Computer hard drive

T

Teeling611

Pulling my weight
Dec 29, 2022
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USA
Is it difficult to install a computer hard drive on a desktop such as a Dell or HP. I don’t own a computer and have been looking at refurbished for a BI install. Many of the reasonably priced units I’ve found come with only a small SSD, no hard drive or a smaller drive than necessary for recording. Many also with no operating systems. New hard drives seem a reasonable option but it’s the install that‘s the issue for me. New computers are to expensive. Thanks
 
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Teeling611 said:
Is it difficult to install a computer hard drive on a desktop such as a Dell or HP. I don’t own a computer and have been looking at refurbished for a BI install. Many of the reasonably priced units I’ve found come with only a small SSD, no hard drive or a smaller drive than necessary for recording. Many also with no operating systems. New hard drives seem a reasonable option but it’s the install that‘s the issue for me. New computers are to expensive. Thanks
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Even though the description says no os, you will be able to install windows using the MS media creation tool in 99.9999 percent of cases and it will activate just fine. Not some sff pc's have limited internal space for drives, there are threads discussing this.
 
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Teeling611 said:
Many also with no operating systems.
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fenderman said:
Even though the description says no os, you will be able to install windows using the MS media creation tool in 99.9999 percent of cases and it will activate just fine. Not some sff pc's have limited internal space for drives, there are threads discussing this.​
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Yup.

OEM Windows OS activations keys are tied to the hardware (usually the motherboard) and cannot be easily transferred to another computer. What this means is that if the computer ran Windows previously, the MS servers will automatically activate Windows when it is "re-installed" on a refurbished machine even if the hard drive is different. As Fenderman noted, about 99% of the time, you can purchase a refurbished computer and it will activate Windows without having to buy a new license for it.

Teeling611 said:
Is it difficult to install a computer hard drive on a desktop such as a Dell or HP?
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Installing a hard drive into a computer is literally plugging in two cables and securing the drive in the chassis. Two cables with unique connectors that cannot be plugged in wrong. If you are buying a refurbished computer, the correct cables will already be there from where they removed the previous hard drive. Do not let this "unknown" prevent you from buying a refurbished model.
 
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Teeling611 said:
Thanks just purchased an Optiplex 7040, i7-6700, windows Pro, 8 gb ram, with 500 gb hard drive, $112.00 EBay. Now a Poe switch bigger HD and some cameras and of course BI.
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All you need now is a good SSD for Windows, BI and BI's "db" folder.

My fav 2.5" SSD ==>> SAMSUNG 870 EVO SATA SSD 500GB 2.5” Internal Solid State Drive, Upgrade PC or Laptop Memory and Storage for IT Pros, Creators, Everyday Users, MZ-77E500B/AM

But for that SFF you may opt for a NVMe M.2 form factor ==>> SAMSUNG 970 EVO Plus SSD 500GB NVMe M.2 Internal Solid State Drive w/ V-NAND Technology, Storage and Memory Expansion for Gaming, Graphics w/ Heat Control, Max Speed, MZ-V7S500B/AM
 
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TonyR said:
All you need now is a good SSD for Windows, BI and BI's "db" folder.

My fav 2.5" SSD ==>> SAMSUNG 870 EVO SATA SSD 500GB 2.5” Internal Solid State Drive, Upgrade PC or Laptop Memory and Storage for IT Pros, Creators, Everyday Users, MZ-77E500B/AM

But for that SFF you may opt for a NVMe M.2 form factor ==>> SAMSUNG 970 EVO Plus SSD 500GB NVMe M.2 Internal Solid State Drive w/ V-NAND Technology, Storage and Memory Expansion for Gaming, Graphics w/ Heat Control, Max Speed, MZ-V7S500B/AM
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This is where I’m going to get confused. All I need in now is a 500GB drive if either type and nothing more for video storage?
 
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I have that same machine as my BI server. It's worked well with 20+ cams at generally higher rates.

As Tony says, the 7040 can has an NVMe slot. Do that instead of an SSD for your boot drive and BI's executables and database. About the same cost, will be a little faster, and saves connectors/space in the drive cage. Even easier to install than a hard drive. Plug it in, one screw, done. Put your video on the 500 or get another larger drive for storage. Two 3.5" drives will not fit.

There is a little more involved to partition and format drives after installed but also easy and plenty of guides available.
 
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Teeling611 said:
This is where I’m going to get confused. All I need in now is a 500GB drive if either type and nothing more for video storage?
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WD Purple. I have 8 cameras of from 2 to 5 megapixels and get about 10 days on a 4TB drive with continuous recording.
 
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Teeling611 said:
This is where I’m going to get confused. All I need in now is a 500GB drive if either type and nothing more for video storage?
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The SSD or NVMe drive is where the operating system (Windows) would be stored. It is also where you would put the BI database files. It is very fast storage. Since your PC has the ability for an NMVe drive plugged into the motherboard, you will not need to use cables or a drive position.

The HDD is where you would place the video from the cams. Getting an HDD that is rated for surveillance video is important since they are designed to be written to 24/7 and still be able to be read from at the same time. Getting a large drive to start out is smart as cams multiply like rabbits, storage is cheap, and you can never have enough storage. You may not think that you will need more than x amount of storage, but most folks plans change as they get experience with cams.
 
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samplenhold said:
The SSD or NVMe drive is where the operating system (Windows) would be stored. It is also where you would put the BI database files.
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...and the BI program itself. :cool:
 
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samplenhold said:
The SSD or NVMe drive is where the operating system (Windows) would be stored. It is also where you would put the BI database files. It is very fast storage. Since your PC has the ability for an NMVe drive plugged into the motherboard, you will not need to use cables or a drive position.

The HDD is where you would place the video from the cams. Getting an HDD that is rated for surveillance video is important since they are designed to be written to 24/7 and still be able to be read from at the same time. Getting a large drive to start out is smart as cams multiply like rabbits, storage is cheap, and you can never have enough storage. You may not think that you will need more than x amount of storage, but most folks plans change as they get experience with cams.
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Would I be better of just betting a tb NVMe vs regular surveillance drive. Appears much cheaper way to go?
 
Teeling611 said:
Would I be better of just betting a tb NVMe vs regular surveillance drive. Appears much cheaper way to go?
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As @samplenhold and others have stated, it's best to use a surveillance-rated HDD (not SSD) for video clips, as it's purpose-built for constant 24/7 writes. Major players are WD Purple and Seagate Skyhawk.

I would not put too much emphasis on "cheaper" when it comes to my dedicated video surveillance PC that's running BI and recording video clips.
 
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