Latest Storage How-To Stories
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Answer Line
Multiple hard drives working together: All about RAID setups
Stevey, admittedly confused regarding the benefits of RAID arrays, asked the Answer Line forum to explain these hard-drive groups.Answer Line
Answer Line: My PC doesn’t see the new, second hard drive
Elsullo2 installed a new, second hard drive into a desktop PC. But Windows doesn't see it.
How-To
Move data files from an SSD to a hard drive
PoloTiger has both a solid state drive and a hard drive, and the SSD is almost full. What's the best way to both move data files to the hard drive and make Windows understand that that's where they belong?Answer Line
-ROM, -R, +R, +RW? Understanding the optical drive alphabet soup
Nick248 asked the Answer Line forum about optical drives. I figured it was time to go ver the various types of CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray discs, and the drives that read and write to them.Answer Line
Can I recover some files and securely wipe others on a crashed hard drive?
Zeterjons asked the Utilities forum how to rescue files off of a physically crashed hard drive, while making sure that other files on that hard drive are destroyed beyond rescue.Answer Line
What do hard drive-related words like SATA, IDE, and RAID actually mean?
Brainout asked the Hard Drives, NAS Drives, Storage forum to explain some of the words used to describe hard drives and storage.How-To
Easy Ways to Clear Space on Your Laptop’s Hard Drive
Do you live with a thin-and-light laptop that has a small drive? Or just have a large drive that's filled to overflowing? Here's how to get some breathing room back.How-To
How to Build a PC for Photographers
The ideal PC for digital photography minimizes workflow hassles while maximizing performance and capacity. Here's what to look for.How-To
How to Undo RAID: Best Practices
Changing from a RAID 0-array boot drive to a single-drive boot should be easy, I thought, but the operation can be more complicated than may you anticipate. Here's what I learned from the experience.How-To
Top Ten Factors for Choosing a Gaming PC
When you're shopping for a gaming system, consider our ten rules of thumb before you pull out your wallet.Answer Line
Will DVD Drives Still be Around in a Few Decades?
Philip Peters asked if we will have drives that can read DVDs in ten, 20, or 50 years?How-To
How to Partition Your Hard Drive to Optimize Performance
We explain how to speed up your PC with an advanced technique known as "short stroking," which involves finding the optimal partition size and the fastest parts of your hard drive's platters.Answer Line
Back Up a Bootable CD or DVD
A41202813 asked the Answer Line forum for the best way to turn a bootable optical disc, like a CD or DVD, into a file that you could burn back into a bootable disc.How-To
Free Tools to Wipe Your Drives Securely
Properly clear off old data from a flash drive, hard-disk drive, solid-state drive, or hybrid hard drive–at no cost.How-To
RAID Made Easy
Wondering what RAID is all about, and whether using it will benefit your business? This primer explains all.Answer Line
I Can’t Eject This Flash Drive (or External Hard Drive)
When CHIN3927 attempted to remove a USB external drive, Windows' wouldn't provide the Safe to Remove message. The Answer Line forum offered help.Answer Line
How Do I Back Up?
I keep telling readers to back up their hard drives. Starlla Dupert asked me how.Answer Line
My PC Doesn’t See My Hard Drive
When Wendell tries to boot his PC, an error message announces a disk read error. It's as if his hard drive–with three year's worth of work on it–doesn't exist.Hassle-Free PC
Install an Old Laptop Hard Drive in Your Desktop
You might need an adapter or two, but it is possible to recycle those old platters. The question is, are you better off turning them into an external drive?
How-To
How to partition and format your hard drive in Windows
Whether you're installing a brand-new drive or wiping an old one clean, formatting a drive is a basic maintenance task you should know how to do. Luckily, Windows 7 and 8 make this pretty easy.How-To
How to Set Up Intel Smart Response SSD Caching Technology
Intel’s Smart Response Technology can significantly accelerate system performance, without your having to spring for an expensive, high-capacity solid-state drive. Here's how to set it up.Answer Line
Clean an Overcrowded Hard Drive
Arther needs to make room on his hard disk drive. He asked the Desktops forum for advice.Hassle-Free PC
Restore Access to a Write-Protected Hard Drive
Is your flash drive, external hard drive, or other drive suddenly refusing to let you write anything to it or delete files? Here's the fix.Answer Line
Is That Grinding Sound the Death of My Hard Drive?
Ericuse165 has a friend with a PC that's making a grinding noise. Eric asked the Hard Drives, NAS Drives, Storage forum for advice.How-To
How to Make Your Windows PC Boot Faster
Looking to slash your Windows PC's boot time to the bone? We'll show you how we made one system boot 30 percent faster–without any hardware upgrades.How-To
How to Set Up RAID on Your PC
Boost your hard-drive performance, add redundancy, or do both by converting your PC to use a RAID setup.Hassle-Free PC
Three Surprising Things About Hard Drive Defragging
If you're still thinking about your hard drive in Windows XP terms, it's time to learn how Windows 7 handles the not-so-big-deal that is defragmentation.How-To
How to Create and Mount an ISO Disc Image
Need to copy a CD or DVD to a disc-image file? Here's how to create an ISO in Windows.Answer Line
Move an old hard drive to a new PC
A reader asks about moving a hard drive from an old PC to a new one, then booting Windows XP.Answer Line
Can You Put an SSD and HDD In a Laptop?
George McCluney asked about putting an SSD and an HDD together in a laptop.Answer Line
The Best of Both Worlds: An SSD and a HDD
Patrick Couzens asked about using both an SSD and an HDD in the same computerHow-To
Travel Smart: The Best Tech Gear for the Road
You can take it with you. A digital nomad reveals his favorite mobile equipment for traveling light.Answer Line
Repair a CD or DVD
Spiderowych has a high school graduation DVD that no longer plays properly. He asked the Answer Line forum for help.How-To
How to Encrypt a Hard Drive
Use encryption to prevent outsiders from gaining easy access to data on your hard drives and flash drives.How-To
How to Install an SSD in Your Laptop
Laptops are ideal candidates for solid state drives: These drives are more rugged and shock resistant than standard hard drives, since they have no moving parts.Answer Line
Backup on the Road
Matt travels on business a lot. He asked the Answer Line forum for suggestions on backing up his data while on the road.Answer Line
An Old Hard Drive and OS in a New PC
Terry Marshall asked if he could move his old hard drive, unchanged, to his new PCAnswer Line
What Do You Do With an Infected CD, DVD, or Flash Drive?
Cyberknight asked the Antivirus & Security Software forum about safely handling infected external mediaAnswer Line
Using More Than One Backup Program
Ata Amiri asked if using two separate backup program will interfere with incremental backupsHow-To
Online Bargains: How to Use Groupon and Its Competitors
Group-deal and flash-sale sites such as Groupon, LivingSocial, and Rue La La promise restaurant meals, brand-name goods, and great services at deep discounts. Here's how to use these sites to your advantage.How-To
PC Spring Cleaning: Automatically Organize Your Files
Here's how to find and eliminate PC clutter–and automate file organization so that it never crops up again.Answer Line
Hard Disk Drive Failure
Robyn's PC gives her a "Hard Disk Drive Failure" error message at boot up. A reboot loads Windows.How-To
How to ‘Safely Remove’ Devices
Simply pulling your flash memory or USB-connected external drive out of your PC could cause problems.How-To
How to Completely Erase a Hard Drive
These tips and tricks will help you destroy old data and make sure that your old drives are wiped clean.Answer Line
Defragging: Why, How, and Whether
Rasha1997 asked if he should use Windows’ own defragging tool, a third-party defragger, or just not botherHow-To
How Do I Back Up My Photos?
Not sure what photo backup method to use? Learn about the benefits of online backup services, hard drives, and optical discs.How-To
How Do I Permanently Delete Files From My Hard Disk?
Follow these simple instructions to completely remove files from your drive.How-To
How Do I Back Up My Data?
Follow these quick and simple instructions to protect your valuable files.Answer Line
Hard Drive Crashes Explained
Siouxfan asked the Answer Line forum to define a hard drive crash is and explain what can cause itAnswer Line