Mistaken! There are many methods to seek out makes use of even for these outdated, gradual(ish), and tiny SATA drives that have been most likely your boot drive a decade in the past. Here 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 fashionable requirements, however nonetheless quick sufficient to be an improve
My first SATA SSD was 64GB or someplace near it. I acquired it used as a hand-me-down, and I used to be over the moon after I put in Home windows on it. The distinction between an HDD and an SSD, even a gradual SATA drive, was like evening and day.
Quiz
Storage By the Ages
From historical clay tablets to fashionable SSDs — how a lot do you actually know in regards to the wild historical past and quirky information of knowledge storage?
Historical past{Hardware}CapabilityOdditiesFashionable Tech
What was the storage capability of the very first commercially bought arduous disk drive, IBM’s 350 RAMAC launched in 1956?
Right! The IBM 350 RAMAC saved a whopping 5 megabytes — and weighed over a ton. It was the dimensions of two fridges and leased for round $3,200 monthly, which is roughly $35,000 in immediately’s cash.
Not fairly. The IBM 350 RAMAC, launched in 1956, saved simply 5 megabytes of knowledge. Regardless of that tiny capability by fashionable requirements, it was a revolutionary machine that crammed a complete room and price 1000’s monthly to lease.
Which of those has genuinely been used as a knowledge storage medium by researchers and engineers?
Right! DNA storage is an actual and quickly advancing area. Researchers have efficiently encoded complete books, photographs, and even working programs into artificial DNA strands, which may 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 very dense — theoretically able to holding 215 petabytes per gram — making it probably the most promising future storage applied sciences.
What does the ‘SSD’ in SSD storage stand for?
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 transferring mechanical components, not like conventional spinning arduous disk drives.
Not fairly. SSD stands for Stable State Drive. The time period ‘strong state’ comes from electronics jargon that means the system makes use of semiconductor elements relatively than transferring mechanical components, which is why SSDs are sooner, quieter, and extra sturdy than HDDs.
Roughly what number of commonplace 1.44 MB floppy disks would you could match the storage of a single fashionable 1 terabyte arduous drive?
Right! One terabyte equals roughly 1,048,576 megabytes, and dividing by 1.44 MB per floppy offers 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 solution to visualize the big leap in storage density over only a few a long time.
What storage medium did NASA use to retailer knowledge from the unique Apollo moon missions within the Nineteen Sixties and Seventies?
Right! NASA relied closely on magnetic tape reels throughout the Apollo period. In reality, 1000’s of authentic Apollo-era knowledge tapes have 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 authentic tapes have been later misplaced and even intentionally erased and reused as a result of tape shortages, which is why some authentic high-quality Apollo footage is gone eternally.
What’s the title of the method utilized in fashionable NAND flash storage that shops a number of bits per cell to extend density?
Right! QLC, or Quad-Stage Cell, shops 4 bits per cell and is utilized in high-capacity, budget-friendly SSDs. Whereas it presents nice density and decrease value, QLC NAND sometimes has decrease endurance and slower write speeds in comparison with TLC (3-bit) or MLC (2-bit) designs.
Not fairly. QLC stands for Quad-Stage Cell, and it is an actual NAND flash know-how that shops 4 bits per cell. It permits for very excessive storage densities at decrease value, however trades off endurance and write efficiency in comparison with older, much less dense cell sorts like MLC or SLC.
The Svalbard International 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?
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 mission 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.
What was the first purpose early floppy disks have been referred to as ‘floppy’?
Right! Early floppy disks — particularly the unique 8-inch selection from IBM in 1971 — used a skinny, genuinely versatile magnetic disk inside a mushy protecting sleeve. You would actually flop the factor round. Later 3.5-inch variations got here in inflexible plastic circumstances, however stored the ‘floppy’ title.
Not fairly. The title ‘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 might bend. Even the rigid-cased 3.5-inch disks that adopted stored the enduring nickname.
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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 most important sport of selection. On reflection, I do know that filling your SSD as much as 100% is a nasty concept, however once you solely have one quick drive, it is arduous to withstand.
Now? We’re all operating SSDs, and people tiny SATA drives really feel tremendous out of date. However as a substitute of throwing them away, you possibly can at all times redirect some smaller jobs their manner, saving house in your most important drive and letting your outdated drives stay on.
One factor to recollect, although: do not rely on these ageing drives as your most important and solely supply of backups. They work nice for overflow jobs, but when some recordsdata are actually vital, it is 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 outdated 120GB SATA SSD
Give them a job they will truly deal with
Credit score: Jason Fitzpatrick / How-To Geek
It is true: your outdated SATA SSDs need not simply sit there, amassing mud and losing drawer house. Here is how I like to recommend utilizing them to boost your tech stack.
1. Flip it right into a sacrificial check bench for dumb concepts
That is most likely my favourite use for a tiny outdated SSD, as a result of it offers me someplace to fiddle with out placing my most important drive in danger. If you wish to strive a beta app, set up a dodgy file, check 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 concept as a result of it attracts a transparent line between your most important SSD and this one, letting you retain your most important drive clear and secure, whereas the small SATA drive takes over the nonsense.
2. Make it your emergency restore drive
I am an enormous fan of rescue drives. These drives, whether or not they’re a brand new USB or an outdated SATA, can prevent in a pinch. A 120GB SATA SSD can be utilized for disk cloning software program, firmware instruments, {hardware} diagnostics, installers, BIOS recordsdata, OS ISO recordsdata, and anything you would possibly must rescue a dying PC with minimal trouble. That manner, in case your main boot drive fails or your OS will get corrupted, you at all times have a working fallback readily available.
- Capability
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1TB
- Velocity
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400MB/s
If you need 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 will possibly serve many roles at a semi-reasonable value.
3. Use it for short-term junk
Not each file deserves a house in your greatest SSD. I like utilizing outdated 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 recordsdata I do know I’m most likely going to delete in every week. A 120GB SSD is simply sufficiently big for that form of staging function, and it retains your most important drive from slowly filling up with low-priority junk.
4. Construct a compact retro sport drive
Retro video games and indies do not take up a number of house, so why not flip your tiny SATA SSD into the right residence for them? (Further bonus if you happen to use an enclosure and make it exterior.) 120GB is nowhere close to sufficient for contemporary AAA video games, until you are glad with actually having only one sport on this drive, but it surely’s lots sufficient for emulators, ROM libraries, and light-weight classics from GOG or Steam.
5. Flip it into an offline doc vault
In case you have a number of vital however small recordsdata, 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, outdated college work, warranties, home paperwork, and different recordsdata that matter however don’t take up a lot room.
Please by no means use an outdated SATA SSD as your solely backup for these vital recordsdata. Again them up elsewhere for peace of thoughts.
A tiny SSD is helpful if you happen to regulate 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 let you know that having a 120GB SATA SSD is one of the best factor on the earth. It is true that the roles outlined above are small, however that makes them excellent for a tiny drive. With the appropriate expectations, you may maintain your most important SSD from piling up junk and get some use out of one thing you already paid for. Win-win!
I am a significant fan of discovering jobs for my outdated {hardware}. I do not like throwing stuff away, and disposing of storage drives is a ache, anyway. In case you have it, you would possibly as nicely use it. And if you happen to want a brand new drive? Purchase an NVMe SSD. Each sorts are overpriced proper now, so that you’re higher off shopping for the sooner one and utilizing your slower drives for much less vital duties.
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- Storage capability
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1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 8TB
- {Hardware} Interface
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M.2 NVMe
Samsung’s 9100 Professional is a good selection if you wish to retire an older SSD (maybe even a SATA?) and improve your most important drive in an enormous manner. These SSDs are lightning-fast, and whereas not low-cost, they’re sure to final for years.
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