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I've got about 12 large enterprise (5 yr warranty) HDDs across 3 computers. Their current ages are 4 disks @ 2-3 years and the rest 3-6 months, so they're all past their 3 month burn-in and no SMART issues showing yet. The arrays are roughly 2 disks in machine A (ZFS), 2 in machine B(Windows), 8 in machine C (ZFS).

They all have comparatively light load, considering what datacentre use can be like - small home lab file server and VM store + replications and lab use.

Since there's at least 12 drives in use, my assumption is I'll have between 1 and 3 disk failures a year on average long term. So I've got a spare of the same large HDD so I can swap when needed (warranty turnaround is 1-2 weeks). I might need the spare at any time, but who can tell - perhaps they'll all survive to 3-6 years and the spare might not be needed for 2-3 years. Unlikely but possible. Long term stats may not mean much for a small sample.

Either way the spare might not be needed for quite a long time, even if not that long. When its needed it would be nice if it hasn't seized up or dies a day later.

What's the best way to preserve the spare in peak condition until its actually needed and put into service? 100% disconnected, 100% powered but no data cable (idle), 100% online but idle except for a long test monthly to ensure it doesn't stick...?

Update:

Its a spare disk, so there's no data on it other than manufacturer low-level formatting (which is important but occupies a very small part of the HDD compared to the data areas which can be reformatted if corrupt). The only question is keeping it in physical/magnetic peak condition for eventual use - that's basically minimising issues that could arise due to sitting idle for months to years, so I'm not worried about loss of my data. I'm thinking of issues due to non use - heads and bearings gaining a few nanometers of distortion due to being in a fixed position beyond servo compensation or which adds strain, lack of rotation or constant position, bearing/lubrication, any problem due to a long period of no heat followed by heat (expansion/contraction), or slow absorption of miniscule moisture which it wouldn't if used/warmed periodically, any degradation of magnetic domains due to lack of refresh or renewal (if anything like that happens in use), air filters being degraded due to lack of passing air and settling particles, ..... that sort of thing. Basics like static, physical damage, temp variation, and soaking wet air, aren't going to happen anyhow.

Its got a choice - either sit disconnected on a stationary but ambient shelf in a room, sit disconnected in a warm but vibrate-y computer case, be in a case connected to power and spun up but otherwise idle, or connected to power and with a data cable, not many other options. I could also swap it with another after a year on principle, as a further option.

So my question is, what's best for ensuring long term peak condition for when I do eventually want to use it...?

Actual research would be ideal if anything's been written on it in the last 5 -8 years :)

Stilez
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2 Answers2

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The common recommendations 'all over the internet' deal with 4 threats:

  1. Physical damage. Keep them in a box in a safe place where they won't be dropped or crushed.
    Modern drives can withstand large shocks, but why risk it?
  2. Static electricity. Keep them in a anti-static bag.
  3. Humidity. Keep a dessicant in the box for long periods of storage.
  4. Temperature. Keep it relatively constant. The actual temperature is not that important, but you don't want large fluctuations.

When drives contain data it is important to run the drives occasionally.
In this Slashdot thread user Chief Camel Breeder recommends to spin them up once a year:

I have contacts at the European Southern Observatory where the security copy of their archive is on disconnected hard-drives. Based on in-house tests, they reckon that the drives last very well provided that they are spun up at least once per year. If they are left unpowered for longer than that they tend to die.

That last advice is also the top answer in the serverFault question Does an unplugged hard drive used for data archival deteriorate?.

You do not have data on them, and you do not expect to store them for 20 years, so it is up to you if you want to do that spinup test.

Related: How much time until an unused hard drive loses its data?

Jan Doggen
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If the spare HDDs are empty and don't have data in them, they can be stored in a box. I personally store them in a anti-static bag, and inside a crush/dust/water proof case. If they have data in them, they might be affected to data fading.

In my opinion there's no issue if you keep the HDDs in a constant room temperature, and protect them from moisture, static electricity and dust. Also keeping them in a place where no vibration is present is a must. Random vibrations and constant vibrations can both create issues. Both might create a displacement of the servo's head (sometimes damage of the head), or worse, damage in the motor and platters (like cracks in the worst case scenario).

Theoretically it should be fine, unless there's some factor I'm not considering.

I did this myself with 2 HDDs for 6-7 months, and 3 for a bit more than a year, and everything was working as expected. And in the long term, they started showing failures the same as those that were put in use at the moment of purchase.

A more in-depth look related to this kind of issues can be found in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hr57KHDgaFs

Erlis D.
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