Hey guys, I'm a comp noob here to ask for help! I found an old HDD in my bedroom, I believe it has Windows installed on it, and I also recall it being "dead". I was wondering can I just simply plug it in with this computer and reformat it?
If the hard drive is bad, why would you risk data loss by using it again? You could just plug it in and see how it responds towards Plug and Play USB enclosures, and do a few HDTune benches, also attempt to determine its health status using SMART as well.
Yup. If youve ever had a drive go bad on you, its not reliable. If needed, you can use it for scratch/temp space for stuff you dont care about, but if it failed before, its much more likely to fail again. Running the manufacturer's diagnostics on it should give you an idea about its reliability.
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