agentx5 wrote:Some models do spin down the hard drives after enough time of no usage of the hard drives. I know mine do this (I have 2 DCX3510M's)
To understand mechanical harddrives better though, it's better off than on, better on than switching between off & on. The spin up and spin down initiation process is what wears out harddrives the most. Would it be better ot have it off? yeah, but that's way better to have it on 24/7 rather than spinning up and down a few times ever minute. That was actually what gave the Western Digitial "Green" drives and the Seagate budget-grade NAS drives a bad reputation for durability (their wait time before deciding to spin down was too short, and was causing unnecessary wear & tear to the heads & platters).
Agent,
Looking at this customer's experience, this might be the only time I would disagree with Ms. Raye, and would not recommend a new box. This is because, you never know the make and model of the box you are going to get and the paces that it may have been put through. I had a brand new Cisco that would get stuck in unexpected reboot cycles for several hours at a time. Lines and signals were very good. Tech swapped out the box with the Arris 3510-M and that box has been rock solid for me!
If the customer hears loud knocking or clicking from the box, that is an indicator that the box's hard drive is going bad and than the users should seek a replacement. If the functionality of the box is good, hold on to it for as long as you can. And what is to say that even if the box were swapped that a different model would not produce the same result?
Satch