Hard drives represent a fundamental pillar in today’s computing. Thanks to these memory units, users can store all kinds of data that, in the end, promote aspects such as the proper functioning of their equipment or the ability to save photos, documents and other kinds of files. However, as a result of the continuous use to which these devices are subjected, their useful life is usually shortened excessively and their duration barely reaches a few years.
Thus, in recent years, different companies have delved into different studies that seek to answer the million dollar question: what is the average life of a hard drive? As a general rule, it is difficult to offer a conclusive answer since it depends on aspects such as the brand, the model and even the capacity of the devices; However, a recent study carried out by Backblaze (a company specializing in backup copies and cloud storage with a reputation for analyzing hard drive failures) collected by Ars Technica has been able to shed some light on the matter. And unfortunately, the answer will not please many.
Hard drives usually do not reach 3 years of life
In conducting its study, Backblaze says it analyzed 17,155 failed hard drives, a number that included SSDs and HDDs of various makes, models, and sizes. Thus, in total they examined 72 different models that did not include, for example, failed boot drives or drives with data out of bounds. First of all, they specified that the useful life depends on the capacity of the device, which is why lower capacity units can last longer before failing.
In turn, they were also able to specify that the brand with the highest failure rate is Seagate, but this reality has a trick since, being cheaper, their failure rates are not “high enough to make them less profitable during their useful life.” Therefore, it could be specified that “they are as profitable as the most expensive discs “. Finally, the study offered an answer to the million dollar question by pointing out that, as a general rule, the useful life of hard drives reaches 2 years and 6 months, a rather short figure for some that will depend on the daily work of the user. device, its capacity and other relevant aspects collected in the study.
