Internal HDD vs USB External HDD

[86technie]

I already removed the 3.5 HDD from my desktop and left with SSD and it can boot to Windows. So which means it's not in 3.5 HDD?

Maybe you have to check under Diskmanagement if the EFI partition is in SSD that means Windows is on SSD.

 

[Pearce]

Maybe you have to check under Diskmanagement if the EFI partition is in SSD that means Windows is on SSD.

 

[86technie]

OK that means the Windows is on that drive.

 

[TanKianW]

Now when I boot up my comp, my monitor not able to detect any bootup or show empty screen, need to press reset button and then able to load. Then it will show some dot circle, rotating for a while before able to login into Windows.

But after I unplugged the internal 3.5 HDD and leave the main SSD inside, it bootup very fast.

The OS taking its time to read the 3.5" drive (likely unreadable due to failing), so delaying the boot-up sequence.​

Do you know how to destroy a HDD (After format) completely in case someone pick up and restore the data?

There is a lot of software which you can download to "write zero" on your drives. Or just copy "Mr. Robot" way of microwaving your drives (kind of extreme, unless you are a hacker). Just ensure you go for reputable software, not trojan. I will prefer opensource (OSS) alternatives. Do note that some drives will fail half-way while writing zeros (intensive tasks). For data sensitive drives I will send it for professional drive disposal services, but I think that is "unnecessary" for home users.

My personal recommended drive of choice will be HGST (CMR) drives. I still had quite a few running 24/7 for >10 years in my production/home server racks which have long exceeded their lifespan.

NOTE: I will back my data up if I am you, and stop using the drive to store important data even if it works after reformat.​

 

[Pearce]

OK that means the Windows is on that drive.

So in the end I bought internal HDD (because I think internal HDD is design to have longer life span and usage compare to USB HDD) and it has been a very long time since I bought internal HDD and this is the packaging.

Realised it takes more than a day to do chkdsk /r /f on 4TB because the HDD no longer like last time, 500GB, 1TB etc. In the end didn't do chkdsk on new HDD

 

[Koenig168]

You can run WD's SMART and extended SMART tests. The latter took about a day for 12TB so should be quite fast for 4TB.