Why is my 8TB Seagate SMR drive dropping below 1 MB/s during writes?
I bought an 8TB Seagate ST8000DM004-2CX188 second-hand and did not test it properly at the time. I know this is a shingled magnetic recording (SMR) drive, but I…
storage hardware
Are NVMe SSD prices likely to drop soon, or should I buy now?
My 2TB game drive died about four months ago and my system no longer recognizes it. Replacing it currently seems to cost around $350–$400, so I've been keeping…
Can a SATA dock accept a hot-swap drive with its tray still attached?
I'm looking at a StarTech SATA drive dock and wondering whether I can insert a hot-swap drive while it's still mounted in its caddy or tray. I'd prefer…
What’s the catch with these unusually cheap hard drives?
I found these hard drives being sold at a surprisingly low price through an online marketplace. The deal is tempting, but I'm concerned they may be used, refurbished,…
What should I do about a hard drive with increasing bad sectors?
My hard drive used to work normally, but it has recently started developing more bad sectors. Performance was already worse when using this drive compared with my 1…
Can I completely power off an NVMe drive without removing it?
I want to disable my NVMe SSD and only turn it on when I actually need it. Whenever the PC starts, the drive receives power even when I…
WD Gold 12TB Powers Down and Clicks After Windows Starts—Is the Drive Faulty?
I bought a WD Gold 12TB hard drive, model WD121KRYZ, roughly six or seven years ago. It was shipped internationally, but the protective box was discarded during transport,…