What kind of router do you have?
A lot of the newer routers will let you plug in a usb hdd and have it be a "NAS".
Sure, its not the same as a real NAS, doesn't have any redundancy/etc, but its something if you want to centralize your media storage for now.
(2014-04-16, 13:11)cv15xbmc Wrote: How long will a harddrive last before it shits itself? (with minimal usage) because I have built a good collection of stuff that I spent a lot of money and time on.
Sounds like you need a backup! That hdd could die tomorrow, or in 15 years. Its a mechanical spinning device. It WILL wear out.
As others noted, using a RAID type of setup will give you redundancy (a chance to save your data if you are quick about it and don't have another drive failure), but its not a backup (a 2nd/3rd full copy).
If you need more than 4TB, and want a copy somehow or another, you'll need a device with 4 bays.
If you want to gamble**, then get a 2 bay NAS, put in another 4TB hdd, and you have 8TB, which you said will work for you. I'd suggest you just buy 2 new 4TB hdds, set them up, and keep your USB as a place to backup the really important stuff you don't want to lose
** Gamble sounds a little strong. Its not that bad, you can always rerip all those movies, or re download all those torrents, right?