New
#1
A few questions about USB cables and more
1.I have just noticed that my external hard drive has been forced to have its connector be bent by its own carrying case for one whole year. I have never noticed that the pocket in the case was there for the cable so I have always thought the case was supposed to be used with the connector plugged in. Is it safe to continue using this connector or should I get a replacement from Western Digital, the manufacturer? The port on the drive itself is fine, it is the connector that is bent and it still works. The only problem is that I would have to have the cable be shipped internationally from the US, (for anyone wondering, I always use international shipping legally) as WD drives don't sell in Korea. Also one side question: Could any harm have been done to the drive so far because of the case restricting airflow? I am supposed to not use the case when I actually am using the drive on my computer, right? (Don't worry about the data, I have another copy of the data on this drive.)
IMPORTANT Edit: Question 1 is now basically void as it is not the connector that is bent, but the port is bent instead. More info in post #6.
2.Also, I have a USB to Micro-USB cable and the outer insulation for the part of the cable right besides the USB plug is starting to come off from pulling too hard and shows a peek into what I assume are the shielding wires. So far, it is less than a millimeter wide so I can only see a bit of wire. Is it safe to continue using this cable as it is only exposing a very tiny bit of the shielding wires or should I get a replacement?
3.This last question is pretty simple. Do external hard drives and flash drives show SMART alerts like internal drives do?
Last edited by Computer0304; 14 Jan 2015 at 09:48.