I use Final Cut Pro to make YouTube videos and have been editing from a 5TB external hard disk drive. It handled my earlier projects well, but after exporting a longer, asset-heavy 38-minute video, the drive became very hot and started making repeated ticking or clicking sounds while I tried to play the exported MP4. My computer became unresponsive and needed a forced restart. The next day, I could still browse the folders and copy files, but the ticking now happens even with light use. I plan to buy an SSD for active editing and use a hard drive only for long-term storage. Since I was laid off recently, I would prefer not to replace the drive immediately unless it is truly necessary. Is it safe to keep using this drive for storage, and could Dropbox serve as a temporary place for older videos until I can afford a replacement?
2 Answers
I would treat that drive as already failed, not as a trustworthy archive. If you need to recover files, copy the most important ones first and expect that some files may cause the transfer to stall. Recovery services can be very expensive, so do not keep experimenting with it if the contents become important. For the future, keep multiple copies on at least two different types of storage; one copy is not a backup.
Repeated ticking, overheating, and the computer hanging during playback are strong signs that the drive is failing. Check its S.M.A.R.T. health information using a Mac-compatible disk utility, but a healthy-looking status does not guarantee the drive is safe. Copy anything important off it as soon as possible, then stop relying on it. Avoid repeatedly powering it on and off or running intensive scans if the data matters, since a failing drive can become unreadable quickly.
Thanks for the warning. Fortunately, the files are replaceable, but I’ll look into checking the drive’s health and replacing it when I can.