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Questions tagged [external-hard-drive]

A hard drive designed to be connected to a computer via an external interface such as USB, eSATA, Thunderbolt, or IEEE 1394.

External hard drives are removable or portable hard disks designed to be connected to a computer via an external interface such as USB, eSATA, Thunderbolt, or IEEE 1394 (FireWire). They have low cost per gigabyte and are commonly used for backups and transferring files between computers.

Hard drives in enclosures with network ports are considered network-attached storage devices; questions about these devices should be tagged .

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Can't read External Hard Drive anymore!

I've had a WD external hard drive for a while, all of a sudden a couple of weeks ago it stopped working. When I plug it in, windows prompts me to "Format Disk", I also tried it from linux mint, but it can't read it either. The file system on the…
hasen
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Will "shaking" a hard disk damage its internal components?

Should external hard disks be put flat on the table when we are transferring data? Would there be possible physical damage to the inner components of the disk if we do not do so? While the hard disk is running, will shaking it spoil the…
Pacerier
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Are all hard disks suitable for external enclosure?

I'm looking at replacing the actual disk in my external hard disk (USB) with one with higher storage capacity. Based on the connectors, it seems to take any 3.5 SATA drive, but I wonder if all disks are equally suitable. I could imagine that some…
user12889
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1TB external hard disks - reliable or not?

I'm looking into finally getting a big external hard disk (will probably be usb-connectable) but I recently heard that 1TB (or bigger) external disks are prone to overheating and, eventually, stop functioning exactly because of that. Now I'm…
surfmadpig
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How long should I keep my external hard drive connected to my computer

I just got my Toshiba 500GB external hard drive in the mail today and I'm super psyched. So naturally I don't want to damage it. How long at a time should I keep it connected? For flash drives I would keep mine connected all day, but obviously I…
user27870
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How to protect an external hard disk files from accidental deletion?

I had a bit of problems in the recent months with the data I have on my External hard disk. I have large content in each folder. If you think about it, it takes only two keys to delete a folder - del and enter. Is there anyway to protect files from…
Pandian John
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External Hard drive with magnet built into the enclosure

I recently bought two Hitachi HLSMPUA3201ABB external Hard drives. They come with a USB key attached to the enclosure with a magnet. It's not a very strong magnet but I can't help wondering whether the drive would last longer without it. Should I…
Yitzchak
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I broke the USB port on my external HDD. How do I fix this?

I have a WD 1.5 TB External HD. I carelessly left the device plugged in, stepped off my bed, foot landed on the cord stuck in the USB port and now the USB port is broken. It's loose inside the external casing now. Would I be able to fix this myself?…
TheJK
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What is OTB (one touch backup) on SATA HDD Enclosures?

What is OTB (one touch backup) on SATA HDD Enclosures? And how does it work? Many external HDD enclosures feature the OTB functionality, which I hear is a one-button to backup system to hard-drive. Yet I’m skeptical. So what is it really and how…
landroni
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Is this hard drive recoverable?

I'm trying to fix (and hopefully recover files from) a USB hard drive belonging to one of my roommates which suddenly stopped working. The storage on the drive is not recognized on any computer. Trying to access it on mine, here is what I've…
Dylan
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What to do with an NTFS external hard drive that can be read on Linux but not Windows?

My USB external hard drive with NTFS format works just fine on Ubuntu Linux, but when I boot the same machine as Windows Vista, it no longer recognizes the drive (it used to work fine on Windows). Another Windows machine also doesn't recognize it. …
jgumpert
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Western Digital My Passport how is data stored

I have a Western Digital My Passport (external hard drive) and I had been using it to back up my Windows XP machine. The XP machine's hard drive crashed, so now I am left with the My Passport drive. Will I be able to load My Passport onto a Windows…
joe
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Is there a limit of max. number of files in external hard drive folder?

I have a FAT32 external hard drive where I keep backups downloaded from webserver. I have a directory with 30 subdirectories. One of the subdirectories contains 21381 files and when I try to copy more files into this directory I get 0x80070052…
tfs
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After how long should I replace my external HDD?

I've had my WD Elements 1.5TB External HDD for well over a year now, and I'm starting to worry about it's lifespan. Would it be wise to buy a second one at this point to back up my first one? I've got a lot of data on it and I'm worried that one day…
Peter
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Are 2.5" hard drives designed differently than 3.5" drives to withstand physical shock?

By "shock" I mean the ability to withstand movement, bumps, blows, sudden motion and even falling. 2.5" external hard drives are commonly marketed as "portable" drives, obviously due to their smaller physical size over the 3.5" counterpart. But are…
user198350
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