hard disk Archives - Rick's Daily Tips

Q&A: Does using two drives in RAID 1 eliminate the need to make backups?

Posted on September 14, 2022

Question from Bill: I recently read an article about using hard drives or SSDs in a RAID configuration.

The article said RAID 1 copies all data to every drive in the array at the same time, essentially creating a clone of the primary drive in real time.

In the comments on the article someone suggested that using two drives in RAID 1 will automatically create a backup, eliminating the need to back up the hard drive in the usual way.

That made sense to me but then someone else commented and said that’s a really bad idea. But he didn’t explain why.

What’s your opinion on using RAID 1 to create automatic backups? Is it a good idea or not?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: Will replacing a laptop’s hard drive with an SSD make it run hotter?

Posted on December 28, 2020

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

Question from Michael: I have a Toshiba laptop that runs a bit on the hot side. It always has, ever since I first took it out of the box.

I guess it’s just a “hot” computer because the fan runs as it should and there are no air obstructions that I can find.

I’d love to replace the existing 500 GB hard drive with a 1TB SSD, but I’m afraid it will cause the laptop to overheat. Do you think there’s a chance that it might?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]