using linux based dvr cards with dom on 775 chipset boards, the system runs well but the drives keep failing. tried different IDE hard drives, but even some 100% duty rated drives still fail, its not a heat issue, there are so many fans the dvr could levitate off the desk, any ideas what the most reliable hdd's on the market are? have been on some hdd manufacturers websites and found some hdd's are specifically made for dvr/ video. if any one will know, you guys will, any help would be appreciated, just looking for a reliable hdd thats proven in the field :)

western digital sata drives - raid rated ones

Try the Seagate SV35 series, I havent had any failures with these yet.
(knock on wood)

How long between failures on the ones you have been using and what kind?

Have you checked your power supply to see if its starving the drives?

I used to use WD IDE drives but had a high failure rate, usually after 3 to 6 months they would just make a clicking noise. I had one last almost a year then switched to Seagate and have had less problems.

Good Luck!

What size power supply are you using.
I had some factory maxtor drives fail but I have not had any seagate drivse fail and I have been using them over 3 years.

I would suggest a line filter / UPS for any DVR. This may, or maynot be the root of your problem, but it does make a good investment to keep the "nails out of you DVR's coffin".

Heat and non-filtered power would be major factors.
Try a scope on the drive power....it will show whats going on.

sloweddie said:

"there are so many fans the dvr could levitate off the desk"

Yeah, my main office computer sounds like a small vacuum cleaner and it still requires annual HD changes.

The other thing I forgot to mention, the older maxtor HDs consumed more power than the other brands and were problematic.
The early Argus stand alone DVR's required a second power supply if you were running more than one maxtor of 250 GB or higher.

Flowing fans, good stable power, good hard drives and a small prayer.
Good Luck!

The unit is not subject to bumps/vibration of any kind is it (wobbly table, heavy machinary, in a vehicle, or anything like that)?

Don't know about DVRs, but in computer servers, our tech geeks here at work swear by nothing other than Seagate. I personally have sworn off Western Digital, due to the Click of Death...

I can hardly wait for the new solid state hard drives to become avaliable at a reasonable price and with more GBs.
Samsung makes them but they are expensive and are of too small capacity for our use.
BTW one of my computers is making that click of death noise so I opened it up and there was a WD inside.
The computers last words "ker click, ker click, ker click, ker click"
And of course nothing was backed up except for the evidence cd's from the customers DVR's.

I am confused. What you're talking about is harddisk failure or software failure. You've tried many harddisks, all seems going failed. Can you harddisk be used again when migrated to other systems, e.g. Windows. If yes, seems not hardware issue. Does your DVR software corrupt your harddisk file system?

Moreover, I used Linux for years, harddisk from my impression very reliable and seldom crashed.

But if you're using all old harddisks, it's un-reliable.



rgds, dove

With multiple failures I would be looking at causes outside of the disk itself. I personally hardly ever see disk failures that can't be explained. If it's surface damage (head crash) it was probably due to an impact to the disk or external vibration while running. If it's an electronic failure I would be looking at power supply and filtering issues, and of course cooling. Another more unusual possibility is excessive mechanical stress to the disk due to installation in a poorly-designed bracket that microscopically bends or stretches the housing when the screws are tightened.

You may want to make sure that power driving the HDD's is ok, if you have added fans, have you reduced the thoroughput, have you integrated faster spin drives than your PSU is rated for...iE some standalones dont have enough power to drive larger faster spin HDD's this could lead to data corruption.

The SV drive range from Seagate is designed for Video DVR Recordings, we have found these to be excellent

If your not dumping too much data, you can drop to 5k speed drives they seem to last longer generally >if its not a heat issue that is...

my 2c

If I remember correctly...Seagate have 5yr warranty. That's as good as it gets.

I've built a few HTPC's and have been using Samsung drives. They are very quiet and low vibration. So far they have been reliable.

Hi! I only use SAMSUNG now, tried many different brands: Seagate, Maxtor, Western Digital. Where WD and Maxtor is unreliable.

Samsung is low noise = low friction = low heat = a good disk!

You guys know that the optimal temperature for a hardrive is 37 degree Celcius? Same as the human body!

For 2 years selling SAMSUNG = 1 HDD DOA, shipped DVR's with Samsung = 0 % failure!

JD

Ive used Western Digital for several years now.

All hard disk drives can fail though, make sure you have the DVRs on a Voltage Regulator. Some UPS come with it AVR (Automatic Voltage Regulation) built in.