From: thanks-to@Taf.com   
      
   Jan Panteltje schreef:   
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   |"The security one never spins down, is always recording."|   
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   Impressive!   
      
   Jan Panteltje schreef:   
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   |"[. . .]                                                              |   
   |                                                                      |   
   |[. . .] do keep backups so.. no problem.                              |   
   |[. . .]                                                               |   
   |                                                                      |   
   |[. . .]"                                                              |   
   |----------------------------------------------------------------------|   
      
   Dank u wel.   
      
   I try external USB media which failed for backups of many gigabytes   
   each.   
      
   |-----------------------------------------------------------------------|   
   |"What is your problem? Bad connectors? What make / model are you using?|   
   |[. . .]                                                                |   
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   |[. . .]                                                                |   
   |The Toshibas spin down after a short time if no data transfer to       |   
   |those, so that may help longlivity [. . .]"                            |   
   |-----------------------------------------------------------------------|   
      
   We tried these failed external USB media with laptop/notebook   
   computers. Old laptops' computers' USB ports tend to stop   
   working. Such a problem might lead to not enough electricity being   
   provided by a USB port to a peripheral. Whatever the reasons, USB   
   flash sticks from various manufacturers and of various sizes (8GB and   
   much bigger) have a problem or a different problem: e.g. an 8GB stick   
   completely stopped working whereas a different problem which I   
   experience is FAT tables becoming corrupted so files are still there   
   but unhelpfully renamed. I back up many versions of a file, so on such   
   a USB thumb drive it is not easy to determine which version is which   
   version.   
      
   Each of these USB flash drive pens experienced no more than a few   
   hundred power cycles so way under a USB specification for longevity.   
      
   As for failed external USB hard disks . . .   
      
   We do not have many experiences with external USB hard disks. A then   
   workmate who is not a computer scientist used to then use a   
   misconfigured CentOS GNU/Linux installation on a laptop computer. He   
   is not at all at fault that it used to be misconfigured - such faults   
   are entirely faults of the inept administrator who is called Paulo   
   Alexandre Cunha Gomes who owns   
   NetStream - Consultadoria e Gestão de Redes Informáticas Lda,   
   Rua da Cidade de Fez Lt. 96, Nr. 25 Esq.,   
   3000-445 Coimbra,   
   Portugal.   
      
   This laptop computer is for simulations which almost fill up its   
   internal hard disk in a matter of hours. This external hard disk   
   failed almost the 1st time that this then workmate attempted to back   
   up onto this external hard disk. This failure upset him. He   
   incorrectly blamed himself. I told him that he is not at fault over   
   this failure.   
      
   Years later I myself used an external USB hard disk for the 1st   
   time. I paid 50 Euro for it (not 49.99 Euro - exactly 50 Euro). I used   
   it with a notebook computer or a laptop computer running Microsoft   
   Windows. This external drive came with an NTFS. A few days later files   
   on it became corrupted. In 2018 its filesystem used to be bad. Like   
   with USB flash drives' corrupted FAT filesystems, maybe an operating   
   system or a computer's provision of USB power is at fault.   
      
   On   
   Date: Wed, 28 Dec 2016 18:16:08 +0100 (CET)   
   I wrote this unanswered email to the company which sold me my failed   
   USB external hard disk:   
   ########################################################################   
   #"[. . .]                                                              #   
   #                                                                      #   
   #I bought from you an external hard disk. Yesterday it has been        #   
   #connected to a computer that it had not been connected to             #   
   #before. Unfortunately the NTFS on it became corrupt yesterday.        #   
   #                                                                      #   
   #I ran ChkDsk as an administrator on Windows XP. ChkDsk of Windows XP  #   
   #reported that e.g. more than 10 files are illegible and ChkDsk did not#   
   #repair this filesystem.                                               #   
   #                                                                      #   
   #I also attempted to access this disk on Windows 7 as an ordinary user #   
   #(I do not have access to an administrator account on Windows 7).      #   
   #                                                                      #   
   #When will you be able to repair this?                                 #   
   #                                                                      #   
   #[. . .]"                                                              #   
   ########################################################################   
      
   In 2018 during many days of a single run of ChkDsk, ChkDsk predicted   
   that it would take years to complete that run on that hard disk in the   
   corrupted state it used to suffer then.   
      
   (I used to use many distributions of GNU/Linux and many versions of   
   Microsoft Windows and one version of Apple MacOS with USB thumb   
   drives. An Apple did not destroy them.   
      
   I use only Microsoft Windows with external USB hard disks. An   
   ex-workmate used CentOS with an external USB hard disk when it   
   failed.)   
      
   As for external hard disks which did not fail . . .   
      
   I have a WD Elements SE "one terabyte" USB "Portable hard drive" and   
   another WD Elements hard drive. They are not from the aforementioned   
   shop. They are not from NetStream - Consultadoria e Gestão de Redes   
   Informáticas Lda. I cautiously do not power them much because I do not   
   want repetitions of our external-hard-disk misadventures. I do not yet   
   detect a problem with these WD Elements drives.   
      
   (S. HTTP://Gloucester.Insomnia247.NL/ fuer Kontaktdaten!)   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)