I found a great deal on a hard drive—70€ for a sealed HGST 4TB model made in November 2014. I'm planning to use it to store data from two older drives that are starting to age. Since it's been sitting unused for a decade, can I trust that it will last as long as it should? What should I check before using it?
4 Answers
As long as it functions well and was stored correctly, you should be fine. But honestly, for a 10-year-old HDD, 70€ doesn’t seem like a steal. Just be aware of what you're getting into.
If it stayed dry and sealed all those years, it should perform like new. Just make sure to check the actual usage time on it, as you don’t want to end up with a repackaged refurb. You really can’t tell sometimes with these deals!
Right, I'm definitely checking that! But I'm hesitant since I might lose the chance to return it after.
It's worth making sure it’s not refurbished since they often repackage older drives. If it’s truly new and has been stored properly, you should be good to go! There’s a slight risk of early failure due to its age, but it should work. Run a SMART check with CrystalDiskInfo once you’ve set it up to verify its health.
It's advertised as new, so I hope it is! Just worried that breaking the seal might mess with my return options.
Time takes a toll on everything! It’s like buying a car that’s barely been used but is still pretty old. I can’t say for sure how long it’ll last, but I suggest using it for non-critical files. Just keep in mind it might need replacing in a few years, especially since it’s been sitting gathering dust.
Got it, I’ll use it for temporary stuff for now. Thanks for the heads up!
Yeah, I would've thought twice if I knew it was this old! Still better than my current drives, I guess.