I was wondering what the best way to make sure your external drive is functioning as it should?
Also, how much damage is done if your drive loses power abruptly?
Also, why would someone want a larger drive that needs an additional power source compared to a portable drive?
Ok mate try one of the hard drive testing tools Seatools SeaTools for Windows | Seagate
plus the disk surface test with the Partition Wizard Best Free Partition Manager Freeware and free partition magic for Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Vista and Windows XP 32 bit & 64 bit. MiniTool Free Partition Manager Software Home Edition.
click on the drive you want to test click on surface test and then Apply at the top it might take some time to do with a large drive though.
Personally I don't like large drives for this very reason ls it and you lose a lot.
The power source is self explanatory really it is probably because the power required via the USB connection is not adequate to run the drive.
As for data loss in a power outage well once it is up and running just go through the data and see for yourself.
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