External backup drive - SSD or hard-drive ?

[RogerS]

I need another external backup drive and had thought about one of the SSD ones. But then I read somewhere that SSD was not recommended for backup purposes.

I know that hard drives inside PVR's have to be of a certain type as they are often working all the time and so perhaps there is some characteristic of SSD's that make them unsuitable for backup drives ?

Any thoughts, chaps ?

 

[Racers]

The only problem with ssds is they can fail totally but if you are backing up properly you should have a off site copy so it wouldn't be problem.

Pete

 

[RogerS]

The only problem with ssds is they can fail totally but if you are backing up properly you should have a off site copy so it wouldn't be problem.

Pete

Thanks Pete. That's one of the reasons for getting a second one.

 

[DrPhill]

How much and what type of data are you backing up?

I back up my essential documentation to a git repository hosted by BitBucket. Good security, easy access, free.

 

[jeremyduncombe]

I can’t see any benefit in using SSD for backups. A standard hard drive will do the job just as well and will be much cheaper.

 

[RogerS]

How much and what type of data are you backing up?

I back up my essential documentation to a git repository hosted by BitBucket. Good security, easy access, free.

The entire Mac ....about 250GB. Thats the first copy, obviously. Then subsequent copies only copy the files that have changed. SuperDuper...cracking program.

 

[RogerS]

I can’t see any benefit in using SSD for backups. A standard hard drive will do the job just as well and will be much cheaper.

Yup...I'm coming round to that way of thinking.

 

[flying haggis]

i use two 2Tb drives in raid mode. both drives are ex sky box and cost me £8 the pair! the rest of the sky box went in the bin

 

[Robbo3]

I need another external backup drive and had thought about one of the SSD ones. But then I read somewhere that SSD was not recommended for backup purposes.

I know that hard drives inside PVR's have to be of a certain type as they are often working all the time and so perhaps there is some characteristic of SSD's that make them unsuitable for backup drives ?

Any thoughts, chaps ?

Not that I've heard of although defragging an SSD is said to shorten its life depending on who you believe. SSDs are supposed to have a limit on the number of times they can be written to however the average user would be hard pressed to reach that limit.
It's not that I prefer the tried & tested technology of a platter hard drive, it's just that is what I happen to have spare.
The couple of drives that I have rescued from set top recorders have both been spinners.

 

[novocaine]

I've just put a 120gb drive in my old laptop, SSD was cheaper than the equivalent HDD but I appreciate this a small drive by modern standards and the price of SSD unlike HDD is size dependent right now. if you are after single point 1tb then go with HDD, if you intend to spread it over multiple drives such that you don't lose everything when 1 drive fails, I think you'll be about break even with SSD or HDD.

SSD life isn't really a concern for a backup drive, it's being written to fairly infrequently and read from more often, you want be using it for swap memory or temporary files (often the reason for high writes on a drive). There's a back of the *** packet calculation you can do but it asks you to make some assumptions that you might not want to make, normally it puts figures at the 1000tb-3000tb write life on a 1tb drive.

if you have the money, SSD should be considered if only for the physical aspects (doesn't matter if you drop it or not, sort of), if you want large single point storage that doesn't really move, HDD will be up to the challenge.

you pays your money you takes your chance. happy days.

 

[lexfurther]

So, about using an SSD for your backup needs, it's not a bad idea at all! SSDs are super fast and reliable, which is great for backup because you want your data safe and easily accessible when you need it. Now, I get where you're coming from with the PVR hard drives, but there's a bit of a difference here. PVR hard drives are spinning 24/7, and that constant use can wear them down faster. SSDs, on the other hand, don't have any moving parts, so they're less prone to that kind of wear and tear. They're like the "fix hard drive" superheroes in this scenario!
Sometimes you can have an issues that external hard drive is not mounting to mac but there is the way to fix hard drive in this case. Ff you're looking for a backup drive, an SSD is a solid choice. It's fast, durable, and will keep your precious files safe and sound.

 

[alan895]

So, about using an SSD for your backup needs, it's not a bad idea at all! SSDs are super fast and reliable, which is great for backup because you want your data safe and easily accessible when you need it. Now, I get where you're coming from with the PVR hard drives, but there's a bit of a difference here. PVR hard drives are spinning 24/7, and that constant use can wear them down faster. SSDs, on the other hand, don't have any moving parts, so they're less prone to that kind of wear and tear. They're like the "fix hard drive" superheroes in this scenario!
Sometimes you can have an issues that external hard drive is not mounting to mac but there is the way to fix hard drive in this case. Ff you're looking for a backup drive, an SSD is a solid choice. It's fast, durable, and will keep your precious files safe and sound.

I'm not having a go but so far in 12 posts you've revived old threads from 2006, 2007, 2012 and now this one from 2019 all linked to computers or related tech - why?

 

[RogerS]

I'm not having a go but so far in 12 posts you've revived old threads from 2006, 2007, 2012 and now this one from 2019 all linked to computers or related tech - why?

I've no idea. But I do know that David Nanian who founded Shirtpocket of SuperDuper (excellent backup software for Macs) fame does not rate SSD's for backup and I'd trust his judgement over some poster on UKW of unproven provenance.

 

[Spectric]

So, about using an SSD for your backup needs, it's not a bad idea at all! SSDs are super fast and reliable, which is great for backup because you want your data safe and easily accessible when you need it.

First rule of backups is simply do not put all your eggs in one basket. There is nothing wrong with using a USB SSD drive providing it is not your only backup and you have your eggs in multiple baskets in multiple locations. SSD's can suffer reduced lifespan if used extensively for high data throughput read / write cycles plus technology moves forward and these drives are much better now than a decade ago.

I'm not having a go but so far in 12 posts you've revived old threads from 2006, 2007, 2012 and now this one from 2019 all linked to computers or related tech - why?

Yes in the fast changing world of computers what was state of the art at the time of a post is obsolete a year later so trying to answer issues raised back then is a pointless exercise and many of the original posters are no longer participating in the UKW .

 

[Noel]

So, about using an SSD for your backup needs, it's not a bad idea at all! SSDs are super fast and reliable, which is great for backup because you want your data safe and easily accessible when you need it. Now, I get where you're coming from with the PVR hard drives, but there's a bit of a difference here. PVR hard drives are spinning 24/7, and that constant use can wear them down faster. SSDs, on the other hand, don't have any moving parts, so they're less prone to that kind of wear and tear. They're like the "fix hard drive" superheroes in this scenario!
Sometimes you can have an issues that external hard drive is not mounting to mac but there is the way to fix hard drive in this case. Ff you're looking for a backup drive, an SSD is a solid choice. It's fast, durable, and will keep your precious files safe and sound.

I'm not having a go but so far in 12 posts you've revived old threads from 2006, 2007, 2012 and now this one from 2019 all linked to computers or related tech - why?

@lexfurther If you want to assist people please choose current threads or start a thread. Trying to resurrect Zombie threads contributes nothing to the membership.
I've closed this thread and another. Let's do 2023, eh?
Thanks.