this post was submitted on 16 Apr 2025
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Data Hoarder
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I don't touch the drive for years on end and it works. The connections are IDE and Molex. I have an IDE to USB data cable and a Molex power cable. I can plug it into my PC that I just built a few months ago no problem.
The data on "old" style disk drives is physically etched upon the disk magnetically. That's why the data still exists, despite sitting unused for long periods of time.
Neither you nor the OP know much about this topic.
I’ve worked it for over a decade at this point, I know exactly what I’m talking about. Sure the drive works now, but it is mechanical and mechanical things WILL fail. Obviously adapters will allow it to interface with modern hardware.
I don’t know if you understand how magnetic drives work. They are not permanent magnets, that means that they will lose their charge unless you maintain the drive. It’s not a matter of if but when. And maintaining the drive means it’s plugged in and spinning, which wears the drive down.
I bet if you ran a smart report on that drive, it will have plenty of “old age” and “pre-failure” on many different attributes. If there is data important to you, then it should not be on that drive.