Best 6 - 8TB HD

[max668]

Hi all

I am in need of a 6 - 8TB hard drive because I need to back data.
I tried buying one but just happens that the one bought is slow.
https://www.newegg.com/blue-wd60ezrz-6tb/p/N82E16822235009?Item=N82E16822235009

I know absolutely nothing about hard drives. But I do know how to plug them in   So I was wondering if you guys could recommend me a good reliable product.

I will try to give some details on how the HD will be used:
The hard drive will be placed in my computer that is usually turned on 24/7 as i use my
So yes the HD will be plunged in to a machine that is on at least 1 week without being restarted

I am a designer so I store Video and photoshop files

Would love a NAZ but $$$$ and thats a topic for another day

O and my budget?
Within 200 dollars but lower than 200 unless its supper cool and a must have we can rethink the price limit

I found those bu again "I know absolutely nothing about hard drives."

https://www.newegg.com/seagate-ironwolf-st8000vn004-8tb/p/N82E16822184796
https://www.newegg.com/seagate-barracuda-pro-st8000dm0004-8tb/p/2ZN-00J2-000W8?Item=9SIA4MRJP60949
https://www.newegg.com/seagate-ironwolf-st8000vn0022-8tb/p/N82E16822179003?Item=9SIAKEYJA29016

Does the color of the HD matter?
 

 Please and  thank you for your help

[da na]

A WD Blue is not suitable for backup. For backup you'd want a NAS drive like an ironwolf or WD Red Pro (NOT just the Red, those are slower since they're SMR). 

I would recommend against the Barracuda Pro.

My go to rec is a WD Gold, WD Ultrastar, or HGST Ultrastar. Those drives will outlive everyone you know, trust me.

[max668]

7 minutes ago, Mel0n. said:

A WD Blue is not suitable for backup. For backup you'd want a NAS drive like an ironwolf or WD Red Pro (NOT just the Red, those are slower since they're SMR). 

I would recommend against the Barracuda Pro.

My go to rec is a WD Gold, WD Ultrastar, or HGST Ultrastar. Those drives will outlive everyone you know, trust me.

cash speed?
RPM?

Why would you recommend against the Barracuda Pro. ?

[OhioYJ]

I'll second @Mel0n.suggestion. My time and data is important. All my PCs have spinning disks in them still for data, the HTPCs still have HGSTs in them every thing else have WD Gold.  Personally, not a fan of Seagate, personal preference. Had better luck with WD.  Now I'll go find some wood to knock on... 

 

if I can run my Steam library from a Gold drive pretty sure your videos and data will be ok too. My video and data is fine on one. I will say typically I do video encoding on an SSD then move it to the HD for storage.

[da na]

2 hours ago, max668 said:

cash speed?
RPM?

Why would you recommend against the Barracuda Pro. ?

Cache speed and size does not necessarily matter. There's virtually no difference. 

Barracuda Pro are built more like consumer grade drives, Ironwolf are more akin to enterprise series drives. 

For comparison, with a Barracuda Pro you're getting a tuned Toyota Corolla with a racing engine. No matter what improvements have been made, it's still technically a low end consumer grade drive on the inside. But with the Ironwolf, that's a proper high capacity server drive.

[da na]

2 hours ago, OhioYJ said:

I'll second @Mel0n.suggestion. My time and data is important. All my PCs have spinning disks in them still for data, the HTPCs still have HGSTs in them every thing else have WD Gold.  Personally, not a fan of Seagate, personal preference. Had better luck with WD.  Now I'll go find some wood to knock on... 

I've only ever had 1 HGST die on me, and that was a 2007 Deskstar with 12 years of flying hours. All of the 2tb and 4tb Ultrastars in my RAID array are still going strong with no failing attributes at on average 8 years of flying hours. 
I'd avoid anything with Barracuda in the name if I were you, OP.

[Blue4130]

50 minutes ago, max668 said:

Hi all

I am in need of a 6 - 8TB hard drive because I need to back data.
I tried buying one but just happens that the one bought is slow.
https://www.newegg.com/blue-wd60ezrz-6tb/p/N82E16822235009?Item=N82E16822235009

I know absolutely nothing about hard drives. But I do know how to plug them in   So I was wondering if you guys could recommend me a good reliable product.

I will try to give some details on how the HD will be used:
The hard drive will be placed in my computer that is usually turned on 24/7 as i use my
So yes the HD will be plunged in to a machine that is on at least 1 week without being restarted

I am a designer so I store Video and photoshop files

Would love a NAZ but $$$$ and thats a topic for another day

O and my budget?
Within 200 dollars but lower than 200 unless its supper cool and a must have we can rethink the price limit

I found those bu again "I know absolutely nothing about hard drives."

https://www.newegg.com/seagate-ironwolf-st8000vn004-8tb/p/N82E16822184796
https://www.newegg.com/seagate-barracuda-pro-st8000dm0004-8tb/p/2ZN-00J2-000W8?Item=9SIA4MRJP60949
https://www.newegg.com/seagate-ironwolf-st8000vn0022-8tb/p/N82E16822179003?Item=9SIAKEYJA29016

Does the color of the HD matter?
 

 Please and  thank you for your help

If it's just a backup, why does it need to be fast? You are not working off this drive, correct?

 

And if it is inside the machine that it is backing up, that is not a real backup. Very dangerous.

[max668]

2 minutes ago, Blue4130 said:

If it's just a backup, why does it need to be fast? You are not working off this drive, correct?

 

And if it is inside the machine that it is backing up, that is not a real backup. Very dangerous.

so I dont have to wait 3 months for all my files to transfer.

if its inside my machine its not a backup? wait what?

[Blue4130]

3 minutes ago, max668 said:

so I dont have to wait 3 months for all my files to transfer.

if its inside my machine its not a backup? wait what?

Not a proper backup. Not a safe backup. It's a copy.  A backup should be seperate from the machine that it is copying. If your PSU goes, you backup is gone. If you get a virus, your backup is gone, if your house floods, your backup is gone. The list is endless.

 

Backup drives can be slow, just schedule the backup for after hours. I have mine set for 3 am when I know that I am not on the machine, then it doesn't matter if it takes 4 hours.

[max668]

3 minutes ago, Blue4130 said:

Not a proper backup. Not a safe backup. It's a copy.  A backup should be seperate from the machine that it is copying. If your PSU goes, you backup is gone. If you get a virus, your backup is gone, if your house floods, your backup is gone. The list is endless.

 

Backup drives can be slow, just schedule the backup for after hours. I have mine set for 3 am when I know that I am not on the machine, then it doesn't matter if it takes 4 hours.

but you have a server, correct?
thats how you schedule your backup correct? ( I honestly dont know how thats done )


I dont have a server, NAZ or what ever I do it all manually lol
Id love to know how not to do it manually but i dont have that kind of knowledge at the moment.
In the near future I would like to build a NAZ

At the moment I need to manually sort through all my files and organize them properly. Problem is that i have 6 tb of data and no hard drive I can dump it on to start my organization process.
So
step 1 organize
Step 2 copy / backup


 

[OhioYJ]

35 minutes ago, max668 said:

but you have a server, correct?
thats how you schedule your backup correct? ( I honestly dont know how thats done )

Well personally I use scripts. There are a couple different methods, generally I have it copy only changed files, and then shutdown the PC when complete.  I can send you an example of you want. 

[max668]

3 minutes ago, OhioYJ said:

Well personally I use scripts. There are a couple different methods, generally I have it copy only changed files, and then shutdown the PC when complete.  I can send you an example of you want. 

Please do!!

[max668]

so how about those drives?
https://www.newegg.com/gold-wd8004fryz-8tb/p/1Z4-0002-013V6

https://www.newegg.com/gold-wd8003fryz-8tb/p/N82E16822232558?Description=WD Gold.&cm_re=WD_Gold.-_-22-232-558-_-Product

I will probably wait till black Friday ...

[Blue4130]

56 minutes ago, max668 said:

but you have a server, correct?
thats how you schedule your backup correct? ( I honestly dont know how thats done )


I dont have a server, NAZ or what ever I do it all manually lol
Id love to know how not to do it manually but i dont have that kind of knowledge at the moment.
In the near future I would like to build a NAZ

At the moment I need to manually sort through all my files and organize them properly. Problem is that i have 6 tb of data and no hard drive I can dump it on to start my organization process.
So
step 1 organize
Step 2 copy / backup


 

A server is really not needed. For years I used Windows built in backup tool and a usb drive that I would plug in on Friday night and unplug on Saturday morning. It was really simple but effective.

[max668]

5 minutes ago, Blue4130 said:

A server is really not needed. For years I used Windows built in backup tool and a usb drive that I would plug in on Friday night and unplug on Saturday morning. It was really simple but effective.

tell me more tell me how
Teach me master!!

[OhioYJ]

24 minutes ago, max668 said:

Please do!!

For copying files, I mainly use robocopy, but for some things I use xcopy (On Windows, which I'm making the assumption you're using. If you're using Linux, it'll be rsync, and I can send you some stuff for that).

 

Below is an xcopy example. It is just source then destination. This xcopy will copy anything new files, or changed files. However it won't delete anything that has been removed from the source folder. So if you delete something from the "C" drive in this case, it will stay in your Backup. So the folders won't be identical.

 

xcopy "C:\user\Desktop\Folder" "D:\Backup\Desktop\Folder\" /d /y /r /h /s /c /f /i

 

Below is a robocopy example. Again source then destination. This will also copy new and changed files, skipping over anything that is the same. However in this case robocopy removes anything that you delete from the source folder. So it will make the folders identical.

 

robocopy "C:\user\Desktop\Folder" "D:\Backup\Desktop\Folder" /E /PURGE /DCOPY:T /COPY:DT /R:2 /W:2 /TIMFIX /XF desktop.ini

 

So generally you would have the folders you want to backup, a shutdown command in a ".bat" file. You can create this in notepad.

 

robocopy "C:\Source1" "D:\Backup1" /E /PURGE /DCOPY:T /COPY:DT /R:2 /W:2 /TIMFIX /XF desktop.ini
robocopy "C:\Source2" "D:\Backup2" /E /PURGE /DCOPY:T /COPY:DT /R:2 /W:2 /TIMFIX /XF desktop.ini
robocopy "C:\Source3" "D:\Backup3" /E /PURGE /DCOPY:T /COPY:DT /R:2 /W:2 /TIMFIX /XF desktop.ini
shutdown /s /f /t 0

 

Scripts can do quite a bit though if you really want. Since I backup to multiple locations, my script on this machine, has a menu, can wake the server, maps network drives,  etc.  So they can be as simple or fancy as you want.

 

15 minutes ago, max668 said:

so how about those drives?
https://www.newegg.com/gold-wd8004fryz-8tb/p/1Z4-0002-013V6

I will probably wait till black Friday ...

 

Double check, but IIRC to get a valid, or complete WD warranty I believe it needs to be purchased through a authorized retailer. Newegg counts, many third party sellers on Newegg likely won't.  Also WD drives go on sale pretty regularly, so watch for sales, not just on black Friday. It happens all the time. Also keep an eye on the WD store, they will also go on sale there. I've bought several from there. My 18 TB and 22 TB WD Gold drives came directly from WD as they had the best price at the time.

[Blue4130]

21 minutes ago, max668 said:

tell me more tell me how
Teach me master!!

Open Settings, Go to Update and Security, then "Backup" on the left side.

Spoiler

Click the blue link for "Back up and Restore (Windows 7)

Spoiler

Basically, follow the prompts.

Spoiler

 

[max668]

23 hours ago, Blue4130 said:

Open Settings, Go to Update and Security, then "Backup" on the left side.

  Hide contents

Click the blue link for "Back up and Restore (Windows 7)

  Reveal hidden contents

Basically, follow the prompts.

  Reveal hidden contents

 

can I back up the entire windows C installation?
That would be helpful

[Blue4130]

2 hours ago, max668 said:

can I back up the entire windows C installation?
That would be helpful

You can back up whatever you want. It gives you a file tree to select and or all folders on any drive connected to the system.

[max668]

On 11/18/2022 at 10:17 PM, Blue4130 said:

A server is really not needed. For years I used Windows built in backup tool and a usb drive that I would plug in on Friday night and unplug on Saturday morning. It was really simple but effective.

 

On 11/18/2022 at 10:51 PM, Blue4130 said:

Open Settings, Go to Update and Security, then "Backup" on the left side.

  Reveal hidden contents

Click the blue link for "Back up and Restore (Windows 7)

  Reveal hidden contents

Basically, follow the prompts.

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Thanks guys thats really helpful

How do you guys feel about those drives?
https://www.newegg.com/gold-wd8004fryz-8tb/p/1Z4-0002-013V6

https://www.newegg.com/gold-wd8003fryz-8tb/p/N82E16822232558?Description=WD Gold.&cm_re=WD_Gold.-_-22-232-558-_-Product

[max668]

On 11/18/2022 at 8:19 PM, Mel0n. said:

A WD Blue is not suitable for backup. For backup you'd want a NAS drive like an ironwolf or WD Red Pro (NOT just the Red, those are slower since they're SMR). 

I would recommend against the Barracuda Pro.

My go to rec is a WD Gold, WD Ultrastar, or HGST Ultrastar. Those drives will outlive everyone you know, trust me.

 

On 11/18/2022 at 9:06 PM, Blue4130 said:

If it's just a backup, why does it need to be fast? You are not working off this drive, correct?

 

And if it is inside the machine that it is backing up, that is not a real backup. Very dangerous.

 

 

On 11/18/2022 at 10:45 PM, OhioYJ said:

For copying files, I mainly use robocopy, but for some things I use xcopy (On Windows, which I'm making the assumption you're using. If you're using Linux, it'll be rsync, and I can send you some stuff for that).

 

Below is an xcopy example. It is just source then destination. This xcopy will copy anything new files, or changed files. However it won't delete anything that has been removed from the source folder. So if you delete something from the "C" drive in this case, it will stay in your Backup. So the folders won't be identical.

 

xcopy "C:\user\Desktop\Folder" "D:\Backup\Desktop\Folder\" /d /y /r /h /s /c /f /i

 

Below is a robocopy example. Again source then destination. This will also copy new and changed files, skipping over anything that is the same. However in this case robocopy removes anything that you delete from the source folder. So it will make the folders identical.

 

robocopy "C:\user\Desktop\Folder" "D:\Backup\Desktop\Folder" /E /PURGE /DCOPY:T /COPY:DT /R:2 /W:2 /TIMFIX /XF desktop.ini

 

So generally you would have the folders you want to backup, a shutdown command in a ".bat" file. You can create this in notepad.

 

robocopy "C:\Source1" "D:\Backup1" /E /PURGE /DCOPY:T /COPY:DT /R:2 /W:2 /TIMFIX /XF desktop.ini
robocopy "C:\Source2" "D:\Backup2" /E /PURGE /DCOPY:T /COPY:DT /R:2 /W:2 /TIMFIX /XF desktop.ini
robocopy "C:\Source3" "D:\Backup3" /E /PURGE /DCOPY:T /COPY:DT /R:2 /W:2 /TIMFIX /XF desktop.ini
shutdown /s /f /t 0

 

Scripts can do quite a bit though if you really want. Since I backup to multiple locations, my script on this machine, has a menu, can wake the server, maps network drives,  etc.  So they can be as simple or fancy as you want.

 

 

Double check, but IIRC to get a valid, or complete WD warranty I believe it needs to be purchased through a authorized retailer. Newegg counts, many third party sellers on Newegg likely won't.  Also WD drives go on sale pretty regularly, so watch for sales, not just on black Friday. It happens all the time. Also keep an eye on the WD store, they will also go on sale there. I've bought several from there. My 18 TB and 22 TB WD Gold drives came directly from WD as they had the best price at the time.

I have decided that I will go with the WD red

Lmk if you think its a good choice





Thanks for all your help

[OhioYJ]

13 minutes ago, max668 said:

I have decided that I will go with the WD red

Lmk if you think its a good choice

I think it will be a solid choice. It's a good drive, and it's a good amount of storage for the price (especially since you're getting more storage in this case than the Gold route).

 

I'd eventually try and get a external of some sort to try and backup to. I prefer WD for internals, I don't care for their externals oddly enough. I've been using Toshiba for the externals at the moment. However I'm not trying to back up everything to externals, just the "important" stuff, so I use 4 TB drives (much smaller than what's in my PC) for the externals.

[max668]

1 hour ago, OhioYJ said:

I think it will be a solid choice. It's a good drive, and it's a good amount of storage for the price (especially since you're getting more storage in this case than the Gold route).

 

I'd eventually try and get a external of some sort to try and backup to. I prefer WD for internals, I don't care for their externals oddly enough. I've been using Toshiba for the externals at the moment. However I'm not trying to back up everything to externals, just the "important" stuff, so I use 4 TB drives (much smaller than what's in my PC) for the externals.

Surprisingly I have many old hard drives that I have been using as a backup...

The Hitchi is my cold storage of 4 TB

Life will get easier now