[Solved] External HDD problem

Discussion in 'Windows 10' started by Windows 10 User, Dec 26, 2019.

  1. AveYo

    AveYo MDL Expert

    Feb 10, 2009
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    Do you have google blocked on your end or are you just incredibly lazy?
    M.2 is a form factor referring to the physical connector and the drive's dimensions and intent. Other form factors are 2.5'' SATA (large ff, external) and mSATA (small ff, internal).
    NVMe represents the evolution of M.2 SATA interface, using PCIE interface directly instead. Layout is identical, there even exists motherboards supporting both SATA and PCIE on the same slot. But must always check if your device supports NVMe

    Premium SATA SSDs can at most do 540ish Mb/s - almost saturating the SATA III 6Gb/s theoretical max of 600Mb/s.
    NVMe SSDs can go up to PCIE 3.0 x4 speeds, so close to 4000 Mb/s, by using a DRAM cache. That cache can go even faster if the interface allows it, such as the newer PCIE 4.0 that double the available bandwidth.
    Samsung, WD, Silicon Power, Corsair - safe bets when it comes to NVMe.
     
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  2. Windows 10 User

    Windows 10 User MDL Guru

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    #62 Windows 10 User, Mar 30, 2020
    Last edited: Oct 29, 2023
    (OP)
    I'm not lazy, it's just that's complicated for me to understand the information. Does a M.2 NVMe SSD pay off since it's more expensive than SATA/M.2 SATA ones?
     
  3. Carlos Detweiller

    Carlos Detweiller Emperor of Ice-Cream

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    #63 Carlos Detweiller, Mar 30, 2020
    Last edited: Mar 30, 2020
    If you opt for speed and the rest of the system can handle it, yes.

    Not that easy to answer, generally. As for your other question, I don't use UWP apps and cannot answer it.
     
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  4. Joe C

    Joe C MDL Guru

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    Before you consider an NVMe drive, you must check the specs of your motherboard to see if is compatible to use an NVMe drive.
     
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  5. eemuler

    eemuler MDL Senior Member

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    If you can afford it, buy a new laptop. Preferably one with an M2 SSD and a slot for a SATA SSD or HDD. Put the OS and apps on the M2 SSD and use the SATA drive for storage. The SATA drive may be SSD or HDD, whatever you can afford.

    If money is really tight and you want to live with that old laptop until it dies, just change the dying HDD with another one. There are cheap SSDs out there, but if you are going to use the drive mostly for storage, an HDD will be fine. If your Windows is running on that drive, then get an SSD - the improvement in responsiveness is amazing - best money I ever spent on all 3 laptops in my family.

    I have a Pioneer ! TB SSD I got for under $100 - APS SL3 2.5" SATA - much faster than an HDD. My main laptop has an M2 NVMe SSD for my OS and apps - it is much faster than my SATA SSD, but rather pricey.

    Regarding the external HDD going to sleep, I strongly suggest you live with it. The drive will last longer, consume less power, and be less vulnerable to accidental bumps. A few seconds waiting for the drive to spin up shouldn't be a deal breaker.
     
  6. if recycle bin is set to disabled & files will be deleted permanently then deleted files could be recovered without restart / reboot via undelete360 easily within minutes.
    [ user must be sure not to restart the machine or else it will get many bad blocks hard to recover]
    if user rebooted the machine accidently then theres a option via R-Studio / R-Undelete or many other recovery options.
     
  7. Windows 10 User

    Windows 10 User MDL Guru

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    #67 Windows 10 User, Mar 30, 2020
    Last edited: Oct 29, 2023
    (OP)
    Thanks. I was thinking on buying a new PC with a 1 TB M.2 NVMe SSD but it may be expensive. I want it to be fast and didn't even think about having one with an extra slot for a SATA SSD or HDD since I don't think I'd need it and I'd want all my things to be on the same drive. Anyway, when you say to use a SATA drive for storage do you mean I should use it to store my documents and files? If so, accessing them and writing data on that drive wouldn't be slower?

    How can I know the external HDD is about to die?

    The recycle bin isn't disabled but the PC was restarted/shut down. And do those programs usually recover the files?

    EDIT: I deleted a file from the recycle bin, ran Undelete 360 and when searching for the name of the file, it froze the PC for some time, and after that, it didn't detect it.
     
  8. brother please give R-Studio a try & i hope it will never let you down in any way .
     
  9. Windows 10 User

    Windows 10 User MDL Guru

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    Which R-Studio version should I use? I tried R-Undelete and it didn't detect a file I deleted from the recycle bin some minutes ago.
     
  10. Windows 10 User

    Windows 10 User MDL Guru

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  11. i cant tell each & every steps on how to use kindly go through the link provided & search for how to use R-studio on there legit domain.

    Thanks & Regards ...
     
  12. Windows 10 User

    Windows 10 User MDL Guru

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    #73 Windows 10 User, Mar 31, 2020
    Last edited: Jul 13, 2023
    (OP)
    I think I used another version by mistake. Anyway, it took more than 3 hours to scan the disc and after that a lot of partitions appeared. I don't know where to look and after clicking in each one of them it takes some more time to list their folders. I don't know where to look next.
     
  13. try a filter inside R-Studio for the directory / files you want to restore.
    its showing you the drive partition since you have purchased this drive & used it first time till date even you have formatted the drive doesnt matter for R-studio but if zero degree / hard format is done then it will not show anything.
     
  14. Windows 10 User

    Windows 10 User MDL Guru

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  15. Windows 10 User

    Windows 10 User MDL Guru

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  16. Carlos Detweiller

    Carlos Detweiller Emperor of Ice-Cream

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    #77 Carlos Detweiller, Dec 2, 2022
    Last edited: Dec 2, 2022
    First, then number of days left is a guesstimation. No one can tell exactly when an HDD fails. They can fail spontaneously at any time, without any indication beforehand. Or they could outlive the Laptop itself (although that's unlikely, it's kinda the Achilles heel of the system).

    That being said, considering the fact it is a laptop HDD, and the number of bad / remapped sectors is quite high already, you should replace it immediately or ASAP.
    Buy a SSD, match the capabilities of the laptop (no need to buy a high performance one if the system only offers SATA 300, for example). Choose the capacity so you have 40% or more free at any time, it's necessary for wear leveling to work most efficiently and maximize the SSD's life.

    Also, if the external HDD still has excellent readings, no need to scrap it. As it has better cooling and is probably 3.5", estimated life is generally higher (about 5 years, contrary to 2.5" ones which are expected to last 3). Of course, you can already buy a new one as a hot spare.
     
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  17. Windows 10 User

    Windows 10 User MDL Guru

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    The external HDD is 2.5" and I think it's over 10 years old, hence older than my laptop which is 8.
     
  18. Carlos Detweiller

    Carlos Detweiller Emperor of Ice-Cream

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    #79 Carlos Detweiller, Dec 2, 2022
    Last edited: Dec 3, 2022
    Then it's time to get SSDs. You'll love the huge speed increase.
     
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  19. Windows 10 User

    Windows 10 User MDL Guru

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    #80 Windows 10 User, Dec 2, 2022
    Last edited: Dec 2, 2022
    (OP)
    For an external disc or an internal one? I was talking about an external one, now.