Hi
I am looking at getting this Raid enclosure to use as JBOD or RAID 1 for backing up my photography, videography and design libriary. Was wondering before I trust it to all my data what should I do to test the drives are fully operational for long time use?
I take a S.M.A.R.T. reading of my disk, save a screenshot of it, then use CCleaner’s full disk wipe and let that do 35 passes. That’ll keep it busy for several days, or even weeks depending on the HDD’s size and speed. Afterwards I take another S.M.A.R.T. reading and compare that with the original one.
If anything regarding health or sectors has changed, I keep stressing the disk until it breaks (even if that means torturing it for months) and then send it back to the manufacturer. If all is okay, I will start using the drive.
Seeing as you’re talking about a 2-drive NAS, I’d suggest going for RAID1. That way if one of the drives fails you still have all your data. Oh, and keep backups too, RAID1 is not a replacement for proper backups.