgear...I just like the same brand equipment since the software tends to speak with one voice. However, I made one crucial error...only important to my setup, which is that the latest ReadyNAS software doesn't work with Minimserver software that I would like to employ. I've learned to work around it but not what I intended to do (personal problem...not related to this topic).

My biggest point is to keep it simple and determine what you think is realistic. I like a twin disk NAS with 1 backup in a remote location.