I recently managed to recover my external hard drive after it unexpectedly became unallocated, but now I'm feeling paranoid about it happening again. Should I just replace it to be safe, or is it okay to keep using it?
1 Answer
First off, check its health status using CrystalDiskInfo. If it's showing 'caution,' that’s something to take seriously. Think about the risk: how much would it cost you if the drive fails after you invest more time in it? It's not just about the money; it's also about the hassle of possibly losing important data. Figure out if the unallocation was from a user error, a software issue, or something wrong with the drive itself.

I got a caution status too. I just bought it so I might try to get a refund. I was transferring files, fell asleep, and when I woke up, it had gone unallocated!