All Questions
Tagged with external-hard-drive hard-drive
101
questions
84
votes
9
answers
197k
views
How much time until an unused hard drive loses its data?
Do you guys know how much time needs to pass until the data stored on a hard drive starts to degrade?
To keep the data intact for long periods of time, I heard you need to periodically rewrite it on ...
- 999
36
votes
2
answers
5k
views
Why is my USB drive showing corrupted data when plugged as an internal SATA drive?
I have a 3TB Seagate Backup Plus Desktop USB 3.0 drive, which works fine when in its enclosure, but when I get it off its enclosure and directly plug it as an internal SATA drive, it's just not ...
- 1,730
9
votes
3
answers
14k
views
Install Windows XP to USB Hard Drive and Run from It
I wanted to know if there was a way (that worked!) to both Install and Run Windows XP Pro from a USB 2.0 connected Hard Drive. My system does allow to boot from external usb hard drive, but when I ...
Stan
19
votes
3
answers
58k
views
Please explain wasted space on an exFAT formatted external hard drive [duplicate]
I recently bought a 750 GB 2.5" hard drive and put it in an external enclosure. It has Advanced Format Technology (AFT), but I use Windows 7, so I assumed I would be safe.
I decided to try exFAT, ...
- 1,295
10
votes
4
answers
30k
views
Is it possible to set the logical sector size of a USB hard disk drive?
I have two supposedly identical 3TB Western Digital USB hard disk drives. One contains nearly the full 3TB of data. I want the other to be a backup of that data. There are lots of small files, so ...
- 286
4
votes
3
answers
29k
views
Hard Drive Failure? Cannot run CHKDSK. Recovery?
I have WD My Book Essential 3TB external drive for more than 2 years now. It worked fine until about a month ago when it stopped being recognized. After extensive googling, I ran chkdsk /r on it and ...
- 43
1
vote
2
answers
1k
views
Getting Rid of Software Records for Software installed on an external disk?
So I'm cleaning out an old computer, and several of the programs it thinks it has were actually installed on an old drive, that's now gone. For some of them, it prompts to get rid of them because it ...
- 443
11
votes
1
answer
34k
views
Newly formatted (NTFS) external hard drive already has 'Used space'. What determines the used space's amount? Is it correlated to the HD's capacity?
I just bought a new external hard drive (WD Elements - 1 TB). In a PC with Windows 7, I formatted it by Right-clicking the drive > Format (Quick Format - NTFS) before using it and, and then checked ...
- 6,303
30
votes
1
answer
89k
views
Why Do Some USB Cables Have Two USB Connectors at the End?
I've recently bought an external hard drive enclosure and it had arrived with an USB cable, with one USB connector on one side and two on the other. Why do some USB cables have two connectors while ...
- 2,444
22
votes
5
answers
121k
views
Windows 10: No option to Eject External HARD DRIVE (NOT USB Stick)
When I plug in my external hard drive (again, NOT USB stick), and right click on the icon in This PC, there is no option to eject the drive.
There is a system tray option to "safely eject" it, but ...
- 376
7
votes
3
answers
63k
views
How to connect Western Digital "My passport" using other means?
I have a Western Digital My Passport 500Gb external Harddrive where the USB connection on the drive seems to have worn out. I am trying to retrieve the data for a friend.
Here is an image of the ...
- 1,555
55
votes
6
answers
397k
views
How to detect if a USB port is 3.0 or 2.0?
I have a Toshiba Canvio 3.0 external HDD. It has USB 3.0. It flashes blue if you connect it to a USB 3.0 port. If it is a 2.0 port, the light becomes white.
Yesterday, I plugged it in and the light ...
- 639
25
votes
2
answers
13k
views
What is the tolerable magnetic field (in Tesla) for a hard disk?
I was wondering what would be the safest magnetic field for a hard drive so that the data inside it is safe and not wiped off?
For example I have a 2.1 home theatre system and when I take my android ...
- 367
3
votes
5
answers
11k
views
How to quickly and effectively wipe a Win7 x64 hard drive
I have a Windows 7 Enterprise x64 system and need to wipe the 1.5TB hard disk drive quickly and effectively. Quick, I guess, is a relative term; so more quickly than I've seen with some wipe utilities ...
- 1,307
0
votes
2
answers
13k
views
Password protect a 1 TB Seagate external HDD
I have a 1 TB Seagate external HDD with 700 GB data. I want to put a password on it without any encryption.
I tried BitLocker but it takes 33 hours to encrypt the whole drive and I don't want to wait ...
