My 90yo neighbor has run Mint since before I met him 15 years ago

I also have a dd reading my NAS once a month. It catches bad sectors and forces issues into the open.

I just use dd. It can take days, but it’s worth it.

I’ve used these kinds of disks in my NAS at least since 2017 with no issues. Just test thoroughly before using. I usually do SMART short and long tests, and then a bit by bit write and read of the entire disk. I’ve caught a couple that failed right away. If it passes that, then it’s usually good for years.