What's wrong? - back-up HD

[french frank]

The external hard drive that I use to back up (SuperDuper!) my laptop is behaving oddly. Very capricious about mounting, and if successfully mounted, in being persuaded to unmount again. Twice when I tried to make a smart copy, the copy failed (the second time it got right to the end but failed at making the disk bootable), at the third attempt the SD! icon started bouncing up and down non-stop in the Dock and I kept getting coloured beachballs all the time.

I ran Disk Utility First Aid twice (when the HD eventually mounted, which was after a struggle) but that went through without indicating a problem.

I got the similar (older version) external that I use for the iMac and it mounted/unmounted without difficulty, so I assume not a fault with the laptop/app (I didnt want to try making a copy on the disk as I didn't want both machines backed up on the same disk, but SD! seemed to behave perfectly normally, finding the new HD).

Could the troublesome disk have a hardware fault without Disk Utility finding it? I would find it hard to imagine physical damage, as it only moves a few feet away from the machine, occasionally put in a drawer. I didn't want to try it on the iMac in case it mucked that up. Any ideas where the fault would be? Will erasing the whole disk work?

[johnb]

No doubt a Mac expert will be along shortly but in the mean time -

I only use Windows (and Ubuntu) but my first port of call would be to check the SMART status of hard drive. Can you do that on a Mac for external HDDs?

If we assume the problem is with the external hard drive the possibilities are:

- faulty cable or the cable not connected properly: try a different cable, take the "plugs" on either end out of the sockets and replace them.

- if it is mains powered make sure the power connector is firmly in place.

- if the HDD draws its power from the USB (or whatever) port, rather than the mains, sometimes using a powered USB hub can be beneficial. However if your external HDD has been behaving perfectly up to now that probably won't help.

- faulty electronics in the HDD enclosure. In that case the actual hard drive might be OK but you would need to put it in a different enclosure. (Might be easier to just get a new HDD.)

- a dying hard drive

I would check the SMART status of the drive (and post the result here) and also run whatever disc checking utilities the Mac has.

[french frank]

No doubt a Mac expert will be along shortly but in the mean time -

I only use Windows (and Ubuntu) but my first port of call would be to check the SMART status of hard drive. Can you do that on a Mac for external HDDs?

Thanks, John.

It looks like you can. I see instructions for checking the computer's HD and assuming I can get this thing to mount again I should be able to select it in the same way. Will try later - actually, I could have tried connecting the external to the iMac without actually making a SuperDuper! copy (I tried conncting the iMac's to the MacBook - which worked).

I had another problem this morning, which I MAY have solved by deleting an entire user account (redundant!) but which seemed to be harbouring something which I couldn't delete from my main account or the sub account. Weird. Neither Malwarebytes nor Bitdefender are detecting anything on the MacBook.

[french frank]

Given up on it. Finally persuaded it to mount. SMART Status - Not Supported. Restore failed. Erase failed, as Disk Utility couldn't unmount it. Pulled the plug on the disk (incorrectly ) when it failed to unmount manually again. So only questions are: Is it repairable? And where can I conveniently get another one?

In fact, I only use the laptop as a handy notebook, important files are backed up as soon as updated on a flash drive. So little is lost (until the same thing happens on the "business" machine and both its external back-up disks). Thanks for the tip, anyway.

[Dave2002]

Given up on it. Finally persuaded it to mount. SMART Status - Not Supported. Restore failed. Erase failed, as Disk Utility couldn't unmount it. Pulled the plug on the disk (incorrectly ) when it failed to unmount manually again. So only questions are: Is it repairable? And where can I conveniently get another one?

In fact, I only use the laptop as a handy notebook, important files are backed up as soon as updated on a flash drive. So little is lost (until the same thing happens on the "business" machine and both its external back-up disks). Thanks for the tip, anyway.

How big is the laptop - i.e how much storage?

I'd probably recommend an SSD for this task now, though I suppose I might also be concerned about how often you do the backups. If your laptop doesn't have a huge backing store memory - some people can manage with 128 Gbyte - I struggle with 512 Gbyte and my laptop with 256 Gbytes is often painful - then using relatively small SSDs or portable HDDs is an option. I have previously crashed/ruined portable HDDs attached to laptops by not having them on a flat surface, so that they swung around and crashed into the side of a chair/sofa. I also use much chunkier larger drives for backup purposes - these are a bit safer as sit on a table top so such manoevres are less likely to happen.

However, if your requirements are not too large, I'd suggest some of the Integral SSDs from MyMemory typically under £30, which can easily be fitted in an enclosure - usually around £8 from Amazon, to provide the equivalent of a 256 Gbyte drive. These are IMO reasonably robust, and should do the job for a small laptop. Enclosures like these are quite good, and often come in a range of colours, so if you have more than one you can dedicate them for different purposes - https://www.amazon.co.uk/ORICO-Enclo...xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

Otherwise new HDDs either 1TB or 2 TB are usually available from sources such as Amazon for prices between £40-£80. If you only crash one every few years that's not such a big outlay, though the SSD option maybe more likely to survive physical damage. SSDs may eventually become "tired" if used a lot, but then that goes for a lot of things too!

[Bryn]

How big is the laptop - i.e how much storage?

I'd probably recommend an SSD for this task now, though I suppose I might also be concerned about how often you do the backups. If your laptop doesn't have a huge backing store memory - some people can manage with 128 Gbyte - I struggle with 512 Gbyte and my laptop with 256 Gbytes is often painful - then using relatively small SSDs or portable HDDs is an option. I have previously crashed/ruined portable HDDs attached to laptops by not having them on a flat surface, so that they swung around and crashed into the side of a chair/sofa. I also use much chunkier larger drives for backup purposes - these are a bit safer as sit on a table top so such manoevres are less likely to happen.

However, if your requirements are not too large, I'd suggest some of the Integral SSDs from MyMemory typically under £30, which can easily be fitted in an enclosure - usually around £8 from Amazon, to provide the equivalent of a 256 Gbyte drive. These are IMO reasonably robust, and should do the job for a small laptop.

Otherwise new HDDs either 1TB or 2 TB are usually available from sources such as Amazon for prices between £40-£80. If you only crash one every few years that's not such a big outlay, though the SSD option maybe more likely to survive physical damage. SSDs may eventually become "tired" if used a lot, but then that goes for a lot of things too!

To put in a word of caution. Hard discs usually give notice of forthcoming failure via SMART. SSDs, however, offer no warning of impending doom.

[Dave2002]

To put in a word of caution. Hard discs usually give notice of forthcoming failure via SMART. SSDs, however, offer no warning of impending doom.

Fair enough, though I can't say I've had major failures yet. I work on the assumption that the files are backups - so there should be at least one other copy on one of my systems or drives. If there is a failure which I know about, then I try to get new copies done ASAP, even if it means buying a new drive or SSD. Sometimes I think there may be file "erosion" due to my computers themselves and vagaries of the OS - and this is just a hunch - a niggling one. I work on the assumption that it's unlikely that I'll lose anything I really want to keep - but it's possible. Over the years I've probably spent as much on additional backup storage as a decent laptop - but spread out over quite a long period.

[Bryn]

Fair enough, though I can't say I've had major failures yet. I work on the assumption that the files are backups - so there should be at least one other copy on one of my systems or drives. If there is a failure which I know about, then I try to get new copies done ASAP, even if it means buying a new drive or SSD. Sometimes I think there may be file "erosion" due to my computers themselves and vagaries of the OS - and this is just a hunch - a niggling one. I work on the assumption that it's unlikely that I'll lose anything I really want to keep - but it's possible. Over the years I've probably spent as much on additional backup storage as a decent laptop - but spread out over quite a long period.

No SSD failures here yet, either. Where I have cloned the main HD drive onto an SSD I have always kept the original HD for rescue purposes. I also try to remember to clone the SSD to an HD every few months. Oh, and just for the unwary, never defragment an SSD. It serves no useful purpose and shortens the SSD's life.

[french frank]

How big is the laptop - i.e how much storage?

Hmm. Thought I'd already answered this :-) Up on desktop now - perhaps I forgot to press the Post button on the laptop . I'm really tech savvy!

Both laptop and external well below their 1TB capacity, if that is what is meant by 'storage'.

[Dave2002]

Hmm. Thought I'd already answered this :-) Up on desktop now - perhaps I forgot to press the Post button on the laptop . I'm really tech savvy!

Both laptop and external well below their 1TB capacity, if that is what is meant by 'storage'.

Ah - so you have what by my standards is quite a large laptop, so you'll need a 1 TB drive or more. The SSD options I mentioned earlier were assuming you had a 256 Gbyte drive. I've noticed that many people do manage with 256 or even 128 Gbyte internal memory in their laptops.

For a 512 Gbyte drive they are still viable, but you'd probably feel that for a 1 TB drive that SSD would be too expensive - though it's still an option, but the economics do swing in favour of spinning discs then.

The relative technical merits of each then still apply. SSD very fast, robust, but as Bryn suggests, may fail without warning. HDDs probably larger capacity, may be cheaper for larger storage, reliable enough for a few years unless dropped or treated badly, but may still fail eventually - though perhaps with a warning.

[johnb]

If you need a 1TB or larger drive I would have no hesitation about getting a "traditional" HDD - and you might as well get a 2TB drive as they don't cost much more than 1TB drives.

It should last for many years, touch wood.

[french frank]

Ah - so you have what by my standards is quite a large laptop, so you'll need a 1 TB drive or more.

We're getting beyond my very limited ability to comprehend without a crash course in computer technology. On checking, my MacBook isn't anything like 1TB (I was looking at the desktop ) - the latest MacBook Air (also Intel Core i5, RAM 8GB) is only 512GB and the info on mine says only 121.12GB. The HD (1TB) isn't a new one - I've been using it for two or three years on the MacBook, and MB and HD are working well below their respective capacities.

Have now attempted to erase the pesky disk on the desktop which also failed to unmount it. And again, it was unceremoniously unplugged when it failed to respond to manual attempts to unmount. One for the repair shop

Thanks for all comments.

[Dave2002]

If you need a 1TB or larger drive I would have no hesitation about getting a "traditional" HDD - and you might as well get a 2TB drive as they don't cost much more than 1TB drives.

It should last for many years, touch wood.

I'd second this, but msg 12 suggests that a 256 Gbyte SSD for the laptop would be fine - at least for drive copies - typically around £35 including the enclosure for an Integral SSD from MyMemory. If frenchie has been using one drive for backing up several machines, then a 2 TByte HDD might be appropriate.

[french frank]

If frenchie has been using one drive for backing up several machines, then a 2 TByte HDD might be appropriate.

I haven't. I have three external HDs in all, two for the iMac (Time Machine and clone copy) and one for the MacBook - which is now failing. But having used only 66GB after over 5 years, I don't think I need 2TB for backing up the MacBook. And given the cost of data recovery, a new HDD is all I really need - likely to be cheaper than any sort of repair. I think I've ruled out cable and app (SD!) malfunction, so the disk replacement seems to be the only option.

I'm not as perturbed about losing the entire contents as some would be. I would willingly give up computing and take up knitting instead, if the worst occurred.

[Dave2002]

I haven't. I have three external HDs in all, two for the iMac (Time Machine and clone copy) and one for the MacBook - which is now failing. But having used only 66GB after over 5 years, I don't think I need 2TB for backing up the MacBook.

I suspected you might not have a large amount of data on your laptop. Indeed there are USB sticks which will copy over that amount of data, but compared with HDDs or SSDs they are usually very slow. You might, however, consider that as a belt and braces approach to keeping your data. Possibles - which should be fast enough - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Integral-Fu...8419593&sr=8-3 or this Sandisk Ultra fit, which comes as cheaply as £10 for a 64 Gbyte version - https://www.amazon.co.uk/SanDisk-Ult...9&sr=8-36&th=1 There are chunkier models, and some which are cheap and some which are very slow.

This SSD should be big enough for all your data on that machine - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Integral-24...8418633&sr=8-3 about £35. This one doesn't even come as a card which needs to be put in an enclosure - it is ready made with a USB interface.

An alternative which you might find useful is something like this, which fits in a camera card slot on some Apple machines - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Transcend-J...s%2C165&sr=8-3 These have the advantage of convenience, though I don't think they're as fast as SSDs. I think they do have to be matched to the machine. THey are highly portable of course, but probably not intended for long term backup - which seems to be your current requirement.

Lastly, WD HDDs usually have a good reputation, though I did have one which didn't work properly. I have another one which has so far been good, however. Here is one of the WD drives, again from Amazon - https://www.amazon.co.uk/WD-Elements...8418994&sr=8-4 - around £42 currently.

Re recovery/repair of drives - unless you have absolutely vital data to recover, it's usually not economic to consider repair or data recovery. You should already have the data on your machines. Just buy a new storage device and copy the data how you want, either file by file, folder by folder, or make a bootable cloned drive, which is something I think you have previously done. You can make bootable clones either to HDD or SDDs.