Solved AOMEI Backupper (Free Standard Edition) Review


Thanks, Wynona - that solves my question. I will just continue with my external backup. I do have Macrium Image Guardian turned ON. (Macrium Image Guardian, a feature that prevents backup files from being encrypted by ransomware.)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11Version 21H2 (OS Build 22000.469
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire TC-885 Desktop
    CPU
    8th Gen Intel Core i58400
    Memory
    8GB DDR4 + 16GB Optane Memory, 1TB HDD
    Browser
    Google, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, McAfee Total Access-Total Protection
    Other Info
    Realtime: Malwarebytes, HMP Alert, UAC Highest Level. On Demand: Adwcleaner, MRT, Emsisoft EEK
what if the the failure is so bad that the hardware (the whole computer) actually refuses to boot! That internal hard drive will be pretty useless to me at that point.
Not necessarily. You could still boot into your recovery disk for the backup program and attempt to restore. Which is the same thing you'd have to do to use an external drive. If the computer won't do that and won't even turn on, you can still take the internal drive out. It wouldn't be any more useless than an external one in that situation.

I backup my 2 main computers, my gaming desktop and my gaming laptop, from their SSD main drive to an internal HDD. The other systems, none of which have more than one internal drive, get backed up to external HDD's. SATA to USB is slower than SATA to SATA.

Two of the Windows 10 machines are still using HDD's as their only storage. I converted 3 out of 5 to SSD.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom built
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
    Motherboard
    MSI B550-A Pro
    Memory
    16 GB Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-3200
    Graphics Card(s)
    PowerColor Red Devil Radeon RX 6600XT with 8GB GDDR6
    Sound Card
    Realtek integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer Nitro 24" RG241Y 144hz refresh rate
    Screen Resolution
    1920 X 1080
    Hard Drives
    Western Digital Black SN770 1 TB NVMe SSD
    Samsung 860 QVO 1 TB SATA SSD
    Seagate Barracuda 1 TB HDD
    PSU
    LEPA B650 650 watt
    Case
    Enermax Coenus
    Cooling
    Cooler Master Hyper T4 air
    Keyboard
    CM Storm Devastator
    Mouse
    E-Blue Cobra Jr.
    Internet Speed
    100mbs
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge Chromium
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
    Other Info
    Optical Drives: LG DVD-RW and Pioneer BluRay/ DVD burner
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G14
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS
    Motherboard
    Asus board (GA402RK)
    Memory
    16 GB Samsung DDR5-4800
    Graphics card(s)
    Integrated Radeon 680M and discrete Radeon RX 6800S with 8GB GDDR6
    Sound Card
    Integrated Realtek with Dolby Atmos
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Laptop screen 14" WQXGA, IPS, 120hz refresh rate
    Screen Resolution
    2560 X 1600
    Hard Drives
    1TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD (WD Black SN850)
    PSU
    Battery power and Asus power brick/adapter. Also has USB-C charging
    Case
    Laptop
    Cooling
    Laptop fans in vapor chamber
    Mouse
    Touchpad and Omoton bluetooth mouse
    Keyboard
    Built in RGB backlit
    Internet Speed
    100mbps
    Browser
    Edge Chromium
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
Personally I have never seen a power supply failure that destroyed everything. ..
I also have yet to see a HDD fail.
Consider yourself very lucky. I have seen many, and it's been only 10 years :)

I'll stick with my internal drives and their 50% faster backup times vs my externals.
But why is it slower to back up to external drives? Don't you use USB 3 with a quality SATA<>USB bridge, such as those with these pre-built portable HDDs?

Maybe it's just me, but for long term data storage, I still prefer a HDD over a SSD.
I agree. Much more reliable for that.
SSD's can be easily destroyed by just a static charge.
Not only that: they 'age' and wear out with normal use. HDDs do not.


I generally prefer HDDs. I have lots of them. But for a system drive, I use SSD, just because Windows 10/11 is unacceptably slow if it runs on HDD, it is simply designed with SSDs in mind I guess

SATA to USB is slower than SATA to SATA.
Yes. But there are some really good quality bridges out there. Specifically I'm thinking about WD's Elements and TOSHIBA Canvio series. You would hardly notice a difference. WD MyPassport is also nice. These are all USB 3.1 Portable Hard drives
 

My Computers

System One System Two

Not only that: they 'age' and wear out with normal use. HDDs do not.
This is just not true - hdds age and wear with normal use as well - anything with moving parts age and wear in use.

Moderns SSDs have a similar life expectancy to HDDs.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro + others in VHDs
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Vivobook 14
    CPU
    I7
    Motherboard
    Yep, Laptop has one.
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated Intel Iris XE
    Sound Card
    Realtek built in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    N/A
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Optane NVME SSD, 1 TB NVME SSD
    PSU
    Yep, got one
    Case
    Yep, got one
    Cooling
    Stella Artois
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Mouse
    Bluetooth , wired
    Internet Speed
    72 Mb/s :-(
    Browser
    Edge mostly
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    TPM 2.0
This is just not true - hdds age and wear with normal use as well - anything with moving parts age and wear in use.
They "age" in a very different (mechanical) way and much slower in that sense. On the other hand, SSD is flash memory, which "ages" with each read/write operation and even has a target TBW (terrabytes written) counter, and if you exceed that, warranty is void... So tell me about how that is not much worse than HDDs, on which there is no such "timebomb".
Moderns SSDs have a similar life expectancy to HDDs.
I see, but I'd say that only applies to light usage. HDDs can, theoretically, handle more I/O as it isn't the amount of data read/written that ages them but their mechanical (moving) parts aging slowly.

again, very different games.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

Let's be realistic here ...

Both SSD (and NVMe), Digital drives and conventional Mechanical Hard drives have a theoretical life expectancy, although the Digital drives when first available had a lifetime considerably less than that of the old mechanical drives, this gap is continually becoming less in reality

However in real life scenarios users will likely replace the drives they use at a time nowhere near the theoretical expected usable life. This is more likely to happen sooner when used in a managed data system in business than a small business . The general home and especially enthusiast user use will However tend to replace the drive due to an wish to use the latest, largest, fastest and reliable unit available. These users also replace their hardware generally more often than a business, and will often update the drives they use at this time .

I still personally prefer the use conventional Hard Drives for data storage, for purely cost reasons, though I will utilise an input buffer using Intel Optane M2 memory modules which can help with dumping data from Fast NVMe drives that I use for System drives and the SATA SSD I use for database management tasks and temporary storage for my image processing.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro x64 [Latest Release Preview] [Win11 PRO HighEnd MUP-00005 DD]
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Scan 3XS to my design
    CPU
    AMD RYZEN 9 7950X OEM
    Motherboard
    *3XS*ASUS TUF B650 PLUS WIFI
    Memory
    64GB [2x32GB Corsair Vengeance 560 AMD DDR5]
    Graphics Card(s)
    3XS* ASUS DUAL RTX 4060 OC 8G
    Sound Card
    On motherboard Feeding SPDiF 5.1 system [plus local sound to each monitor]
    Monitor(s) Displays
    32" UHD 32 Bit HDR Monitor + 43" UHD 4K 32Bit HDR TV
    Screen Resolution
    2 x 3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    3XS Samsung 980Pro 2TB M.2 PCIe4 4 x 8TB Data + Various Externals from 1TB to 8TB, 10TB NAS
    PSU
    3XS Corsair RM850x 850w Fully Modular
    Case
    FDesign Define 7 XL BK TGL Case - Black
    Cooling
    3XS iCUE H150i ELITE Liquid Cool, Quiet Case fans
    Keyboard
    Wireless Logitec MX Keys + K830 [Depending on where I'm Sat]
    Mouse
    Wireless Logitec - MX Master 3S +
    Internet Speed
    950 MB Down 55 MB Up
    Browser
    Latest Chrome
    Antivirus
    BitDefender Total Security [Latest]
    Other Info
    Also run...
    Dell XPS 17 Laptop
    HP Laptop 8GB - Windows 10 Pro x64 HP 15.2"
    Nexus 7 Android tablet [x2]
    Samsung 10.2" tablet
    Blackview 10.2 Tablet
    Sony Z3 Android Smartphone
    Samsung S9 Plus Smartphone
    Wacom Pro Medium Pen Pad
    Wacom Pro Small Pen Pad
    Wacom ExpressKey Remote
    Loopdeck+ Graphics Controller
    Shuttle Pro v2 Control Pad
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro x64 [Latest release]
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS 17 9700
    CPU
    i7 10750H
    Motherboard
    Stock
    Memory
    32 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Stock Intel + GTX 1650 Ti
    Sound Card
    Stock 4 speaker
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Stock 17" + 32" 4K 3840 x 2160 HDR-10
    Screen Resolution
    3840 x 2400 HDR touchscreen
    Hard Drives
    2TB M2 NVMe
    PSU
    Stock
    Case
    Stock Aluminium / Carbon Fibre
    Cooling
    Stock + 2 fan cooling pad
    Mouse
    Stock Trackpad +Logi Mx Master 3 or MX Ergo Trackball
    Keyboard
    Stock Illuminated + Logi - MX Keys
    Internet Speed
    950 MB Down 55 MB Up
    Browser
    Latest Chrome
    Antivirus
    BitDefender Total Security 2021
    Other Info
    Also use an Adjustable Support for Laptop and Adjustable stand for monitor
HDDs can, theoretically, handle more I/O as it isn't the amount of data read/written that ages them but their mechanical (moving) parts aging slowly.

again, very different games.
The wear on HDDs is the same for both reading and writing. The heads have to fly back and forth across the disk surface, their positional accuracy can can deteriorate with wear, and the disk surface can wear. SSDs on the other hand only age with writes, reading does no harm at all.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD
    Internet Speed
    50 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 4GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Beta as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 4GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Lattitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround. In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround. Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 4GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Beta as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 4GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.
They "age" in a very different (mechanical) way and much slower in that sense. On the other hand, SSD is flash memory, which "ages" with each read/write operation and even has a target TBW (terrabytes written) counter, and if you exceed that, warranty is void... So tell me about how that is not much worse than HDDs, on which there is no such "timebomb".

I see, but I'd say that only applies to light usage. HDDs can, theoretically, handle more I/O as it isn't the amount of data read/written that ages them but their mechanical (moving) parts aging slowly.

again, very different games.
You are just living in the past - SSDs are much more durable now.

Those SSD warranties are worthless - they are just set so low to avoid the drive vendors ever having to make payouts. I have an SSD that is several times over its original warranty and still going strong.

Drives fail 3 ways:

1) gradually aging due to wear and tear, SSDs are much more durable and you can easily see aging. HDDS age with reading and writing, SSDs only age with writing.

2) catastrophic aging/failure (excluding 3 below)
HDDS will be much more prone to this as moving parts.
SSDs will not fail like this unless incredibly high writing rate sustained over a long period.

It is a simple fact of life, one of the biggest killers of drive is simply dropping pc (laptops particularly).
SSDs are far more resilient to being dropped (no moving parts)

3) failure of interface electronics
This can happen to either at any time


Either drive type can fail instantaneously if the interface electronics fails - odds of that are pretty much the same on both types.

Saying an HDD is more reliable than an SSD is meaningless without proper context. I have had several HDDs fail on me instantaneously but I have never had an SSD fail. As time goes on £/GB costs for SSDs reduce and I have replaced my low capacity SSDs with 1 TB SSDs.

Add a usb enclosure to the old lower capacity SSDs and you have a really fast and robust equivalent of a flash drive (albeit bulkier).

The only reason I would choose an HDD over an SSD nowadays is for BULK backup external storage, simply as £/GB costs are much lower. Even then, you need to take care you do not drop the drives.

Worrying about the life expectancy of an SSD is pointless these days. Make sure it is backed up and when its life is near the end, buy a new one with much more capacity than old one for same price.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro + others in VHDs
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Vivobook 14
    CPU
    I7
    Motherboard
    Yep, Laptop has one.
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated Intel Iris XE
    Sound Card
    Realtek built in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    N/A
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Optane NVME SSD, 1 TB NVME SSD
    PSU
    Yep, got one
    Case
    Yep, got one
    Cooling
    Stella Artois
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Mouse
    Bluetooth , wired
    Internet Speed
    72 Mb/s :-(
    Browser
    Edge mostly
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    TPM 2.0
Not necessarily. You could still boot into your recovery disk for the backup program and attempt to restore. Which is the same thing you'd have to do to use an external drive. If the computer won't do that and won't even turn on, you can still take the internal drive out. It wouldn't be any more useless than an external one in that situation.

I backup my 2 main computers, my gaming desktop and my gaming laptop, from their SSD main drive to an internal HDD. The other systems, none of which have more than one internal drive, get backed up to external HDD's. SATA to USB is slower than SATA to SATA.

Two of the Windows 10 machines are still using HDD's as their only storage. I converted 3 out of 5 to SSD.
As I've been told multiple times . . . there's more than one way to skin a cat. Why anyone would want to do that, though, is beyond me. :-)

Since I've never been put into that situation (never did the internal backup thing), I wasn't aware you could boot from an internal. And, not to be argumentative, I wouldn't expect your average home user to know that either.

And, now that I think of it, a TenForums friend helped me set up my backups so that Macrium is one of the "boot options".

And there too, your average home user probably wouldn't know how to do that.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 23H2 22631.2861
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy TE01-1xxx
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-10700 CPU @ 2.90GHz 2.90 GHz
    Motherboard
    16.0GB Dual-Channel Unknown @ 1463MHz (21-21-21-47)
    Memory
    16384 MBytes
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Monitor 1 - Acer 27" Monitor 2 - Acer 27"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    WDC PC SN530 SDBPNPZ-512G-1006 (SSD)
    Seagate ST1000DM003-1SB102
    Seagate BUP Slim SCSI Disk Device (SSD)
    PSU
    HP
    Case
    HP
    Cooling
    Standard
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wave K350
    Mouse
    Logitech M705
    Internet Speed
    500 mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    That's all Folks!
  • Operating System
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 (10th gen) 10700
    Motherboard
    Intel
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Built-in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 27" & Samsung 24"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x
    Hard Drives
    SSD (512 GB)
    HDD (1 TB)
    Seagate
    PSU
    Intel i7 10th Generation
    Case
    HP
    Cooling
    HP/Intel?
    Mouse
    Logitech M705
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wave K350
    Internet Speed
    50 mbps
    Browser
    Firefox 90.2
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Headphone/Microphone Combo
    SuperSpeed USB Type-A (4 on front)
    HP 3-in-One Card Readr
    SuperSpeed USB Type-C
    DVD Writer
But why is it slower to back up to external drives? Don't you use USB 3 with a quality SATA<>USB bridge, such as those with these pre-built portable HDDs?

Yes. But there are some really good quality bridges out there. Specifically I'm thinking about WD's Elements and TOSHIBA Canvio series. You would hardly notice a difference. WD MyPassport is also nice. These are all USB 3.1 Portable Hard drives
Believe me, it is much slower with the drives I have. My SSD to internal HDD backup transfers go at 175-200 MBps. Backing up to my USB 3.0 Toshiba Canvio drive goes at a max of 130 and slows down to below 100 pretty quickly. The other external is a Hitachi ex -laptop drive in a Sabrent 3.0 USB enclosure and it maxes out transfers at about 65-70 MBps. If I had external SSD's of course it would be much faster but I don't.

Like I said, in my 23 years of Windows usage, I have never seen a HDD fail. Not in my personal machines nor in those of any family members. The 80 gig one in my 2005 vintage HP laptop is still going strong and has been put through a lot. It was my only computer for 5 or 6 years and I did everything on it including playing all of my games. It's been rode hard and put away wet for most of it's life. It became my guinea pig machine to test out Windows 8, 8.1, and then 10. It has also run various flavors of Linux. Currently, it has a triple boot system of 98 Second Edition, XP Pro, and Windows 7 Home Premium. I have an even older IDE drive in an enclosure that still works as well.

I also disagree that Windows 10 is unacceptably slow on an HDD. Two of the machines here still have HDD's and boot up in less than 80 seconds and run just fine after that. That speed is more than acceptable to me.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom built
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
    Motherboard
    MSI B550-A Pro
    Memory
    16 GB Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-3200
    Graphics Card(s)
    PowerColor Red Devil Radeon RX 6600XT with 8GB GDDR6
    Sound Card
    Realtek integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer Nitro 24" RG241Y 144hz refresh rate
    Screen Resolution
    1920 X 1080
    Hard Drives
    Western Digital Black SN770 1 TB NVMe SSD
    Samsung 860 QVO 1 TB SATA SSD
    Seagate Barracuda 1 TB HDD
    PSU
    LEPA B650 650 watt
    Case
    Enermax Coenus
    Cooling
    Cooler Master Hyper T4 air
    Keyboard
    CM Storm Devastator
    Mouse
    E-Blue Cobra Jr.
    Internet Speed
    100mbs
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge Chromium
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
    Other Info
    Optical Drives: LG DVD-RW and Pioneer BluRay/ DVD burner
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G14
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS
    Motherboard
    Asus board (GA402RK)
    Memory
    16 GB Samsung DDR5-4800
    Graphics card(s)
    Integrated Radeon 680M and discrete Radeon RX 6800S with 8GB GDDR6
    Sound Card
    Integrated Realtek with Dolby Atmos
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Laptop screen 14" WQXGA, IPS, 120hz refresh rate
    Screen Resolution
    2560 X 1600
    Hard Drives
    1TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD (WD Black SN850)
    PSU
    Battery power and Asus power brick/adapter. Also has USB-C charging
    Case
    Laptop
    Cooling
    Laptop fans in vapor chamber
    Mouse
    Touchpad and Omoton bluetooth mouse
    Keyboard
    Built in RGB backlit
    Internet Speed
    100mbps
    Browser
    Edge Chromium
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
As I've been told multiple times . . . there's more than one way to skin a cat. Why anyone would want to do that, though, is beyond me. :)

Since I've never been put into that situation (never did the internal backup thing), I wasn't aware you could boot from an internal. And, not to be argumentative, I wouldn't expect your average home user to know that either.

And, now that I think of it, a TenForums friend helped me set up my backups so that Macrium is one of the "boot options".

And there too, your average home user probably wouldn't know how to do that.
I didn't mean to boot from the internal drive. I meant booting from an optical disk or USB stick that has the rescue environment on it. And yes , Macrium will let you boot into the recovery environment directly from your main drive.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom built
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
    Motherboard
    MSI B550-A Pro
    Memory
    16 GB Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-3200
    Graphics Card(s)
    PowerColor Red Devil Radeon RX 6600XT with 8GB GDDR6
    Sound Card
    Realtek integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer Nitro 24" RG241Y 144hz refresh rate
    Screen Resolution
    1920 X 1080
    Hard Drives
    Western Digital Black SN770 1 TB NVMe SSD
    Samsung 860 QVO 1 TB SATA SSD
    Seagate Barracuda 1 TB HDD
    PSU
    LEPA B650 650 watt
    Case
    Enermax Coenus
    Cooling
    Cooler Master Hyper T4 air
    Keyboard
    CM Storm Devastator
    Mouse
    E-Blue Cobra Jr.
    Internet Speed
    100mbs
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge Chromium
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
    Other Info
    Optical Drives: LG DVD-RW and Pioneer BluRay/ DVD burner
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G14
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS
    Motherboard
    Asus board (GA402RK)
    Memory
    16 GB Samsung DDR5-4800
    Graphics card(s)
    Integrated Radeon 680M and discrete Radeon RX 6800S with 8GB GDDR6
    Sound Card
    Integrated Realtek with Dolby Atmos
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Laptop screen 14" WQXGA, IPS, 120hz refresh rate
    Screen Resolution
    2560 X 1600
    Hard Drives
    1TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD (WD Black SN850)
    PSU
    Battery power and Asus power brick/adapter. Also has USB-C charging
    Case
    Laptop
    Cooling
    Laptop fans in vapor chamber
    Mouse
    Touchpad and Omoton bluetooth mouse
    Keyboard
    Built in RGB backlit
    Internet Speed
    100mbps
    Browser
    Edge Chromium
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
Like I said, in my 23 years of Windows usage, I have never seen a HDD fail.
I have had three HDDs fail in the last five years....
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD
    Internet Speed
    50 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 4GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Beta as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 4GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Lattitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround. In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround. Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 4GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Beta as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 4GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.
Like I said, in my 23 years of Windows usage, I have never seen a HDD fail.

Either:

1) hard drives rarely fail

or

2) you haved been lucky.


Which do you think it is?



The figure below is actually quite typical of modern equipment with moving parts.

1) the initial failure rate in 1st year or so (infant mortality) tends to be quite high - this is main due to manufacturing defects.

2) mid-life - rate plateaus at a low rate (young to middle age mortality)

3) end -life - failure rates sharply increase after several years (old age mortality)

The rates and extent may vary depending on quality e.g. you would expect a BMW to outlast a Ford.

However, the basic trends are always the same.

1643298930245.png
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro + others in VHDs
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Vivobook 14
    CPU
    I7
    Motherboard
    Yep, Laptop has one.
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated Intel Iris XE
    Sound Card
    Realtek built in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    N/A
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Optane NVME SSD, 1 TB NVME SSD
    PSU
    Yep, got one
    Case
    Yep, got one
    Cooling
    Stella Artois
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Mouse
    Bluetooth , wired
    Internet Speed
    72 Mb/s :-(
    Browser
    Edge mostly
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    TPM 2.0
Either:

1) hard drives rarely fail

or

2) you have been lucky.


Which do you think it is?
Both actually. The only drive I have ever seen fail was an optical drive in my housemate's machine. Other than that, I have seen 2 power supply failures and one monitor, but that's it. Believe it or not, but when I had to return my MSI motherboard a few weeks ago, that was the first time I have ever had to return anything electronic due to defect or failure within the warranty period.

I guess I am a lucky guy. I have never had a serious problem from a Windows Update and have never had to roll one back. I also have never been actively infected by a virus or trojan. The only time I have had to reinstall Windows was when I listened to "expert" advice on how to change something and it totally borked the OS. I now just let things run the way they were designed to and only change settings that are provided in the OS itself. I also will always use a native Microsoft product to do things if it's free. The only thing I don't use is Office because it costs too much. I use the WPS suite from Kingsoft.
 
Last edited:

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom built
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
    Motherboard
    MSI B550-A Pro
    Memory
    16 GB Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-3200
    Graphics Card(s)
    PowerColor Red Devil Radeon RX 6600XT with 8GB GDDR6
    Sound Card
    Realtek integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer Nitro 24" RG241Y 144hz refresh rate
    Screen Resolution
    1920 X 1080
    Hard Drives
    Western Digital Black SN770 1 TB NVMe SSD
    Samsung 860 QVO 1 TB SATA SSD
    Seagate Barracuda 1 TB HDD
    PSU
    LEPA B650 650 watt
    Case
    Enermax Coenus
    Cooling
    Cooler Master Hyper T4 air
    Keyboard
    CM Storm Devastator
    Mouse
    E-Blue Cobra Jr.
    Internet Speed
    100mbs
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge Chromium
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
    Other Info
    Optical Drives: LG DVD-RW and Pioneer BluRay/ DVD burner
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G14
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS
    Motherboard
    Asus board (GA402RK)
    Memory
    16 GB Samsung DDR5-4800
    Graphics card(s)
    Integrated Radeon 680M and discrete Radeon RX 6800S with 8GB GDDR6
    Sound Card
    Integrated Realtek with Dolby Atmos
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Laptop screen 14" WQXGA, IPS, 120hz refresh rate
    Screen Resolution
    2560 X 1600
    Hard Drives
    1TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD (WD Black SN850)
    PSU
    Battery power and Asus power brick/adapter. Also has USB-C charging
    Case
    Laptop
    Cooling
    Laptop fans in vapor chamber
    Mouse
    Touchpad and Omoton bluetooth mouse
    Keyboard
    Built in RGB backlit
    Internet Speed
    100mbps
    Browser
    Edge Chromium
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
Both actually. The only drive I have ever seen fail was an optical drive in my housemate's machine. Other than that, I have seen 2 power supply failures and one monitor, but that's it. Believe it or not, but when I had to return my MSI motherboard a few weeks ago, that was the first time I have ever had to return anything electronic due to defect or failure within the warranty period.

I guess I am a lucky guy. I have never had a serious problem from a Windows Update and have never had to roll one back. I also have never been actively infected by a virus or trojan. The only time I have had to reinstall Windows was when I listened to "expert" advice on how to change something and it totally borked the OS. I now just let things run the way they were designed to and only change settings that are provided in the OS itself. I also will always use a native Microsoft product to do things if it's free. The only thing I don't use is Office because it costs too much. I use the WPS suite from Kingsoft.
:crossed
Ditto for me; hardly any failures.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 23H2 22631.2861
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy TE01-1xxx
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-10700 CPU @ 2.90GHz 2.90 GHz
    Motherboard
    16.0GB Dual-Channel Unknown @ 1463MHz (21-21-21-47)
    Memory
    16384 MBytes
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Monitor 1 - Acer 27" Monitor 2 - Acer 27"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    WDC PC SN530 SDBPNPZ-512G-1006 (SSD)
    Seagate ST1000DM003-1SB102
    Seagate BUP Slim SCSI Disk Device (SSD)
    PSU
    HP
    Case
    HP
    Cooling
    Standard
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wave K350
    Mouse
    Logitech M705
    Internet Speed
    500 mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    That's all Folks!
  • Operating System
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 (10th gen) 10700
    Motherboard
    Intel
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Built-in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 27" & Samsung 24"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x
    Hard Drives
    SSD (512 GB)
    HDD (1 TB)
    Seagate
    PSU
    Intel i7 10th Generation
    Case
    HP
    Cooling
    HP/Intel?
    Mouse
    Logitech M705
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wave K350
    Internet Speed
    50 mbps
    Browser
    Firefox 90.2
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Headphone/Microphone Combo
    SuperSpeed USB Type-A (4 on front)
    HP 3-in-One Card Readr
    SuperSpeed USB Type-C
    DVD Writer
I have seen a fair number of failures over the years, but the percentage is probably pretty low overall as I have worked with a lot of Hard drives over the years.

Back in the 1980s the failure rate was pretty high, but as all you had to do was move the case slightly whilst a Write action was in progress, this was to be expected

Reliability has , over the years, improved tremendously, due to improvements in the physical design of the hardware and user knowledge improving
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro x64 [Latest Release Preview] [Win11 PRO HighEnd MUP-00005 DD]
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Scan 3XS to my design
    CPU
    AMD RYZEN 9 7950X OEM
    Motherboard
    *3XS*ASUS TUF B650 PLUS WIFI
    Memory
    64GB [2x32GB Corsair Vengeance 560 AMD DDR5]
    Graphics Card(s)
    3XS* ASUS DUAL RTX 4060 OC 8G
    Sound Card
    On motherboard Feeding SPDiF 5.1 system [plus local sound to each monitor]
    Monitor(s) Displays
    32" UHD 32 Bit HDR Monitor + 43" UHD 4K 32Bit HDR TV
    Screen Resolution
    2 x 3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    3XS Samsung 980Pro 2TB M.2 PCIe4 4 x 8TB Data + Various Externals from 1TB to 8TB, 10TB NAS
    PSU
    3XS Corsair RM850x 850w Fully Modular
    Case
    FDesign Define 7 XL BK TGL Case - Black
    Cooling
    3XS iCUE H150i ELITE Liquid Cool, Quiet Case fans
    Keyboard
    Wireless Logitec MX Keys + K830 [Depending on where I'm Sat]
    Mouse
    Wireless Logitec - MX Master 3S +
    Internet Speed
    950 MB Down 55 MB Up
    Browser
    Latest Chrome
    Antivirus
    BitDefender Total Security [Latest]
    Other Info
    Also run...
    Dell XPS 17 Laptop
    HP Laptop 8GB - Windows 10 Pro x64 HP 15.2"
    Nexus 7 Android tablet [x2]
    Samsung 10.2" tablet
    Blackview 10.2 Tablet
    Sony Z3 Android Smartphone
    Samsung S9 Plus Smartphone
    Wacom Pro Medium Pen Pad
    Wacom Pro Small Pen Pad
    Wacom ExpressKey Remote
    Loopdeck+ Graphics Controller
    Shuttle Pro v2 Control Pad
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro x64 [Latest release]
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS 17 9700
    CPU
    i7 10750H
    Motherboard
    Stock
    Memory
    32 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Stock Intel + GTX 1650 Ti
    Sound Card
    Stock 4 speaker
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Stock 17" + 32" 4K 3840 x 2160 HDR-10
    Screen Resolution
    3840 x 2400 HDR touchscreen
    Hard Drives
    2TB M2 NVMe
    PSU
    Stock
    Case
    Stock Aluminium / Carbon Fibre
    Cooling
    Stock + 2 fan cooling pad
    Mouse
    Stock Trackpad +Logi Mx Master 3 or MX Ergo Trackball
    Keyboard
    Stock Illuminated + Logi - MX Keys
    Internet Speed
    950 MB Down 55 MB Up
    Browser
    Latest Chrome
    Antivirus
    BitDefender Total Security 2021
    Other Info
    Also use an Adjustable Support for Laptop and Adjustable stand for monitor
I have seen a fair number of failures over the years, but the percentage is probably pretty low overall as I have worked with a lot of Hard drives over the years.

Back in the 1980s the failure rate was pretty high, but as all you had to do was move the case slightly whilst a Write action was in progress, this was to be expected

Reliability has , over the years, improved tremendously, due to improvements in the physical design of the hardware and user knowledge improving
The gravity of this situation is that dropping hard drives is probably the quickest way to kill a drive.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro + others in VHDs
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Vivobook 14
    CPU
    I7
    Motherboard
    Yep, Laptop has one.
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated Intel Iris XE
    Sound Card
    Realtek built in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    N/A
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Optane NVME SSD, 1 TB NVME SSD
    PSU
    Yep, got one
    Case
    Yep, got one
    Cooling
    Stella Artois
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Mouse
    Bluetooth , wired
    Internet Speed
    72 Mb/s :-(
    Browser
    Edge mostly
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    TPM 2.0
My experience with HDD's starts in 1999 with my DiamondMax Maxtor 8.5 GB drive in a Win 98 SE computer. I missed the years when the drive had to be parked before it could be moved at all. My next computer in 2005 had a 200GB drive which I believe was Western Digital. My first laptop in 2006 had an 80GB Fujitsu. Second laptop in 2011 had a 640GB Hitachi. This desktop which was originally purchased in 2014 came with a 1TB Seagate Barracuda. My Acer laptop purchased last year also had a 1TB Seagate in it. I have never bought a computer that came with an SSD in it. My first conversion was the 2011 laptop which got a 256GB Silicon Power A55 drive. Then I put the 1TB Samsung 860 QVO in this desktop and it originally ran at only SATA 2 speed because that was all the mobo had. I added a Crucial MX500 m.2 SATA 1TB SSD to the Acer shortly after getting it. I don't have any Nvme drives. Like I have said, never a drive failure in anything. I have never even had to replace a CMOS battery. Not even in the 2006 laptop which is still going strong.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom built
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
    Motherboard
    MSI B550-A Pro
    Memory
    16 GB Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-3200
    Graphics Card(s)
    PowerColor Red Devil Radeon RX 6600XT with 8GB GDDR6
    Sound Card
    Realtek integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer Nitro 24" RG241Y 144hz refresh rate
    Screen Resolution
    1920 X 1080
    Hard Drives
    Western Digital Black SN770 1 TB NVMe SSD
    Samsung 860 QVO 1 TB SATA SSD
    Seagate Barracuda 1 TB HDD
    PSU
    LEPA B650 650 watt
    Case
    Enermax Coenus
    Cooling
    Cooler Master Hyper T4 air
    Keyboard
    CM Storm Devastator
    Mouse
    E-Blue Cobra Jr.
    Internet Speed
    100mbs
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge Chromium
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
    Other Info
    Optical Drives: LG DVD-RW and Pioneer BluRay/ DVD burner
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G14
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS
    Motherboard
    Asus board (GA402RK)
    Memory
    16 GB Samsung DDR5-4800
    Graphics card(s)
    Integrated Radeon 680M and discrete Radeon RX 6800S with 8GB GDDR6
    Sound Card
    Integrated Realtek with Dolby Atmos
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Laptop screen 14" WQXGA, IPS, 120hz refresh rate
    Screen Resolution
    2560 X 1600
    Hard Drives
    1TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD (WD Black SN850)
    PSU
    Battery power and Asus power brick/adapter. Also has USB-C charging
    Case
    Laptop
    Cooling
    Laptop fans in vapor chamber
    Mouse
    Touchpad and Omoton bluetooth mouse
    Keyboard
    Built in RGB backlit
    Internet Speed
    100mbps
    Browser
    Edge Chromium
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
If you want to increase lifetime of your HDDs ..............just dont defragment too much , the less defragmenting the better !
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    CPU
    i7
    Motherboard
    z97k
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVidia
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Hard Drives
    3
    Cooling
    air
If you want to increase lifetime of your HDDs ..............just dont defragment too much , the less defragmenting the better !
Is that true though? A defragmented HDD means less wear on the head positioning mechanism, as it doesn't have to thrash about to read all of a file. The trade-off may not be as clear-cut as you think.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD
    Internet Speed
    50 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 4GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Beta as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 4GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Lattitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround. In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround. Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 4GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Beta as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 4GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.
Back
Top Bottom