Really nothing you can do except be sensible. Don't move them while they're powered on, and keep them in a mild temperature and relative humidity environment comfortable for a human. That's about it.
Just have a backup. And a backup of your backup. That way you don't have to worry about it.
Good comparison, thank you.
There's not many decent free or low price point backup programs for Windows especially.
Honestly, I've been quite happy with "Synology Active Backup for Business" (worse name ever), but it does require a Synology NAS, but it "just works".
For years I used Macrium Reflect. But ever since I switched to Synology several years back I've been very happy with it. I don't like that it's tied to Synology, but whatever, I guess that's why I have a NAS. I just hate annual plans, and pricing for Macrium is ridiculous for a "one time purchase". It's currently on sale for $239.97 for four PC's, but normally it's over $300.
I didn't realize that Veeam free doesn't support more than 1 job. That's very limiting.
Use Robocopy
Nah, all you have to do is drag the folder into the "poolpart" folder and recalculate storage in Drivepool and it shows up. Nothing fancy needed.
WD has the "WD Dashboard" utility that will allow you to run a LONG SMART test.
CrystalDiskInfo does use generic interpretations of disks if it does not have specific attributes for a specific disk in its database. This is likely just a case of CrystalDiskInfo not supporting this SSD, perhaps because it's not a popular disk or they had issues getting the proper attribute data from the manufacturer.
r/techsupport
You won't get much empathy or help here. If you don't have a backup, then consider it a lesson learned. We do feel your pain, but it's also one to remember so you have backups the next time this happens.
While Microsoft is guilty of a lot of things, these kinds of issues typically end up being a PEBKAC error.
If you really want the data back, send it to a professional.
Otherwise check out the program called "Test Disk": https://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk
It may help find your lost folder.
WD and Toshiba portable drives have USB soldered on. Seagate portables still have a SATA interface.
Right, but that chart is OLD and talks nothing of modern processes. SLC, MLC are much less susceptible to loss of data because of only 2 or 4 voltage charge states per cell. Looking at QLC especially with 16 different voltage states per cell, just a small voltage loss would mean data corruption.
This is likely more concerning for well worn SSD's however, and not for a reasonably fresh one.
You don't need to full format a new hard drive. You can if you want to make sure there's no errors on the disk.
As far as SMR is concerned, connect it through USB supporting UASP, that's usually more a part of the USB chipset on the hard drive than anything else. Then you can TRIM the disk. Just be sure to let the disk idle for a bit after trimming it.
Your best bet is to have multiple copies and validate your data regularly. Doesn't really matter what you store it on.
Yes, optical drives can just "go bad" while sitting. Even if not the laser, many of the mechanical parts can age and fail.
There is no "set it and forget it" medium in existence. Multiple copies, in multiple locations and if possible on different media types.