SSD Archives - Rick's Daily Tips

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

Posted on July 2, 2026

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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? [Read more…]

Q&A: Do SSDs need to be defragmented?

Posted on June 29, 2026

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Question from Roger: Rick, I followed your advice and replaced the hard drive in my laptop with a solid state drive (SSD).

I’m absolutely blown away by how much faster the laptop boots up and how much faster my programs load.

I do have one question though. I read in another forum that SSDs don’t get fragmented and they never need to be defragged. Is that true? [Read more…]

Q&A: Will my PC need a new power supply if I replace the hard drive with an SSD?

Posted on May 25, 2026

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Question from Oliver: I just read your article about replacing a hard drive with an SSD and I have a question about it.

I remember hearing that upgrading the graphics card in a computer can sometimes require a power supply upgrade as well because the newer graphics card will draw more power than the old one.

My question is do I need to be concerned about the power supply if I replace the hard drive in my computer with an SSD?

[Read more…]

Q&A: Will an SSD go bad just sitting on a shelf?

Posted on May 5, 2026

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Question from Glen: A while back I read your post about replacing a computer’s hard drive with an SSD and it sounded like a pretty good idea.

I finally ended up buying a 1TB SSD to replace the hard drive in my old Acer laptop, but the laptop’s screen went bad before I had a chance to make the switch.

I really didn’t want to spend a lot of money to have the Acer fixed so I just ditched it and started using my wife’s Dell laptop.

The Dell has a 1TB hard drive so I don’t really need the SSD at this time. Can I put the SSD on a shelf and keep it for a backup in case the hard drive ever fails, or will it go bad after a while if I don’t use it? [Read more…]

Q&A: Should I replace a 3 year old SSD just to be safe?

Posted on April 1, 2026

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Question from Kendra: Hi, Rick. I really love your blog, especially the section where you answer questions from your readers.

If you don’t mind I’d like to ask a question of my own.

Back in March of 2023 the tech guy I used at the time installed a Crucial 500GB SSD in my Acer laptop and it really made it run a lot faster. [Read more…]