I'm curious to know how long external hard drives last and do external hard drive enclosures really work?

I've got one that I've had for five years and it's still working perfectly well. My cat has knocked it over more than once so it's fairly durable.

How many licks does it take to get to the end of a Tootsie lollypop? 1.....2....3....crack. 3; 3 licks. lol

Of course you may never know and the same goes for HDs, Mackenzieh. I will guarantee that the drive will eventually fail, but it depends on so many variables that the answer to your question is all but impossible. Best to back up your data on multiple media (to include HDs or even multiple HDs) and you will be fine.

Really? Mine have only lasted 1 year 2, tops. I've had several but only 2 brands.. Seagate and Western Digital.

I've had several over the years and I think I need another one. I'm looking for one that will last me a while.. not 1 to two years.

I had....have a Maxtor OneTouch 200GB that worked way over 10 years. Seems it was launched around 2002 originally.
After it failed I just opened the case and replaced the HD with some bigger Seagate.
Another 1TB LaCie has also been good, but the externals aren't in so heavy usage just for backups and what I collect.

I've heard of LaCie's but I haven't seen them in store, only online like Amazon. I haven't heard of Maxtor. I'll have to look them up.

They typically last several years (I have a couple of Samsung ones, the oldest is at least 5 years old). External enclosures also work but few really protect the drive they hold against shocks.

When purchasing a new drive, make sure it really support USB3 (USB3 is compatible with USB2, so some USB2 disks are sold as USB3, but don't work at USB3 speeds). The USB3 connector of true USB3 disks is a bit differerent (looks like two sockets side-by-side).

No longer possible these days. Now the drive controller electronics directly come with a USB interface, there is no additional SATA-to-USB interface in the enclosure in external HDDs sold as a unit.

I think most of them support USB 3.. at least the ones I've looked at do.

Really? They are taking the rotten Apple path!
Well I just disassembled a dozen of Dell machines from 2003-2010. Got few extra HDDs and a free CPU update, i3 from Optiplex 390!
Outdated by today's standards but it's a major upgrade for me haha

I like the sturdy metal case of this Maxtor, that's probably why I can't throw it away. It's got IDE-to-USB being so old.
200 GB was replaced with 250GB Seagate.



This is another, older LaCie 750GB. One thing I dislike with this is that it has no on/off button.
But it works perfectly and yes...still has the original HDD. Had to open because I couldn't remember how old it is.
Sticker says Hitachi September 2008. Oh no, I have neglected its 10th birthday!
Please don't die on me now, we can have a late party for you tomorrow



Have to figure out how to open the 1TB LaCie to find out how old it is, the case is fully enclosed with just some ventilation holes on bottom.
I don't want to download manual because puzzles are fun.

Matter of economics and reliability. Instead of two PCBs you get only one, and you avoid a connector between the two. Plus you can make
the enclosure smaller. Apple would have added a proprietary connector, for "enhanced user experience".

PS: these are 3.5" disks in your photos, right? (or you have smaller hands than YouKnowWho)

Yes they are 3.5. I think my hands are quite normal but I do have a lean bone structure.
Yeah those Apple connectors....hated em.

I use one of these. It accepts 3.5 and 2.5 HDDs. It's kinda like the old 8-Track players from back in the day. For the record, I've never had an external HDD fail yet...