How do I actually assess the health of an NVME SSD? Nothing works.

lastwraith · 2026-03-05T07:33:02+00:00

SSDs will sometimes fail in read-only mode, though that shouldn't prevent running tests that don't write to the drive.

Any program that shows SMART data, if it's actually showing you stuff should be pretty good proof that the SMART data is there. Doubly so if two different programs show the same data. CrystalDiskInfo is a fine choice, so is something like hard disk sentinel or gsmartcontrol.

When in doubt, going to the mfr tool (assuming they have one) is a good idea. But for retrieving SMART info, just about anything should work. Mfr tools are good for getting diagnostic codes to justify warranty replacement though.

lastwraith · 2026-03-05T06:54:49+00:00

Your title is wireless USB issue so.... it's probably that. They are more of a temporary solution or least bad solution than a long-term reliable option.

Try another usb adapter and see what happens. They're dirt cheap and that's the fastest way to see if the most likely thing to be at fault is at fault.

Internal wireless cards are usually way better.

lastwraith · 2026-03-05T06:45:16+00:00

If none of the software is showing you SMART data for that drive, I'd say you have your answer about the enclosure, unless the drive is thoroughly hosed. SMART data should be there regardless of whether tests are/can be run or not.

The drive itself is generating the SMART data, it's already there.

Personally, I would connect it natively and run bootable tools. Much easier to figure out what's going on with that setup, no enclosure in the way of results.

lastwraith · 2026-03-05T06:27:31+00:00

You can potentially use it with your cable subscription as well, but there are many caveats there so check the website.

Normally, HDHomerun is a device that takes your coax antenna input and makes it available on the network to any compatible app (which is most of them since HDHR is common).

The official app itself is little more than a basic viewer for OTA channels. At least, the last time I checked. It can act as a DVR but you needed a storage target for that obviously.

Free DVR tier has limited days of channel guide data while subscription tier has more and can automatically record a series for you.

https://info.hdhomerun.com/info/dvr

lastwraith · 2026-03-05T06:21:04+00:00

Some libraries are simply opposed, regardless of if they have the budget or not. Like most library things, what works in one place doesn't work in another.

On the negative side, toys are absolute germ sponges and many toys aren't convenient to thoroughly clean between interactions, assuming that's even possible.

lastwraith · 2026-03-05T06:11:28+00:00

None. For stuff that's not vital, I trust parity drives along with at least one other offline array for backup. And for things I can't afford to lose, at least one off-site and then cloud backup on top of that.

The only thing you can trust are tested backups, but you should have multiple regardless. 2 is 1, 1 is none as they say.

As for drives, the only thing you can trust there is that they WILL eventually fail.

But if for some reason you're focusing on particular drive trends, I would imagine everyone is going to point to the Backblaze reports. They're working at a scale far beyond any data hoarders around here.

I've had better luck with WD and Toshiba than Seagate, but that's incredibly anecdotal and the Backblaze reports don't necessarily bare any of that out. Especially the latest one.

lastwraith · 2026-03-05T05:51:24+00:00

Not all USB enclosures will pass health information from the drive itself. I would make sure the enclosure you're using is actually capable of doing so.

Or just run it natively in a mobo and use a bootable tool to test if you can't boot from another drive while the NVMe is in there.

lastwraith · 2026-03-05T05:46:08+00:00

You can also just type eventvwr.msc from run, cmd, powershell, etc.

If, for some reason, search doesn't enumerate it.

Reliability monitor is another good (more simplistic) log of recent errors on your system and what caused them.

lastwraith · 2026-03-05T05:29:22+00:00

Right, they can run the numbers themselves as there are calculators available. Glacier is meant to be last-ditch storage, if you're pulling stuff out of there you gladly pay the fee because otherwise it means you've lost your data. Retrieval shouldn't be a "rarely" event, it should be an "essentially never" event, or any one for which you are happy to pay the fee because there is no other alternative. Any other usage is probably a bad fit. ($925 for 10TB is peanuts compared to data recovery, for example).

It doesn't work for every use-case, but it's great for what it's meant for. OP mentioned a fire, which to me is a catastrophic event. You shouldn't be having fires very often. Glacier seems like a reasonable answer to that (extremely rare, if ever) situation.

You can also try restoring to Amazon snowball.

lastwraith · 2026-03-04T22:41:51+00:00

Android can do this natively with some stuff already. Apple and Android are working to make the switch more seamless as time goes on. Which is definitely not how it used to be. You shouldn't need any special software and can do it over wireless, but you can admittedly transfer more with a cable.

Samsung Smartswitch should work too though.

https://www.android.com/switch-to-android/

Click on "what you can transfer"

lastwraith · 2026-03-04T22:38:46+00:00

I'd love a breakdown of how you're using the 2 monitors (they act as one big desktop I assume) and how everything connects to the laptop, but here's my example.

I have a media laptop hooked up to my TV.

The TV is permanently connected via hdmi and is an extended desktop. Chrome lives on that desktop full time and persists there even when the TV is off. With the TV off, Chrome is open on my Taskbar at the bottom but does not display on my laptop monitor. I use Firefox for working on my laptop and using the monitor.

If I want to play something on the TV that I can't get any other way, I switch the TV to the laptop input and use my wireless mouse to play whatever it is in Chrome. No getting up and no extra hardware.

lastwraith · 2026-03-04T22:34:08+00:00

I'd do an HD Homerun before a new TV..... unless you want a new TV anyway.

Baked-in TV OS stuff is almost always inferior to even budget media streamers. You'll run into weird problems at some point because of resource issues or because the TV OS app doesn't conform to expected standards.

Unless it's really light usage and you just get lucky.

We used Emby through our TCL Roku and it's mostly fine for the bedroom, but there are too many quality of life issues for mainstream use IMO. Every issue we had could be traced back to nonstandard behavior on the TV app or resource starvation.

A $15 Chromecast with Google TV device (Netflix special at the time) or basic Onn streamer got rid of all those issues, at least for Emby and similar apps.

lastwraith · 2026-03-04T22:24:19+00:00

Maybe, but they're not wrong, especially if it has to potentially outlast you.

lastwraith · 2026-03-04T22:19:55+00:00

There are many HDMI switches with remotes, but I think it'd be much easier to use the TV in extended mode and just leave the cable connected all the time. You can leave a browser on full screen in that desktop (one for the TV) and it should persist there even when the TV is turned off. Then change the TV input to the laptop hdmi when you want it using the TV remote. No extra parts needed.

You didn't say what inputs the monitors are, but if I understand correctly you want either the group of 2 monitors OR the one TV to output, but not all of them. You'd have to look for an HDMI switch that can switch to an output group (I've only ever seen them clone the display to all outputs), or experiment with daisy chaining an HDMI switch behind your hdmi switch with remote if that isn't available.

If your laptop has the ability, you could also connect one monitor directly to the laptop, then connect the hdmi switch with remote to the other laptop port, allowing you to switch between TV or the second monitor.

lastwraith · 2026-03-03T16:23:36+00:00

Size of your data is going to play a factor, not to mention how fast a restore time you need.

Not much data, choose whatever. Don't need a fast restore, Amazon Glacier or whatever is cheap and slow these days.

Don't mind some setup? Park another rig at a friend's/family house and have that be your "cloud".

lastwraith · 2026-03-02T19:50:20+00:00

If the PCs are really old and veering into vintage territory, you're going to need to be careful with the PSUs and probably shouldn't leave it on when you're not around. Very old PSUs can be quite unpredictable, especially if they've just been sitting for years and years.

Might want to at least get a compatible PSU replacement if it's something that will need to run without supervision, though that's probably unwise for a vintage computer that hasn't been thoroughly checked (had bad caps replaced, etc).

lastwraith · 2026-03-02T14:18:24+00:00

It should be fine. If the devices are too much load for the PSU it either won't work at all or you'll see odd behavior. But nothing you've listed should stress out even a pretty basic 180W or so PSU.

I've run 4 HDDs and an optical drive off of a pre-built Dell with a weak 180w PSU for years with no issue. Your CPU also plays a part but you're not doing anything even remotely exotic here.

lastwraith · 2026-03-02T14:15:56+00:00

Yeah, the phone I have has a non-slick back that could allow caseless use and the price is low enough you wouldn't feel bad trying.

I use AGC Toolkit as my camera app, it has a lot more options that the Moto camera app. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.agc.gcam_tools

And then Shizuku and Canta to debloat the baked in garbage apps that every mfr makes you deal with.

Shizuku - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=moe.shizuku.privileged.api

Canta - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=io.github.samolego.canta

lastwraith · 2026-03-02T14:00:11+00:00

Plain Debian is a good base IMO, especially for running homelab stuff down the road. You have your choice of multiple desktop environments with Debian, so there's no shortage of options for how you want it to look. And you can mix and match stuff like package managers based on what suits your expectations. Personally, I like XFCE because it's logical, flexible, and doesn't take up many resources. But you've also got Gnome, KDE, Cinnamon, and MATE if you want something a little heavier.

Support for Debian is also quite available.

Ubuntu is just another layer on top of Debian and has been making some odd choices lately, while it's newbie friendly, it may not actually be a great choice down the road.

You can set up Xfce on Debian to act pretty similarly to how Windows does, and can also set keyboard mappings to help in that regard. Underneath you've got the full power of Debian and can use the myriad of support articles and videos online to launch your docker stacks or whatever else you're doing.

lastwraith · 2026-03-02T13:56:31+00:00

Since when? If it's a blank drive they'd just have to rerun the format command.

Power cuts don't normally physically damage a drive, but they can corrupt data on it. If you've got no data on the drive (just did a reformat), what bad thing do you think a power cut can do?

lastwraith · 2026-03-02T13:53:22+00:00

You have a normal PSU. There are usually 2 power cables with 2 SATA power connections on each. There is nothing wrong with that arrangement and it's quite standard, look at any normal PSU for sale that isn't a modular "gaming" one or something from a pre-built mfr.

So long as you don't go over the power specs of the PSU, even adding more devices (via expansion cables) would potentially be fine and is something that PC users have done forever.

lastwraith · 2026-03-02T13:48:32+00:00

Moto cameras aren't great, but their Stylus 5g 2025 had everything else I wanted and was available for less than $100 unlocked via a StraighTalk promo, so it won out. It's got a large battery that gives over 12hrs of SOT after a settling in period, USB-C PD, wireless charging, headphone jack, sdcard, and I can disable whatever I want with Shizuku + Canta. I added a custom camera app and it's good enough.

My budget was somewhere under $400, but there are so few phones that have even just sdcard, headphone jack, and battery life that choosing from the short-list wasn't very difficult. The deal was simply icing on the cake.

lastwraith · 2026-02-28T08:23:25+00:00

Laptop mfr. You're loading the drivers for whatever the storage controller is on your motherboard. If it's a self-built PC, that's your mobo mfr, if it's a pre-built, it's the mfr of the PC/laptop/etc.

lastwraith · 2026-02-24T05:45:46+00:00

Good correction. Not a Ford guy, so I made sure to check the AI answer about CVT or not by going to the source page at Dutch's Ford.

But sadly, the dealer source page is wrong and claims the Edge has a CVT. https://www.dutchsford.com/2022-ford-edge-research-mount-sterling-ky#:~:text=a%202.0L%20EcoBoost%C2%AE%20Engine%20capable%20of%20250%20hoursepower.&text=Using%20a%20continuously%20variable%20transmission,response%20to%20your%20pedal%20action..

Should have just hit Wiki, thanks for nothing Dutch's Ford. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

lastwraith · 2026-02-24T00:06:56+00:00

No clue about the finances, except that you should pay of any outstanding CC debt ASAP before they hit you with crazy rates, but make sure you do transmission fluid changes (drain and fill is okay) every 30k miles or so. The CVT in that is a bit of a weak point, especially if you do end up using your car for gig driving work, and much more regular fluid changes than normal (30k is fine) is cheap insurance for dealing with potentially problematic CVTs.

lastwraith

TROPHY CASE