Repurposing a 1TB or 2TB SSD is straightforward sufficient. There’s all the time one thing you are able to do with these, from recreation drives to exterior drives for backups. However relating to issues like 250GB HDDs or 120GB SATA drives, it would seem to be we’re not as spoiled for alternative.
Unsuitable! There are many methods to search out makes use of even for these previous, sluggish(ish), and tiny SATA drives that had been in all probability your boot drive a decade in the past. This is what I do with mine.
A 120GB SATA SSD is simply too small for a lot of jobs, however not for all jobs
Tiny by trendy requirements, however nonetheless quick sufficient to be an improve
My first SATA SSD was 64GB or someplace near it. I bought it used as a hand-me-down, and I used to be over the moon once I put in Home windows on it. The distinction between an HDD and an SSD, even a sluggish SATA drive, was like night time and day.
Quiz
8 Questions · Check Your Information
Storage By the Ages
From historical clay tablets to trendy SSDs — how a lot do you actually know concerning the wild historical past and quirky details of information storage?
Historical past{Hardware}CapabilityOdditiesTrendy Tech
Start
What was the storage capability of the very first commercially bought exhausting disk drive, IBM’s 350 RAMAC launched in 1956?
A1 megabyteB5 megabytesC10 megabytesD50 megabytes
Right! The IBM 350 RAMAC saved a whopping 5 megabytes — and weighed over a ton. It was the scale of two fridges and leased for round $3,200 per thirty days, which is roughly $35,000 in in the present day’s cash.
Not fairly. The IBM 350 RAMAC, launched in 1956, saved simply 5 megabytes of information. Regardless of that tiny capability by trendy requirements, it was a revolutionary machine that stuffed a whole room and price hundreds per thirty days to lease.
Proceed
Which of those has genuinely been used as a knowledge storage medium by researchers and engineers?
AFrozen ice crystalsBDNA moleculesCCleaning soap bubblesDTree rings
Right! DNA storage is an actual and quickly advancing area. Researchers have efficiently encoded whole books, pictures, and even working techniques into artificial DNA strands, which might theoretically retailer 215 petabytes per gram of fabric.
Not fairly. The reply is DNA molecules. Scientists have encoded films, books, and even malware into artificial DNA strands. DNA storage is awfully dense — theoretically able to holding 215 petabytes per gram — making it probably the most promising future storage applied sciences.
Proceed
What does the ‘SSD’ in SSD storage stand for?
AStatic State DriveBStable State DriveCSequential Storage GadgetDStable Silicon Disk
Right! SSD stands for Stable State Drive. The ‘strong state’ refers to the truth that it makes use of solid-state electronics — NAND flash reminiscence chips — with no shifting mechanical components, in contrast to conventional spinning exhausting disk drives.
Not fairly. SSD stands for Stable State Drive. The time period ‘strong state’ comes from electronics jargon that means the gadget makes use of semiconductor elements relatively than shifting mechanical components, which is why SSDs are sooner, quieter, and extra sturdy than HDDs.
Proceed
Roughly what number of customary 1.44 MB floppy disks would you could match the storage of a single trendy 1 terabyte exhausting drive?
ARound 70,000BRound 350,000CRound 700,000DRound 1,400,000
Right! One terabyte equals roughly 1,048,576 megabytes, and dividing by 1.44 MB per floppy provides you about 728,000 disks. Stacked, that pile could be taller than most skyscrapers — a humbling reminder of how far storage has come.
Not fairly. You’d want roughly 700,000 floppy disks to match a single 1 TB drive. That stack of disks would attain over a mile excessive if laid flat, which is a staggering technique to visualize the large leap in storage density over just some a long time.
Proceed
What storage medium did NASA use to retailer knowledge from the unique Apollo moon missions within the Sixties and Seventies?
AEarly magnetic exhausting disksBMagnetic tape reelsCPunched paper playing cardsDOptical laser discs
Right! NASA relied closely on magnetic tape reels in the course of the Apollo period. In reality, hundreds of unique Apollo-era knowledge tapes had been finally misplaced or by accident erased and reused, main to an enormous archival effort years later to get better what footage remained.
Not fairly. NASA used magnetic tape reels to retailer Apollo mission knowledge. Tragically, many of those unique tapes had been later misplaced and even intentionally erased and reused as a result of tape shortages, which is why some unique high-quality Apollo footage is gone endlessly.
Proceed
What’s the identify of the approach utilized in trendy NAND flash storage that shops a number of bits per cell to extend density?
AQLC (Quad-Degree Cell)BMRC (Multi-Learn Cell)CDBC (Twin-Bit Compression)DTPC (Triple-Pack Cell)
Right! QLC, or Quad-Degree Cell, shops 4 bits per cell and is utilized in high-capacity, budget-friendly SSDs. Whereas it affords nice density and decrease price, QLC NAND usually has decrease endurance and slower write speeds in comparison with TLC (3-bit) or MLC (2-bit) designs.
Not fairly. QLC stands for Quad-Degree Cell, and it is an actual NAND flash expertise that shops 4 bits per cell. It permits for very excessive storage densities at decrease price, however trades off endurance and write efficiency in comparison with older, much less dense cell varieties like MLC or SLC.
Proceed
The Svalbard World Seed Vault in Norway shops seeds for agricultural preservation — however what well-known tech firm additionally operates a close-by ‘Arctic Code Vault’ to protect software program?
AGoogleBMicrosoftCGitHubDIBM
Right! GitHub operates the Arctic Code Vault in Svalbard, Norway, the place they saved a snapshot of all lively public repositories on movie designed to final 1,000 years. The challenge is a part of GitHub’s Arctic Vault Program to protect open-source software program for future generations.
Not fairly. It is GitHub — owned by Microsoft — that runs the Arctic Code Vault. In February 2020, they photographed each lively public repository onto particular archival movie and saved it deep inside a decommissioned coal mine in Svalbard, designed to final a thousand years.
Proceed
What was the first motive early floppy disks had been referred to as ‘floppy’?
AThey failed continuously and had been thought of unreliableBTheir magnetic coating was utilized in a free, uneven layerCThe plastic disk inside was skinny and bodily versatileDThey may very well be folded and saved flat in a pockets
Right! Early floppy disks — particularly the unique 8-inch selection from IBM in 1971 — used a skinny, genuinely versatile magnetic disk inside a gentle protecting sleeve. You may actually flop the factor round. Later 3.5-inch variations got here in inflexible plastic circumstances, however saved the ‘floppy’ identify.
Not fairly. The identify ‘floppy’ got here from the bodily flexibility of the magnetic disk contained in the sleeve. The unique 8-inch IBM floppy disks launched in 1971 had a noticeably limp, floppy disk that you may bend. Even the rigid-cased 3.5-inch disks that adopted saved the enduring nickname.
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Strive Once more
Again then, I squeezed each final little bit of capability out of that drive, forcing it to deal with not simply Home windows, but in addition my essential recreation of alternative. On reflection, I do know that filling your SSD as much as 100% is a foul thought, however whenever you solely have one quick drive, it is exhausting to withstand.
Now? We’re all working SSDs, and people tiny SATA drives really feel tremendous out of date. However as a substitute of throwing them away, you possibly can all the time redirect some smaller jobs their manner, saving area in your essential drive and letting your previous drives reside on.
One factor to recollect, although: do not rely on these growing old drives as your essential and solely supply of backups. They work nice for overflow jobs, but when some information are actually essential, it’s best to entrust them to newer drives. Observe the 3-2-1 backup rule to sleep soundly. Past that? Repurpose away!
5 genuinely helpful methods you possibly can repurpose your previous 120GB SATA SSD
Give them a job they will truly deal with
Credit score: Jason Fitzpatrick / How-To Geek
It is true: your previous SATA SSDs need not simply sit there, accumulating mud and losing drawer area. This is how I like to recommend utilizing them to reinforce your tech stack.
1. Flip it right into a sacrificial take a look at bench for dumb concepts
That is in all probability my favourite use for a tiny previous SSD, as a result of it provides me someplace to fiddle with out placing my essential drive in danger. If you wish to strive a beta app, set up a dodgy file, take a look at a light-weight Linux distro, mess with mods, or typically mess around with software program, a 120GB SATA SSD suits completely. It is sufficiently big for a stripped-down OS set up and a handful of experiments.
It is a strong thought as a result of it attracts a transparent line between your essential SSD and this one, letting you retain your essential drive clear and secure, whereas the small SATA drive takes over the nonsense.
2. Make it your emergency restore drive
I am a giant fan of rescue drives. These drives, whether or not they’re a brand new USB or an previous SATA, can prevent in a pinch. A 120GB SATA SSD can be utilized for disk cloning software program, firmware instruments, {hardware} diagnostics, installers, BIOS information, OS ISO information, and the rest you may have to rescue a dying PC with minimal problem. That manner, in case your main boot drive fails or your OS will get corrupted, you all the time have a working fallback available.
Capability
1TB
Velocity
400MB/s
If you’d like a rescue drive however do not have a SATA SSD you possibly can belief, this SanDisk 1TB USB thumb drive can do the job. It is large, so it might serve many roles at a semi-reasonable worth.
3. Use it for short-term junk
Not each file deserves a house in your greatest SSD. I like utilizing previous small drives for all of the short-term mess that piles up over time, like downloads, installers, ZIP archives, extracted folders, switch batches, and random information I do know I’m in all probability going to delete in every week. A 120GB SSD is simply sufficiently big for that sort of staging position, and it retains your essential drive from slowly filling up with low-priority junk.
4. Construct a compact retro recreation drive
Retro video games and indies do not take up plenty of area, so why not flip your tiny SATA SSD into the proper house for them? (Further bonus when you use an enclosure and make it exterior.) 120GB is nowhere close to sufficient for contemporary AAA video games, until you are happy with actually having only one recreation on this drive, nevertheless it’s lots sufficient for emulators, ROM libraries, and light-weight classics from GOG or Steam.
5. Flip it into an offline doc vault
If in case you have plenty of essential however small information, a 120GB SSD is greater than sufficient for an offline doc vault. I’m speaking about tax paperwork, scans of payments and contracts, exported emails, PDF manuals, previous college work, warranties, home paperwork, and different information that matter however don’t take up a lot room.
Please by no means use an previous SATA SSD as your solely backup for these essential information. Again them up elsewhere for peace of thoughts.
A tiny SSD is helpful when you alter your expectations
Nonetheless beats an HDD, anyway
Credit score: Goran Damnjanovic / How-To Geek
I am not going to drag wool over your eyes and inform you that having a 120GB SATA SSD is the most effective factor on the planet. It is true that the roles outlined above are small, however that makes them good for a tiny drive. With the proper expectations, you may preserve your essential SSD from piling up junk and get some use out of one thing you already paid for. Win-win!
I am a serious fan of discovering jobs for my previous {hardware}. I do not like throwing stuff away, and disposing of storage drives is a ache, anyway. If in case you have it, you may as nicely use it. And when you want a brand new drive? Purchase an NVMe SSD. Each varieties are overpriced proper now, so that you’re higher off shopping for the sooner one and utilizing your slower drives for much less essential duties.
7/10
Storage capability
1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 8TB
{Hardware} Interface
M.2 NVMe
Samsung’s 9100 Professional is a good alternative if you wish to retire an older SSD (even perhaps a SATA?) and improve your essential drive in a giant manner. These SSDs are lightning-fast, and whereas not low-cost, they’re sure to final for years.
