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I bought a 2 TB external hard drive from Seagate and on the first day it stopped working. Probably something broken inside. I never had expected that it will get damaged so easily.

So I'm reconsidering my decision to buy a new storage. Basically I need to store less frequently used data I have in case I need it in future. I want it for long term.

Also I'm surprised even when I handle my laptops roughly sometimes, it doesn't affect my laptop disks at all. They work fine. Maybe they use something better?

Should I try bigger like 3.5" hard drives? Would they be more safe?

Another decision would be to buy SSD but I really can't afford that.

So, given all that, are there any other external hard drives that are less prone to damage? Maybe size of disk also matters?

Also, I don't need something eye catchy. I don't care how it looks from outside. I want a reliable storage for long term and something that won't stop working so easily. I feels like a really big loss when you buy something new and it gets damaged on its first day. I hope you understand my dilemma.

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    If you need it to be USB-powered, then you cannot use 3.5" disks. They need a 12v rail that USB doesn't have, so need an external power supply. 2.5" & SSD don't need this 12v rail, the standard 5v that USB can provide is sufficient.
    – Tetsujin
    Apr 3, 2022 at 10:06
  • @Tetsujin ah I didn't know. So 3.5 is out of question for me.
    – Vikas
    Apr 3, 2022 at 10:38
  • You'd need an enclosure with an external power supply.
    – Tetsujin
    Apr 3, 2022 at 10:40
  • But note that there are many ways to wreck an external drive without physically breaking it. Sudden disconnect whilst writing, power outage, disconnect without correct unmount - especially if you're not using a journaled file system. For this, NTFS just about qualifies as journaled, FAT & ExFAT don't.
    – Tetsujin
    Apr 3, 2022 at 10:52
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    I can't really help any further. It's the kind of thing I'd need in my hand to fully test. I can often force them back to life from a Mac, or at least see exactly what failed. You could try sending it back - don't tell then you broke it ;)) [This one of those times it's great if you used Amazon Prime - amazon will take anything back, you don't have to deal with the seller at all, Amazon just give you the money back then argue with the seller themselves ;))
    – Tetsujin
    Apr 3, 2022 at 13:28

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any size drive will have the same size and plastic making up the SATA connector (power and data). Or SAS connector.

Unless you break that connector, which 99% of the time is poor user judgement plugging or removing cables, nothing out there is different.

A 3.5" drive will be a traditional spinning hard drive, and while they are pretty tough I've dropped them in the parking lot with no ill effects, they will never be as robust as a 2.5" Solid State Disk that has no moving parts.

After that don't leave it like on a car dashboard in summer to cook to 180°F, they typically don't like that.

I bought a 2 TB external hard drive from Seagate and on the first day it stopped working.

It happens. Warranty replace it, and move on.

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