Keep them unplugged and in a cool dry safe environment free from temp swings or shock damage, theft, etc.
And when in use, always make sure they are on conditioned power and kept cooll while operating.
this post was submitted on 18 Nov 2023
1 points (100.0% liked)
Data Hoarder
0 readers
3 users here now
We are digital librarians. Among us are represented the various reasons to keep data -- legal requirements, competitive requirements, uncertainty of permanence of cloud services, distaste for transmitting your data externally (e.g. government or corporate espionage), cultural and familial archivists, internet collapse preppers, and people who do it themselves so they're sure it's done right. Everyone has their reasons for curating the data they have decided to keep (either forever or For A Damn Long Time (tm) ). Along the way we have sought out like-minded individuals to exchange strategies, war stories, and cautionary tales of failures.
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
Really nothing you can do except be sensible. Don't move them while they're powered on, and keep them in a mild temperature and relative humidity environment comfortable for a human. That's about it.
Just have a backup. And a backup of your backup. That way you don't have to worry about it.
The TrueNAS gods say to leave HDDs plugged in and spinning.
The current way to store digital data is as “living data” with backups. Data only exists if it’s constantly verified to exist. You can’t verify an unplugged HDD. Of course, you need a 3-2-1 backup system, and have to continually verify those backups as part of the living system.
The magnetic platters in a HDD are actually decently reliable. Sure a cosmic ray or error may flip a bit, but that’s why we have backups and redundancy elsewhere in the system. That flipped bit won’t actually damage the hardware.
The real concern with HDDs is that they mechanically wear out and break. They stop spinning. The motors malfunction, the lubricants dry up, the metal bearings wear down, etc.
TrueNAS says the most dangerous time in a HDDs life is when it is spinning up or slowing down from a stop. This gives the most mechanical stress on the HDD. They says it’s better to leave them powered and spinning 24/7 than to unplug them or despin them.