HDD FAQ's - PC Guide https://www.pcguide.com Practical Guides to PC & Tech at Home, Work, and Play Sat, 20 Apr 2024 14:39:42 +0000 en-US https://www.pcguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/PCguide-favicon-75x75.png HDD FAQ's - PC Guide https://www.pcguide.com 32 32 What is USB 3? Most homes and offices have a large box filled with cables and wires, and as time goes by and technology continues to develop, more types of connections are created which leads to even more cables!

It can be a real headache, but we are here to help and let you know all that there is to know about USB 3 connectors.

We also provide a useful comparison guide to help you understand the differences between different types of USB cables, which will hopefully help you next time you need to go rummaging to find a specific type.

What Is USB 3.0?

USB 3.0 is the second-latest version of the Universal Serial Bus standard, or USB. The first USB was released many years ago in 2008. Still today, most new devices, computers, and technical gadgets support this standard.

Data Transfer Speeds

The USB 3.0 is often referred to as the SuperSpeed USB due to its superior performance to previous designs. It can transmit data at a maximum speed of 5 Gigabytes per second, or 5,120 Megabytes per second.

On average, it is believed that people would be transmitting up to 3,200 Megabytes per second.

Previous USB standards transmitted data considerably slower, with the USB 2.0 standard transferring data at 480 Megabytes per second, on a good day, and the USB 1.1 standard at its optimal performance could transfer data at a maximum of 12 Megabytes per second.

WIthin the USB 3.0 standard, there are three different designs, which transfer data at different speeds.

When they were initially released they were simply referred to as the 3.0, 3.1, and 3.2 but they have since been renamed officially as the USB 3.2 Gen 1, USB 3.2 Gen 2, and USB 3.2 Gen 2x2.

The 3.2, or USB 3.2 Gen 2x2, is the latest version of this family but it has now been replaced by the USB4 as the latest USB Standard. The USB 3.2 had a theoretical speed of 20 Gigabytes per second or 20,480 Megabytes per second.

This was an update from the USB 3.1 which transferred data at 10 Gigabytes per second or 10,240 Megabytes per second. In a world where everyone wants access to everything within moments, these speeds will continue to get even faster.

Hardware

Older USB cables, adapters, and devices work with all USB standard cables, the difference between these cables only lies in the speed at which they transfer data. Their hardware and fittings continue to remain the same.

In the picture above you can see the USB 3.0 Type A and Type B cables. These are explained below:

Type A: These cables are the standard rectangle shape that most people expect from a USB. They are receptacles and are compatible with previous USB Type-A designs.Type B: These types of USB are often found on appliances, such as printers. The USB 3.0 Type B cable is not compatible with previous designs, each Type B design is modified slightly.

There are also micro versions of the above cables, they are often used for smartphones and portable devices. While the mini cables look similar, they are not compatible, similar to their regular-sized counterparts.

Cable lengths can vary with the maximum being 10 feet. The length of a cable will not impact the transfer speed, as mentioned earlier it will be the type of USB standard that you use that will influence the speed that the data transfers.

How To Identify USB 3.0 Cables

USB 3.0 specification recommends that a blue-colored cable or coating is used to distinguish these cables from previous USB standard cables.

While not all manufacturers adhere to these specifications, they may have nods of blue somewhere within the cable design, for example, the plug.

Final Thoughts

Since the first USB Standard was used on Windows 8, USB cables have developed greatly in how they can transfer data. As technology continues to evolve we can expect more USB standards to continue to be produced to adhere to the need for instant data in the world today.

]]> https://www.pcguide.com/hdd/what-is-usb-3/ https://www.pcguide.com/?p=144115 Thu, 24 Nov 2022 09:55:34 +0000 What Is An External Hard Drive? There are many parts to a computer and sometimes trying to work out and explain what each of those parts are can get a bit confusing. One of the most important parts of a computer is a hard drive. And as well as internal drives, there are also external hard drives. But what are both of these things?

In this article, we’ll be explaining what an external hard drive is and hopefully, you’ll go away with the information you need to be able to explain it to other people!

What Is A Hard Drive?

So to start off, let’s get into what a standard hard drive is.

A hard drive is a part of a computer that sorts the operating system (or OS for short), data files (such as documents), any applications found on the computer, pictures, and music. Basically, anything file that exists on the computer.

Hard drives can hold a great deal of information and your computer isn’t going to function without one. Most hard drives are quite cheap as well, so if you need to replace one, you don’t have to spend too much money replacing them.

There are drawbacks to a hard drive though. The biggest drawback is if they suddenly stop working and you haven’t backed up any of the data from your computer, you’ll potentially lose that data forever.

If the hard drive can be fixed, or data recovered, some of it may be saved. But it is always better to backup just in case.

Another drawback hard drives have is that they can be quite slow, especially when you’re opening very large files or applications, and particularly compared to SSDs (solid state drives).

What Is An External Hard Drive?

An external hard drive is pretty much exactly the same as a normal hard drive, but it isn’t connected inside a computer.

External hard drives usually come as a separate unit, can be quite small, and can hold a large quantity of data. They are usually attached to the computer via USB and can be disconnected and reconnected whenever the user sees fit.

External hard drives are great for extra storage or for keeping any important files on. If your internal computer hard drive ever fails or corrupts, anything that is stored on your external hard drive will be safe.

Because of that, if you have a lot of files that you consider to be important, it’s in your best interest to invest in an external hard drive. They are the best backup devices for a computer and you can save you a lot of time and hassle if anything ever happens to your computer.

But just like an internal hard drive, external hard drives do have their drawbacks.

Both normal hard drives and external hard drives can get hot and overheat, and this can sometimes cause issues to both your computer and your hard drives. Plus, because hard drives function mechanically, they are more prone to fault than SSDs.

Additionally, because external hard drives aren't part of your computer, and can be detached and moved, you can lose them if you aren’t careful. It's always best to keep your external hard drive in a safe, secure place when it’s not in use.

Conclusion

External hard drives are a good investment should you need a backup solution to be kept separate from your computer.

But remember, you need to look after an external hard drive and keep it safe and secure too.

]]> https://www.pcguide.com/hdd/faq/what-is-an-external-hard-drive/ https://www.pcguide.com/?p=147777 Mon, 04 Jul 2022 10:11:25 +0100 What Does A Hard Drive Look Like? Hard drives are incredibly useful devices that play an important role in our everyday lives, indirectly if not directly. Hard disk drives (HDD) are a primary mode of storage used for computers, although solid-state alternatives (SSDs) are replacing them.

Internal drives are encased in metal, with a label showing model and capacity

Hard drives use magnetic storage to save and retrieve data that relies on rotating platters, surrounded by magnetic material which differs depending based on what hard drive you own.

Magnetic heads are used to read data from the platter surface. And they also write data onto the platters, so that you can retrieve and save information from your hard drive.

From this description alone you probably have a fairly good idea of what a hard drive looks like. But there are different types of hard drive: including external hard drives, and internal hard drives. And while both perform the same basic data storage function, they both look slightly different externally.

Internal Hard Drives

Usually, if you want to see what an internal hard drive looks like, all you’d have to do is open your PC and it’ll be at the front and perhaps top of your pc tower. These internal drives have been in PCs for decades

Hard drives are also present in some laptops, now predominantly as media storage drives, and these are a smaller style. But we'd advise not opening your laptop to have a look - unless it is out of warranty and you're comfortable doing so.

Most internal hard drives look similar regardless of size, enclosed in screwed-shut metal casing, with screw-holes available along the sides to allow them to be secured in a system.

External Hard Drives

What do external hard drives look like? Well, slightly different from internal hard drives, external drives go on the outside of a PC case, and therefore look much cleaner and aesthetically pleasing.

They still do the same job on the inside of the hard drive, but the drive itself is encased in an outer material for ease of use and function. Of course, some external drives allow easy access to the hard drive itself, for easy replacement and upgrading.

They’re useful if you require extra hard drive space separate from your computer, and can be quite cost-effective for the amount of storage space you’ll be getting.

Inside Of A Hard Drive

So now we know what the outside of a hard drive looks like, what does the inside of one look like?

It almost looks like an old record player, with a platter that spins around the axis just like we described before.

Instead of the needle spinning around the record though, the read/write head hovers slightly above the physical surface of the disk, which is all the height it needs to function. Contact with the platter would scratch it, damaging the drive.

Size

The two most common measurements for hard drives are 2.5-inch, which are extremely common for laptops, and 3.5-inch which is seen much more often on desktop computers.

These sizes are standardized so repair or replacement is much easier if anything goes wrong with your drives. External hard drives use these two sizes too.

Final Words

What does a hard drive look like? Well, now you know, and you can find them at vendors like Amazon or elsewhere to have a harder look.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-JJp-oLx58]]> https://www.pcguide.com/hdd/faq/what-does-a-hard-drive-look-like/ https://www.pcguide.com/?p=147750 Fri, 03 Jun 2022 12:24:35 +0100 What is a HDD? Understanding What a Hard Drive IsUnderstanding the basics of how an HDD works can give you a good idea of what you will be using it for. Essentially, a hard drive disk is a spinning wheel with a magnetic coating that stores your data. But it is different from RAM in that it is not volatile, and the data stored on it will not go away once the computer is turned off. With a hard drive, the data stored on it will be on there forever, until the user decides to manually delete it themselves.There are a variety of content types that can be stored on a hard drive. Music, movies, images, games, Word documents, Photoshop files, PDF files, and much more: all of this is stored on your drive. Although developments in technology have changed the way hard drives are built, there are still a lot of similarities between current hard drives and the first hard drives developed for IBM computers.  The first IBM computer with a hard drive had spinning-disks that were two feet in radius—and they stored less than 4MB of data. In part, this is why the first computers literally took up an entire room to store. Today, hard-drive disks are 3.5 inches in diameter (or less for laptop hard-drives) and they can hold up to 10 Terabytes of data—that’s 10,000 Gigabytes. Not only can hard drives store much more information and content at once, but the size of the hard drive has been drastically reduced, making them smaller yet more powerful. This is why modern-day computers are much smaller than room-sized, and can even be made compact so that they’re easy to store and travel with.If you look at an HDD outside of a computer, it looks a lot like a tiny record player. It’s rectangular body holds a magnetic disk called a platter. This disk spins and by the use of a spindle (the part that looks like the arm of a record player). When it spins, binary code is sequentially written on the disk by a magnet. The magnetic coating stores the sequence of the code and then data is re-read when the disk spins. This disk spins very quickly, clocking in at the industry standard of either 5,400 or 7,200 rotations per minute (RPM). Each rotating platter sits on a track, which is divided into sectors. This makes up the entirety of the HDD.Sometimes when your computer is working hard to run a program, it sounds like a wheel is spinning very quickly. This is your hard drive working at maximum speed. Much of your computer’s speed is determined by how fast your hard-drive is moving and how quickly it can access the data on your hard drive. You’ve probably noticed that your computer gets slower the more data you have stored on it: that’s why your operating system gives you pop up messages when your hard drive is almost full. This is why having a lot of space on your hard drive is essential for top performance. If you are a gamer and you are trying to run a high-capacity game, you may hear that disk-spinning sound as your hard drive works overtime to load the intense graphics and work in tandem with your video card. Have you ever opened up a giant Photoshop file? There’s a reason why it may take several minutes, especially if you don’t have tons of free space on your disk to begin with. Loading a huge file takes a lot of work and the disk is spinning as fast as it can to properly load up everything for you. Purchasing a bigger hard drive can help things load faster, especially if you have many more items that you want to store. Again, the platters are what store your information and load them up when you make a call to access them. A bigger hard drive has more platters; thus, the more platters, the more space available on your hard drive.Space is one of the most important factors to consider when buying an HDD, but so is speed. As mentioned, the spindle is spinning the platters to access the data. This is powered by a voice coil actuator—essentially, a motor. The faster the spindle can spin the platters, the faster your data can be accessed. In the highest-end hard drives, the spindles are in a compartment filled with helium or another noble gas that’s lighter than oxygen. This allows the spindles to spin even faster and with less resistance. As you pay more money for an HDD, you’ll find the performance speed of the device increases. Having ample storage space and a high speed is the key to investing in a good hard drive that will allow your computer to function the way you need it to.There are some downsides to HDDs. As they fill up with data, they get slower: this is because of fragmentation. HDDs work best when files are written in one continuous string of binary code. But when the drive gets full, it starts fragmenting data to different parts of the platters, and sometimes even to different disks. This increases the time it takes for your system to pull up a necessary file. This can can cause issues for gamers. The remedy to this is the Solid-State Drive (SSD). These drives use integrated circuits to store data—they don’t spin a disk, but instead write the binary directly to a network of electronic computer chips. SSDs have no mechanical parts (meaning, they don’t have any parts that move), so they are significantly faster than HDDs. However, they’re also much more expensive and they’re confined to smaller storage capacity. HDDs cost around 4-5 cents per GB, wherein SDDs cost 24-28 cents per GB.When you’re buying an HDD, here’s what you’ll want to consider: space, speed and price. Often, the higher the price the higher the speed and space—however, good manufacturing can significantly impact the performance of a hard-drive disk. A well-manufactured hard drive will have components that function efficiently, with spindles that hold data over a long period of time. When your hard drive “crashes,” it means your spindles can no longer write and read data. This is why it’s so essential that you check out user reviews of the brand before you buy a hard drive (and look at the warranty too while you’re at it).

Types of Drives

There are also many different types of HDDs to consider. It depends on what kind of model you’re looking for and how you plan on using your hard drive. While this article mostly focuses on the classic, computer model hard drive, there are many other types of hard drive disks out there that many benefit you or the project you’re working on. Various kinds of hard drives include: Flash Drive – This is a very common and very small type of hard drive that’s perfect for when you are on the go. You can find them as solid state drives with USB connector ports. They are often small, about the size of a finger, which is why they have earned the nickname ‘thumb drive’. External Hard Drive – This is an HDD that looks and works very similar to an internal HD, but it is an external device that you can plug into your computer through a USB or connector port. It’s a hard drive with its own shell around it, so it can safely be placed outside of the computer and be plugged in to your PC whenever you need. It’s a great way for taking your important files with you so that you can install them across multiple computers. External Enclosure – While this isn’t a type of hard drive, it is a type of option that you can invest in for your HDD. It’s a custom housing that you build for your internal hard drive, which allows you to essentially convert it to an external drive. Whether you have a USB or FireWire connection, you can use them to transfer contents between your main PC and another.The different types of hard drives all come with their own set of storage capacity and speed requirements. The kind you buy depends on what your specific needs are, as well as your budget and your free space.There are also different tasks you can perform with your HDD as well. While a hard drive’s main purpose is to permanently store, save, and give you access to any and all of your data, there are several different things you can do with it. One of the simplest tasks an HDD can perform is to change the letter of the drive. For example, you would normally access files stored on the hard drive through the path that starts with “C”. If you have an external hard drive, you can change the name of this letter to be “M”, “X”, or whatever letter works easiest for you.Another easy task you may need to perform is to partition the hard drive into sections. For example, you can install your computer’s Operating System on one section, saving the other half of the partition for something else. If you have a MacBook, and you want to be able to switch between using Mac and Windows, you can partition the hard drive so that half of the storage capacity is dedicated to your Apple OS, while the other half is for Windows 10. Whenever you restart your MacBook, you should be able to choose which part of the partition you wish to access, which will then lead you to the OS you desire.Over time, your hard disk can become fragmented. This means that parts of your files have become mismatched and are not placed in the correct order. This can cause your hard drive to experience lag, and it may need to be defragmented in order to start running efficiently again. Defragmenting your hard drive is a simple and easy task that you can perform at any time. Your OS should be able to give you a way to access the defragmentation action. This typically takes several minutes to complete, but you can track its progress to be sure that your files are being arranged in the correct order.There are many ways you can troubleshoot your HDD if you are having problems with it. If your HDD does not perform as normal, there many be a variety of issues to look into. If the hard drive is making a noise – not just the disk spinning noise – you may need to run a hard drive test. If you’re on Windows, you can type in chkdsk to identify and perhaps correct any issues with your hard drive. There are free programs you can access as well to help you fix the problem.HDDs are the classic model of hard drives, but the technology has upgraded immensely over time. They hold the most data for the cheapest price. If you’re buying an HDD for your computer, you’ll get great value to performance.]]> https://www.pcguide.com/hdd/faq/what-is-a-hdd/ https://www.pcguide.com/?p=4018 Thu, 20 Jun 2019 07:13:25 +0100