Used hard drives

Shocker · 03-30-2012, 05:12 AM

Do you re-use them??? Say what you think about them. I honestly don't see the point of buying a 3TB drive for an office system, and think of the environment.

**kc8adu** · 03-30-2012, 06:36 AM

absolutely!
i look at smart,run a full write and read test,and if ok i use them.
if its been running a long time with nothing scary in smart it will probably outlast its usefullness.

shovenose · 03-30-2012, 07:58 AM

For my own computers, I often use new hard drives. But for computers I sell and some of my computers I use I re-use used disks.

**dood** · 03-30-2012, 08:54 AM

Yes, I re-use hard drives. If for a customer, I limit to a 30 day warranty, or remainder of factory, whichever is longer.

My testing procedure is - Check SMART, read scan test, 3x write 0's test. This also ensures that all the previous data on the drive is gone.

NormanSaxon86 · 03-30-2012, 02:22 PM

Yea it is a good Idea if your computer can support a new drive I would add one. Open you tower case and look for the ribbon cable that connects to you harddrive that is already on you computer. If you have another harddrive plug on that ribbon you can install a new harddrive quick and easy. All you need to do is set jumps to your slave harddrive and you are ready to plug in.

You might even look into making a custom portable harddrive with your spare.

**Topcat** · 03-30-2012, 04:29 PM

If they come up clean after a full check-out, sure I reuse them...but typically not for mission critical stuff if they're really old or have an extreme amount of hours on them. Any drive that has relocated sectors is relegated to use in crap systems, which are cheap and sold as-is.

Shocker · 03-30-2012, 08:22 PM

By the way, what is the smallest hard drive you'd consider useful??? I'd go for 40GB.

**Topcat** · 03-30-2012, 08:57 PM

^
I've used some 20gb drives for some d530's I reconditioned. Holds the OS and any useful programs that a machine of that era would effectively run (WinXP, MS Office, Outlook, basic photo editing stuff, etc...), with room to spare. They're great internet browsing and email machines.

brethin · 03-30-2012, 09:45 PM

I test them and if they pass without issues I use them on non critical builds. As for size the smallest I have used recentlly was a 6.4GB to run WinXP, Telenet, FPT etc.

Oh that reminds me if anyone has any 3.5" SATA drives they want to unload I am in need of them, no size too small, Im looking for around 12 drives.

c_hegge · 03-30-2012, 09:48 PM

Smallest I consider useful is 80GB. Anything smaller just goes straight to the metal recyclers.

**ratdude747** · 03-30-2012, 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by c_hegge

Smallest I consider useful is 80GB. Anything smaller just goes straight to the metal recyclers.

are Australians that much richer or are electronics just cheaper down there?

Shocker · 03-30-2012, 10:31 PM

While 40GB is the smallest I'd feel confident putting in someone else's system I don't get rid of the smaller drives unless they're D.E.A.D.

Note also that I try to avoid using drives with ball bearing spindle motors whenever possible due to the noise. I'd take a 40GB FDB over an 80GB BB any day.

pfrcom · 03-30-2012, 10:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ratdude747

are Australians that much richer or are electronics just cheaper down there?

No, to both

shovenose · 03-30-2012, 11:04 PM

I agree under 80gb is pretty useless. Not counting my 64GB ssd and the 40GB drives in the $100 Linux boxes we sell at work...

**Topcat** · 03-31-2012, 12:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shovenose

I agree under 80gb is pretty useless. Not counting my 64GB ssd and the 40GB drives in the $100 Linux boxes we sell at work...

You can't have it both ways.....either under 80gb is useless or its not....which is it?

When it comes to capacity, the means are irrelevant (whether its SSD or a spinner).

c_hegge · 03-31-2012, 12:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ratdude747

are Australians that much richer or are electronics just cheaper down there?

No, it's just that 40GB is too small, and no one around here has a clue how to use a second HDD.

**ratdude747** · 03-31-2012, 01:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by c_hegge

No, it's just that 40GB is too small, and no one around here has a clue how to use a second HDD.

I see.

40gb/20gb is good for internet boxes. esp. for a pallet of machines with the hdds stripped and crushed.

c_hegge · 03-31-2012, 01:32 AM

Yes, but no one uses their PCs purely for the net around here. Most people have enough photos and videos to fill 40GB drives up. I know of a few people who fill their 1TB HDDs up.

vinceroger69 · 03-31-2012, 06:41 AM

i would also reuse them as long as they test good
slightly of topic but whats the best free or paid software you guys are using to test used drives with cheers

**kc8adu** · 03-31-2012, 07:05 AM

i save any hdd that is good.
lots of oddball industrial stuff that rejects newer high capacity drives even with the limit jumpers set.
bad ones get stripped for magnets and scrapped unless its something useful for the board and parts for a data recovery job.

View Poll Results: Do you re-use hard drives?
Yes	29	90.63%
No	3	9.38%
Voters: 32. You may not vote on this poll

03-30-2012, 05:12 AM	#1
Shocker Badcaps Veteran Join Date: Dec 2011 City & State: Albany, Western Australia Line Voltage: 230VAC 50Hz Posts: 631	Used hard drives Do you re-use them??? Say what you think about them. I honestly don't see the point of buying a 3TB drive for an office system, and think of the environment.

03-30-2012, 06:36 AM	#2
kc8adu Super Moderator Join Date: Nov 2003 City & State: dayton ohio Posts: 6,435	Re: Used hard drives absolutely! i look at smart,run a full write and read test,and if ok i use them. if its been running a long time with nothing scary in smart it will probably outlast its usefullness.

03-30-2012, 07:58 AM	#3
shovenose 404 Not Found Join Date: Aug 2010 City & State: Fairfax, California My Country: USA Line Voltage: 120VAC 60Hz I'm a: Forum Junkie Posts: 3,546	Re: Used hard drives For my own computers, I often use new hard drives. But for computers I sell and some of my computers I use I re-use used disks. __________________ Firefox is named after a fox - WRONG! That orange thing is a Red Panda, not a fox!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6GaPkkGZGw PSU Pr0n http://www.psudatabase.com/

03-30-2012, 08:54 AM	#4
dood Deputy dood Join Date: Mar 2004 City & State: Berwick, PA My Country: USA Line Voltage: 120VAC 60HZ I'm a: Hardcore Geek Posts: 2,325	Re: Used hard drives Yes, I re-use hard drives. If for a customer, I limit to a 30 day warranty, or remainder of factory, whichever is longer. My testing procedure is - Check SMART, read scan test, 3x write 0's test. This also ensures that all the previous data on the drive is gone. __________________ Ludicrous gibs!

03-30-2012, 02:22 PM	#5
NormanSaxon86 Member Join Date: Mar 2012 City & State: Shapleigh Maine My Country: USA I'm a: Knowledge Seeker Posts: 59	Re: Used hard drives Yea it is a good Idea if your computer can support a new drive I would add one. Open you tower case and look for the ribbon cable that connects to you harddrive that is already on you computer. If you have another harddrive plug on that ribbon you can install a new harddrive quick and easy. All you need to do is set jumps to your slave harddrive and you are ready to plug in. You might even look into making a custom portable harddrive with your spare.

03-30-2012, 04:29 PM	#6
Topcat The Boss Stooge Join Date: Oct 2003 City & State: Salem, MO My Country: United States Line Voltage: 120VAC 60Hz I'm a: Professional Tech Posts: 6,384	Re: Used hard drives If they come up clean after a full check-out, sure I reuse them...but typically not for mission critical stuff if they're really old or have an extreme amount of hours on them. Any drive that has relocated sectors is relegated to use in crap systems, which are cheap and sold as-is. __________________ <--- Badcaps.net Owner & Forum Administrator!! Badcaps.net Services: Premade Capacitor Kits Badcaps.net Capacitor Master List Motherboard Repair Services If you've come here in search of replacement capacitors or repair services, please use the links above. ---------------------------------------------- Badcaps.net Forum Members Folding Team http://folding.stanford.edu/ Team : 49813 Join in!! Team Stats

03-30-2012, 08:22 PM	#7
Shocker Badcaps Veteran Join Date: Dec 2011 City & State: Albany, Western Australia Line Voltage: 230VAC 50Hz Posts: 631	Re: Used hard drives By the way, what is the smallest hard drive you'd consider useful??? I'd go for 40GB.

03-30-2012, 08:57 PM	#8
Topcat The Boss Stooge Join Date: Oct 2003 City & State: Salem, MO My Country: United States Line Voltage: 120VAC 60Hz I'm a: Professional Tech Posts: 6,384	Re: Used hard drives ^ I've used some 20gb drives for some d530's I reconditioned. Holds the OS and any useful programs that a machine of that era would effectively run (WinXP, MS Office, Outlook, basic photo editing stuff, etc...), with room to spare. They're great internet browsing and email machines.

03-30-2012, 09:45 PM	#9
brethin Badcaps Veteran Join Date: Dec 2008 City & State: Owensboro, KY. My Country: USA Line Voltage: 120VAC 60Hz I'm a: Professional Tech Posts: 1,051	Re: Used hard drives I test them and if they pass without issues I use them on non critical builds. As for size the smallest I have used recentlly was a 6.4GB to run WinXP, Telenet, FPT etc. Oh that reminds me if anyone has any 3.5" SATA drives they want to unload I am in need of them, no size too small, Im looking for around 12 drives.

03-30-2012, 09:48 PM	#10
c_hegge Unknown Join Date: Sep 2009 City & State: North Coast, NSW My Country: Australia Line Voltage: 240V 50Hz I'm a: Professional Tech Posts: 3,370	Re: Used hard drives Smallest I consider useful is 80GB. Anything smaller just goes straight to the metal recyclers. __________________ I love putting bad caps and flat batteries in fire and watching them explode!! Main PC: Core i5 660 3.33GHz, Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3R, 4GB Kingston DDR3 1333, 750GB WD HDD, Sony Optiarc DVD RW, nVidia GTX295 1760MB, Antec 1200 Case, Delta DPS-750CB 750W PSU, Hauppauge TV Tuner, Windows XP Pro. Main Laptop: Lenovo Thinkpad T60: Core 2 T2500 2GHz, 2GB DDR2, 80GB HDD, DVD RW, Intel Graphics, Windows XP Pro. 2nd Laptop: Toshiba Satellite A200: Core Duo 1.73GHz, 2GB DDR2, 60GB HDD, DVD RW, nVidia GF Go 7300 Graphics, OpenSUSE 12.2, Fan Mod

03-30-2012, 10:31 PM	#12
Shocker Badcaps Veteran Join Date: Dec 2011 City & State: Albany, Western Australia Line Voltage: 230VAC 50Hz Posts: 631	Re: Used hard drives While 40GB is the smallest I'd feel confident putting in someone else's system I don't get rid of the smaller drives unless they're D.E.A.D. Note also that I try to avoid using drives with ball bearing spindle motors whenever possible due to the noise. I'd take a 40GB FDB over an 80GB BB any day.

03-30-2012, 11:04 PM	#14
shovenose 404 Not Found Join Date: Aug 2010 City & State: Fairfax, California My Country: USA Line Voltage: 120VAC 60Hz I'm a: Forum Junkie Posts: 3,546	Re: Used hard drives I agree under 80gb is pretty useless. Not counting my 64GB ssd and the 40GB drives in the $100 Linux boxes we sell at work...

03-31-2012, 01:32 AM	#18
c_hegge Unknown Join Date: Sep 2009 City & State: North Coast, NSW My Country: Australia Line Voltage: 240V 50Hz I'm a: Professional Tech Posts: 3,370	Re: Used hard drives Yes, but no one uses their PCs purely for the net around here. Most people have enough photos and videos to fill 40GB drives up. I know of a few people who fill their 1TB HDDs up.

03-31-2012, 06:41 AM	#19
vinceroger69 Badcaps Veteran Join Date: Mar 2012 City & State: coventry My Country: uk I'm a: Knowledge Seeker Posts: 562	Re: Used hard drives i would also reuse them as long as they test good slightly of topic but whats the best free or paid software you guys are using to test used drives with cheers Last edited by vinceroger69; 03-31-2012 at 07:02 AM..

03-31-2012, 07:05 AM	#20
kc8adu Super Moderator Join Date: Nov 2003 City & State: dayton ohio Posts: 6,435	Re: Used hard drives i save any hdd that is good. lots of oddball industrial stuff that rejects newer high capacity drives even with the limit jumpers set. bad ones get stripped for magnets and scrapped unless its something useful for the board and parts for a data recovery job.

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