Question 1

How do you install this as a regular HD rather than a surveillance HD?

Accepted Answer

It is a regular HDD with a high write cycle which makes it ready for surveillance use.  Just format it and you're good to go.

Question 2

Can these drives be used for normal desktop operation ?

Accepted Answer

Yes, they can be used for regular desktops. The difference is in the amount of error correction performed on the drive. Drives targeted for Video can sacrifice error correction for speed. Due to drives being continually overwritten with new video, having a bad sector isn't too critical since a bad file would be overwritten daily.

I probably would shy away from using this drive as a long term storage drive for archiving photos. Would work perfectly fine as regular drive if you have some sort of daily backup routine for your pc

Question 3

How well does this drive work as a regular internal backup drive for a desktop system?

Accepted Answer

In concept it is not a good idea to have your backups on the same system as the primary.  I had a client that had the backup right next to the server.
One lightning strike took out everything.
Having said that, I had a system of SSD drives and I had 2 of these beast configured as a mirrored array for long term document storage.
Of course one of them died within 10 days of the end of warrantee.......

Questions & Answers