Articles tagged: external drive
Can I Move My Old Hard Drive to My New Computer to Transfer Data?
You can take the internal hard disk of an old computer and install it as an additional drive in a new one, or consider a more flexible alternative.
Can You Recommend a Good External Hard Drive?
Quality and features in external hard drives change over time. First, look at what you need.
If External Hard Drives Can Fail, Should I Bother with One?
Any hard drive can fail. Failure is a fact of life, but data loss does not need to be.
Should I Disconnect My Backup Drive When I’m Not Backing Up?
Some people disconnect their backup drive when not backing up because they fear ransomware. I explain why that’s a Really Bad Idea.
How Do I Get Files From an Old Hard Drive?
If you’ve got an old hard drive and you want to get data off of it, there are several approaches.
What External Drive Should I Get?
I’ll review the characteristics of external drives and include a couple of specific recommendations.
What Do I Do If My Backup Drive is Full?
If you’re backing up regularly to an external drive, chances are you’re accumulating lots of data. I’ll look at how to organize it, and what to keep.
What Backup Program Should I Use?
Backing up your computer’s data is critical. What backup program should you use? There are many, but pragmatically, the best is whatever you’ll actually use.
What to Do With an Old Computer You’ve Been Given – What I Did With Mine
When I’m given an old computer, there are a few things I do for the safety of the original owners, myself, and the planet.
How To Keep an External Hard Drive Useful and Healthy Longer
My best practices for external hard drives concern software, hardware, and — you guessed it — backing up.
Should I Defrag My External Drive, and If So, How?
You can defrag your external drive using Windows File Explorer, from the command prompt, or using a third-party tool. But should you?
Can I Convert an External USB Hard Drive into an Internal One?
External hard drives are handy and portable, but occasionally, it might be nice to move all that storage into your PC. You probably can.
Is an external hard drive better for backing up than DVDs?
DVDs can be a clumsy solution for backing up – especially if you want to take a full system image. It’s much better to go for an external hard drive.
How Do I Erase Traces of a File I Moved to an External Disk?
Moving a file almost always leaves traces behind. So deleting any file securely is only the first step.
Should My Anti-virus Scans Include My External Drives?
Malware can certainly insert itself on external drives. The question is how high is the risk?
My External Drive Is No Longer Visible. How Can I Get Its Contents?
If you’re backed up, this isn’t going to be a problem. Otherwise, there are only a few steps we can take to help us retrieve your data.
Will an external drive left plugged in be damaged if there’s a power surge?
It’s not just power you need to worry about; connected drives can also get malware. But that doesn’t mean you can’t keep yourself safe.
Will I Lose All Data When My Computer Crashes?
It’s incredibly rare for a software crash to damage any drive connected to a computer. Other things, like a lightning strike, can do serious damage.
