If you don’t have the money for the most amount of terabytes there is but you can find it in your budget if you buy it pre-owned.
If you don’t have the money for the most amount of terabytes there is but you can find it in your budget if you buy it pre-owned.
Depends how used and how much you like your data.
If your buying, I’d for a S.M.A.R.T test report before buying.
If they are free, run a S.M.A.R.T test before you put any data you don’t want to lose.
Always have redundancy.
Long or short test?
Short: runs tests that have a high probability of detecting device problems
Extended or Long: the test is the same as the short check but with no time limit and with complete disk surface examination
Conveyance: identifies if damage incurred during transportation of the device
Ask for a long report before buying. Then run a conveyance when you receive after shipping if you buy.
If you get for free, run a long test.
Sellers usually balk at running a long test unfortunately. Sometimes they do it proactively and show you SMART data with a recent long test log already included but it’s very seldom.
Many sellers aren’t technically savvy and it’s the first time they hear about Hard Disk Sentinel, they give you pics of the computer monitor taken with their phone etc. I consider it a win if they can manage to show you the complete SMART attributes.