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Using Internal HDDs as Cold Storage

ShadowWrath5
By ShadowWrath5
in Troubleshooting
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Hi everyone!

 

I have several 6TB internal 3.5 inch drives that I would like to use as cold storage to periodically backup my NAS. Im having some issues though with interfacing them with my computer. I have 2 usb to HDD adapters (two different brands) that Ive been using to attach them to my PC. Once a new drive is connected, it asks me to set up the drive as GPT or MBR. I have been using GPT and then formatting the drive as NTFS once it is recognized by my system. 

 

The issue Im having is that once I connect a drive to my PC and format it, it will only be recognized by my PC if I connect it with the same adapter I used during the setup. For example, if I attach HDD 1 with adapter A and set it up/copy data to it, I can only see that data and use the drive if I connect it with adapter A again. If I plug it in with adapter B, I can see the drive in windows drive manager, but I cannot do anything with it and it wont show up in windows explorer. 

 

Ive also noticed that I can only attach the drive to the computer that made the original setup as well. This is troublesome as if my PC breaks or adapter breaks, I might lose all access to these backups.

 

Is there anyway that I can format these drives to act like, for example, a WD passport? I can plug them into whatever computer with whichever adapter and be able to write and read from them like you would and external hdd or flash drive? If I had to guess, the computer I originally attach it to is making the partition encrypted or protected. Is there a way to not let that happen.

 

Thank you for all the help ahead of time!

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https://linustechtips.com/topic/1318588-using-internal-hdds-as-cold-storage/
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You just need to add the drive letter for it in the disk management. Different adapter will have different device id, so the pc will treat it as different device.

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4 minutes ago, SupaKomputa said:

You just need to add the drive letter for it in the disk management. Different adapter will have different device id, so the pc will treat it as different device.

So if I add a drive letter, I can use whichever adapter or PC to read from the disk or would I still be locked out of that functionality, provided that this is even possible

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No, the drive letter would be bounded to that pc, in another pc you might want to do the same thing if it's not displayed.

Ryzen 5700g @ 4.4ghz all cores | Asrock B550M Steel Legend | 3060 | 2x 16gb Micron E 2666 @ 4200mhz cl16 | 500gb WD SN750 | 12 TB HDD | Deepcool Gammax 400 w/ 2 delta 4000rpm push pull | Antec Neo Eco Zen 500w

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11 minutes ago, SupaKomputa said:

No, the drive letter would be bounded to that pc, in another pc you might want to do the same thing if it's not displayed.

Okay Ill try this and see what happens. Ill comment back if Im still having issues. Thanks

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