USB external hard drive Archives

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

Posted on December 3, 2023

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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 Crucial MX500 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 replaced it with a new Dell laptop.

The new 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: Why won’t my external USB hard drive work in a front USB connector?

Posted on November 6, 2014

Question from Dreama L.: I have a Lenovo desktop computer with Windows 7. I bought an external USB hard drive to make backups with, and it works great when plugged into one of the USB connectors on the back of the PC. It won’t work at all when it’s plugged into the front connectors though.

I’d really like to be able to plug the drive into the front of the computer, make the backup, then unplug it and set it on a shelf until I need to use it again. Can you tell me how to get the drive to work with a front mounted USB connector?

Rick‘s answer: [Read more…]