How many time can I physically connect and disconnect a hard drive? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: electronbean
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 20, 2023, 12:14:34 am
content: Hello everyone,I intend know how many time could I attach and detach a hard drive on drive bay HDD like this:https://www.newegg.com/orico-1106ss-v1-bk-1-x-3-5-drive-to-5-25-bay/p/0VE-000W-00018?Description=5.25%20hard%20drive%20bay&cm_re=5.25_hard%20drive%20bay-_-9SIA1DS0FS5106-_-ProductI need put on hard drive and push outside the hard drive when my job is finish. I do this around 10 time for month. In a year will be 120 times. I am concerning with connectors SATA data and SATA power on hard drive. Could I will get problems, like bad connections, cold welding or another issues?I search about datasheet of the hard drive I found this:https://documents.westerndigital.com/content/dam/doc-library/en_us/assets/public/western-digital/product/internal-drives/wd-blue-hdd/product-brief-western-digital-wd-blue-pc-hdd.pdfBut this document didn't refer information about how many time I can physically connect and disconnect the hard drive.Thank you

author: coromonadalix
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 20, 2023, 01:31:51 am
content: for sure there is a limit to contacts wear ............ but in this occasion, i use trays with included power switches in the enclosure lollStill going strong after yearsBut for sure you're in need to remove it as a safety, only thing i can sayFor other guys i know: after a thousand insertion the tray is ditched, and others say after 500 inserts ...Maybe this ?https://www.reddit.com/r/DataHoarder/comments/inzo2g/hdd_sata_port_durability/or this :How durable are SATA connectors?The connectors are SATA compliant and meet a wide range of vertical and right angle configurations for usage across server and storage equipment, HDDs and HDD carriers. Durability: 500 mating cycles ▪ Mating Force: 45N max.

author: Georgy.Moshkin
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 20, 2023, 03:36:58 am
content: I had similar question and I thought of using these or similar products (see attached image). Moreover, my old notebook had an sata to sata extension pcb, somethimg like that could help to transfer wear off from hdd connector to extender connector

author: GigaJoe
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 20, 2023, 01:03:04 pm
content: such kind of connectors usually around 500-1000 inserts

author: David Hess
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 20, 2023, 02:04:05 pm
content: It will depend on how good and thick the surface plating is on the connector surfaces. The minimum specification for SATA is something like 50 insertion cycles, however I would expect 100s of cycles if not abused. Unfortunately there is a lot of variation in quality from various suppliers so there is no way to really know.

author: Hydron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 20, 2023, 05:27:46 pm
content: We run into this where I work doing sneakernet with SATA SSDs, I know they eventually fail - will ask the ops folks how long they normally last. I suspect the hot swap racks fail before the drive connectors - they get more cycles and have the spring terminals Vs the drive with the fixed wafer.

author: KungFuJosh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 21, 2023, 01:04:03 am
content: You can cheat if you're using a SSD or a 2.5" drive. You can install the smaller drive into a 3.5" adapter then all the wear and tear is on the adapter, not the drive.

author: JeremyC
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 21, 2023, 01:30:14 am
content: Quote from: electronbean on May 20, 2023, 12:14:34 amHa, interesting question. But wouldn’t be easier to use a USB3 caddy? Those run for ~$15, and in worst case the USB connector will worn out.Since 15+ years I use this technique frequently (even with mini-IDE before the SATA era), mostly on the client site to run virtual machines.