Used HDD?

[Jhnsn]

I need a HDD but they are expensive and I don't have that much money because I'm young. So I thought "What about an used HDD?" But do you think it is a good idea? Are there some problems I could face?

 

[DinohScene]

What size HDD are you looking for and capacity?

Used HDD's, I personally don't really dabble with them, mostly out of caution.
Anyway, if you get one, run Crystal disk mark on it and check if it's still functioning correctly.

 

[Jhnsn]

What size HDD are you looking for and capacity?

Used HDD's, I personally don't really dabble with them, mostly out of caution.
Anyway, if you get one, run Crystal disk mark on it and check if it's still functioning correctly.

2.5 inch and 750 gb - 2 tb

 

[migles]

what @DinohScene
check the smart values.. you need to make sure the hdd is not failing and still running...
i advice to get a new HDD or have some kind of warranty when purchasing..
it can have a lot of bad sectors..

 

[DinohScene]

Those won't really come cheap, unless you go for refurbished ones.
Again, if you do manage to get it used, run Crystal disk mark.
If it's anything but all green, it's not trustworthy for your data.

 

[DeoNaught]

Do you got an old laptop you, or someone isn't using or broken? crack it open,
you take the HDD from it, and just get an enclosure for it.

 

[CIAwesome526]

I wouldnt get a used drive. And hard drives arent too expesnive.

here is an amazon search for 2.5 inch hard drives, there are 750GB for 35$ and 1TB for around 50$ and it goes up to like 2TB theyre all NEW and are sorted from cheapest to most expensive. i set the minimum price to $30 to filter out non-hdds such as cases, holders, and converters.

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oh, and 3.5 will be cheaper, why do you need 2.5"? are you getting it for a laptop?

 

[Attacker3]

Yeah, buy a new one if you can.

 

[osaka35]

I just bought two 5TB Harddrives for 90 bucks apiece. Used, but more repackaged than used.

Opened packages, repackaged, or OEM drives are the best bet if you want to stay away from used, but get cheaper prices. I buy only used and tend to get a good 5 years out of them with solid use (If I'm still using them at that point). I've had one or two die early, but that's to be expected.

But really, what's your price range, and for what purpose are you using them?

 

[Deleted User]

If you do end up buying a used HDD, if there's anything on it, DBAN the fuck out of it.

 

[geomichas]

My two cents on used drives: Don't*. The immediate savings of buying a used hard drive is negligible and the long-term risk of using a used drive is huge. If you do buy used, use a program to check your newly purchased hard drive's SMART status, you could get lucky, but you could have just bought a hard drive that has been spinning at 7200RPM for longer than your computer has existed. HDs fail all the time. If you get a warranty and don't care about the data on the drive, you could risk it. Or you could buy a new hard drive for an extra 10 dollars.