The external hard drive occasionally fails to function.
The external hard drive occasionally fails to function.
I possess an 8 TB Seagate Hub that's roughly half full of movies and games. Recently, the computer stopped reading the drive completely. I can still see it but can't access it anymore—it just displays the drive name, letter, and ex-fat. Along with this problem, other odd issues appear: Windows Explorer stops working, Steam closes unexpectedly even when not running, and reloading the application fails. Reconnecting the drive resolves the issue. I've scanned it multiple times, used the repair options without finding errors, and changed the letter letter without fixing anything. The same drive worked fine on another machine. Do I really need to replace it? I've been using Windows 10 for under six months and am feeling overwhelmed.
Thanks for the answer. Ill try it and let you know if it works. Here is a screenshot of what My Pc looks like after the drive stops working.
Failed attempt, now I have the new drive instead of solving the issue further
I've noticed external drives tend to fail quickly. Once, I relied on them for ease but soon realized they often stopped working within a year or so. They also appeared more fragile to shocks compared to internal options. I think lower-end models often end up in the external category. It's wiser to invest in a USB caddy and opt for a higher-quality internal drive. A 2.5" model can be connected directly via USB 3 using an adapter.
I checked both consistently over many years, spanning decades—actually all three of them! (Plus some extra ones I didn’t list due to laziness, but I’ll include them.) All eight are accounted for.
ps: the oldest model you have is likely around 2010, probably a 2.5 Toshiba "SSHD"... it's fine, still performs like new! Short answer: NO! ps2: you're combining different sizes a lot — that's not my concern, it's not a gacha. The actual size doesn't matter as much as the drive quality and how well it's maintained.