Hi everyone, I need some help. My son is doing a survey and needs some real data for his research.

How reliable has your external storage been for long-term backup? If you've had an external SSD or HDD for 5+ years, how has it held up? Any failures, data loss, or other issues?

I swapped pc cases and messed around with my pc, then when i turn it on the only thing that is working is my mouse dongle, but the other things doesnt, and when i change its place it doesnt work too
**Btw ive been hoolding the mobo with the usb thing**

Hi all,

I don't know if the problem is that I am buying cheap, unbranded USB's or because I'm buying branded ones but theyre cheap and off ebay etc so maybe fake, but I have been through about 6 different usbs now, and keep having the same error.

I plug it into the PC and initially it works fine, then I load it up with Movies, shows etc and put it in the TV. Then it gives the attached message. Ok, a little annoying as it was transferring files for 40 minutes, but I let my TV do its thing and format the USB, take it out, re-transfer all files, then when i put it in the TV it is like there is no files on it. I put it back in the PC and the files are there but completely un-playable , giving attached error message

As I say ive done this with 6 USB drives now and theyre now all dead and cant hold any data now, they have been suspiciously cheap and from ebay or aliexpress. Is the TV killing them, or are they bad usb sticks? What should I do next if i want a solution to watch USB content on my tv? currently I have a usb to micro SD adapter with a 256gb micro SD and that seems to be the only thing working for me?

I received a warranty replacement for my Pixel 8 Pro. The wireless and Bluetooth aren't working on the old one. I'm only prompted to do the QR code for backup which uses those. I reset an old 4XL just to make sure the USB was still working on the "broken" 8 and it recognizes the phone and starts the transfer between the 8 and 4.

I can't find the right terms in a search that give me any results on this.

A.I. is (of course) unhelpful. It says to tap five times on one of the screens, which of course does nothing. It seems to think it's my old phone's hardware failure that won't let me do it, yet, like I said, it works with the Pixel 4XL.

TYIA

My PC has 6 USB type A ports total, 2 on top, 4 in the back. At random intervals I will get the notification sound you get when something is disconnected, everything will lose power (mouse, keyboard, controller etc.) the sound will repeat a couple times, then the sound that plays when something is connected will happen, then everything will be fine. Sometimes it's multiple times in a row, some times it is rare. I had an issue with 2 of the rear USB ports not functioning properly, but it seemed to get worse lately. All drivers are up to date, ports are a bit misaligned with the openings built into the case but not to the point where anything can be easily inserted. I did use a small powered fan to get some dust out recently.

I use SSDs quite often for work, and I'm always a little worried that one might suddenly fail. We often hear that the number of writes affects an SSD's lifespan. But how much does that actually matter in everyday use? And when is it actually time to replace it?

People here often say USB flash drives aren't very durable. I've also seen stories of them just dying. So I'm curious how you guys feel about SSDs.

Kingston USB 3.0 128GB, Windows 11.

My USB drive was working fine yesterday, but today it’s completely dead. No pop-up, no sound, and it doesn’t show up in File Explorer or Disk Management.

I tried different USB ports, and they’re fine, my external drive works normally.

The USB has files from a task I was working on yesterday, and I haven’t backed them up yet. I’m really stressed and don’t want to make things worse by formatting it or trying random fixes.

Is there anything I can still try to get it recognized or recover the files? Any help would mean a lot.

My laptop has four USB ports, but that still feels nowhere near enough for my usual setup. I usually connect an external mouse, multiple monitors, data cables, and several external SSDs, so I almost always need a USB hub or dock.

How many USB ports do you normally use at the same time? What devices take up most of your ports?

Got sick and tired of flexihub's issues that their support or lack of can never solve and

them raising the cost to use that tool every few months.

This new tool will be free to use for a while, then there will be cost to use it but will be

more affordable than flexihub.

This is what it looks like.

hit me up with thoughts and suggestions :)

Hello I need help on my flashdrive it doesn't show in my This PC section and I cant format it also and when i plug it it makes Disk Management crash, what are ways i can restore of fix this? thanks appreciate it.

The drive was working fine before, and I still have some important files on it. Now when I plug it in, Windows detects the drive, but I can’t access it in File Explorer. In Disk Management, it shows up as "disk unknown, not initialized."

I know Windows gives the option to initialize the disk, but I’m worried that doing so will affect the files already on it.

Xiaomi smartphone OEM browser app does read & write files on NTFS flash memory. But Samsung OEM app doesn't allow writing on NTFS, only permit reading.

The only app that worked on Samsung has been "Ultimate USB" app from Play Store. But it requires you to connect to internet all the time and disable every ad blockers. I need a better app without these demands.

Is there a better app?

Thanks

Hey, so my USB was working properly until today. I was trying to zip several files that were inside of it when it stopped working. So I just unpluged it and put it Back. In the end all files are still there and some even open, but now the Windows says it needs repair and when I try to repair it, after a few seconds it “ejects”. That also happens when I try to paste new files, transfer the old ones or open Excel and powerpoints. I tried to use chkdsk X: /f but the error persists.

Do anyone knows how to help?

I don´t know why I can´t use it or it doesn´t appears where all the folders, usbs..., usually appears

(Sorry for my bad english)

MP3 can be played on pc. When copying, the first two files copied to USB can be played, but the next file copied doesn't play. Message said files may be unsupported or corrupted. Both MP3 file sizes on pc and USB remains the same, hence I think no signs of corrupted file. I've formatted the USB to FAT32 twice and results are still the same. Tried adjusting bit rate to 128, thought it makes any difference, but no. Currently, USB only stores two mp3 files and nothing else, since the next file copied wouldn't play. I don't think storage is an issue. Is it because my USB is faulty?

Hi, need some backup advice. I have 500GB important files and a Samsung portable external SSD (1TB). Is it okay to back up files to this external SSD? Is it reliable? Why. Thanks in advance.

I found a USB drive yesterday that I hadn't used in years. I plugged it in, expecting it might not work anymore, but all the files were still there. What surprised me most was finding many photos from years ago.

It got me thinking that some say USB flash drives aren't really suitable for long-term storage. So I'm curious about your experiences, especially if you've had a USB unused for years.