On this page:

• Getting started
• Backing up your old drive
• Learning how to change Windows boot preferences
• Downloading Macrium Reflect Free
• Cloning your Windows system drive
• Finalising your newly cloned drive
• What to do if your cloned drive won't load Windows

Both of these are easiest done via cloning to create an exact copy of a current Windows drive on a new one.

Unfortunately, Microsoft no longer supports Windows’ built-in full-disk backup feature, which could once be used to create replica drives.

As a result, while you can still easily create a system image via Windows, applying that image to any drive other than the original is now fraught with setbacks and bugs.

Getting started

When it comes to cloning your drive, free third-party software such as AOMEI Backupper Standard and Macrium Reflect are good replacements for Windows’ old tools.Ìý

We’ll use Macrium Reflect for our run-through.

You will need:

• your old drive
• your new drive, wiped clean and formatted to NTFS (likely the condition it came in)
• the ability to connect both drives to your PC at the same time
• a 1GB or larger USB stick
• an internet connection.

Optional:

• an 8GB USB stick
• a third drive to use as a backup.

You might need to initialise and create a new volume on your new drive. Right-click on the Start menu icon and select Disk Management.

If your drive needs initialising, it will prompt you to do so.Ìý

Make sure the GPT option is selected and click OK.

Once done, right-click the drive and select New Simple Volume… then follow the prompts.Ìý

Make sure it’s formatted as NTFS.

Backing up your old drive

You should always back up your old drive first in case something goes wrong. Some programs let you back up to the cloud, avoiding the need for a third storage drive.

You could save your important files to a cloud storage service such as OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox or others as a precaution, but it’s not a full backup.

In either case, you should also create a Windows Installation USB stick (must be 8GB or larger). This will let you re-install or repair Windows if there’s a problem. Keep this USB stick handy for future emergencies. Instructions and software are available at the .

Finally, make sure your new drive is plugged into and detected by your PC.

Learning how to change Windows boot preferences

Familiarise yourself with your PC’s boot preferences. You’ll need this menu at least twice during the cloning process, but probably more if things don’t go smoothly. It’s best to learn how to access and use it before you get into the nitty gritty to avoid frustration.

It’s also how you use your Windows Installation USB in case of emergency.

To change boot preferences, you need to access your BIOS menu, also called the UEFI. There are two ways of doing this, depending on your PC: 

• during startup 
• from within Windows.

BIOS/UEFI menus change depending on the PC, but the boot section should be clearly labelled and boot preferences are normally adjusted by selecting drives from drop-down menus or by clicking arrows to move them up or down in a list. Memorise the name of your current primary boot drive, but don’t change anything yet.

When you eventually get to the stage of changing boot preferences, you’ll likely need to save when you exit the BIOS/UEFI, but for now discard any changes and continue loading the PC.

Changing boot preferences during startup

While your PC is booting (before Windows loads), you might see a prompt such as ‘Press Delete or F2 to launch BIOS’. It might instead use the term ‘UEFI’ or require you to press another key. Doing so will cease the startup process and take you to a menu where you can adjust boot preferences.

Changing boot preferences via Windows

Some PCs, generally laptops or Windows tablets, don’t allow you to access the BIOS/UEFI during startup.

If this is the case for you (in Windows 10), open the Start menu then click Settings > Update & Security > Recovery > Restart Now. In Windows 11, the process is Settings > System > Recovery > Restart Now. This will restart your computer in recovery mode.

Once the recovery environment loads, select Troubleshoot > Advanced options > UEFI firmware settings &²µ³Ù;ÌýRestart. Your PC will restart again and give you access to your BIOS.

Downloading Macrium Reflect Free

Head to Macrium’s website to .Ìý

Click Download Free under ‘Reflect 8 Free’ and select I need a personal license.

For the download, you need to provide your email address, after which you’ll receive an email with instructions to follow.Ìý

The email will also contain a registration code, and using this is optional.

Cloning your Windows system drive

Once Macrium Reflect launches, you’ll see a list of all connected drives and media discs. Your current system drive (C drive) should be at the top, listed by Macrium as Disk 1. Your new drive could be listed as anything from Disk 2 on. Ours was Disk 3.

Use Macrium to make a rescue USB

There’s one more step before you start cloning, which is to create a rescue media USB on your 1GB stick. This isn’t optional.

Go to Other Tasks > Create Rescue Media > Build then tick the box and click OK.

If your USB drive needs formatting, it will prompt you. In this event, click Format disk and make sure NTFS and Quick format are both selected. When the format is done, return to Macrium Reflect and start this process again.

Once the rescue media is created, click Close.

Start cloning

It’s finally time to clone your drive.Ìý³¢±ð´Ú³Ù-³¦±ô¾±³¦°ìÌýon the drive you want to clone and select Clone this disk… underneath it. Then select the new disk you want to clone to.

At this point the process changes depending on if your new drive’s capacity is larger, smaller or the same size as the original.

If it’s the same size… Drag and drop each partition from the original drive to the new one, keeping the same order.

If it’s larger or smaller… When dragging and dropping partitions, add the main (largest) partition last to find out what size it needs to be. If the new drive is smaller, it will automatically shrink. If it’s larger, right-click on it and select Fill Space. Memorise or write down the size of the now-expanded (or shrunk) partition.

Click Undo until you can add the primary partition in its original order then right-click on it and select Partition Size and Layout… Input the size you recorded and click OK. Now the remaining partitions should perfectly fill your drive.

Once your partitions are set, click Next then Finish. Uncheck ‘Save as a Backup Definition File’ but leave ‘Run this backup now’ checked. Hit OK then Close to begin cloning.

Our clone of under 350GB from a SATA drive to an NVMe drive took about 30 minutes.

Finalising your newly cloned drive

Now it’s time to test your new drive. Go to your PC’s boot menu and give boot priority to the new drive, then save changes and exit (the exact wording of this last option will vary). If it says you’ve made no changes, just ignore it.

Your PC should restart and appear identical to your old drive, though it might be a little slower the first time around.

If everything worked, return to your boot menu and prioritise the 1GB rescue media USB you created via Macrium Reflect (not your 8GB Windows Installation USB). This launches a very basic version of Macrium Reflect.

Click Fix Windows boot problems and you should see a dialogue box with your new system drive listed. Click Next > Finish. This will help make sure there are no problems. Now you can restart your computer via the power icon in the bottom corner of the screen and, for the last time, open your boot menu. Make your new drive the primary boot option again and save changes before exiting.

It’s a good idea to restart your PC multiple times to make sure the new drive will boot reliably, but otherwise you’re done.

What to do if your cloned drive won’t load Windows

If your new drive refuses to load Windows, you might be able to repair it via the Windows Installation USB.

Restart the PC and set the Installation USB as your boot priority. Make your way through the screens, but don’t select Install Now when prompted. Instead, select Repair your computer.

Go to Troubleshoot > Startup Repair. If it says it failed to fix the problem, that doesn’t mean it did. Restart the PC again and return to the boot preferences menu. Look for a new drive option beginning with ‘Windows Boot Manager’, followed by the name of your desired drive. Make it the priority and save changes when you exit.

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Computers can suddenly die for any number of reasons, taking your data with them. Storage drive malfunctions, power surges, and accidental spills are just a few ways you could be left with an expensive brick where your files used to be.

If you have important documents, photos, videos or other files, backing up your data is a must. You can do this using an external storage drive that plugs into your computer, but you can also back your files up using an online cloud service.

Cloud backup services let you automatically copy certain files, folders or even your whole computer to the cloud. Some can also capture a system image – an exact copy of a drive, including its operating system and any drivers it needs to run, though this often isn’t necessary and can be a hassle if you don’t need it.

Cloud backup is not to be confused with Cloud Storage (sync) services such as DropBox, Google Drive, OneDrive, BoxNet and the like, which keep data on your computer synchronised to your storage area in the cloud, where you can access it live from various devices linked to your accounts. This gives you an additional copy of your “live” files, but it’s not a true “backup” in the sense of desktop backup software.Ìý

Cloud backup, like its desktop backup counterpart, allows for features such as incremental backup, archiving and more.

Though there can be feature overlap between Cloud backup and Cloud storage (sync) services, depending on how the service is implemented, they are not the same.

They have some features in common (basically, keeping a copy of your files in the cloud) what makes a cloud backup service really good is not necessarily what makes a cloud storage (sync) service really good.Ìý

That’s why cloud backup and cloud storage (synching) are done as two separate tests, with the focus on their main purpose, despite any feature overlap. This allows us to test their core features for the purposes of comparative scoring.

Find out which services we recommend. Read our cloud backup reviews.

Our testers

Our expert computer testers have extensive experience in working with a wide range of consumer-level computer-related technologies, because it’s not just about how the computer works but also how it fits into your digital life.

How we choose what we test

We start by doing extensive market research to find the right services matched to the purpose, as well as which ones the public is searching for online.

Cloud backup services usually have multiple payment tiers, each with different features and data inclusions. We chose the cheapest plan from each service. As a result, we do not test based on data inclusions, as cheaper plans usually have significantly less data.

We look to include the most up-to-date and popular services available but there may be some changes to the pricing models as this is an industry in which prices can be highly volatile, sometimes changing even from week to week.

How we test

This test is not aimed at finding you an online synchronised storage solution, as this comes with a different set of parameters. Where cloud storage is like having a copy of your files kept up to date in the cloud, cloud backup is like a safe where you keep carbon copies of precious documents, except it’s for digital files and folders.

Our testers look at security, ease of use, performance and the versatility of features.

Test criteria explained

The overall performance is made up of a combination of the following:

Ease of use (60%)

Ease of use is judged by going through the setup (10%), backup (45%) and restore (45%) processes of each service; we primarily look for an intuitive interface with obvious options for selecting and unselecting files and folders

Performance (30%)

Performance is made up of upload (backup) and download (restore) scores (95%), as well as a system impact score (5%), which takes into account the available bandwidth and system controls for each program.

Versatility (10%)

Versatility is judged by looking at what else each program can do: drive imaging, backing up USB and NAS drives, backing up to a local location, seeding and physical media delivery, and the capabilities of the mobile Android and iOS apps of each vendor.

Our test lab

We maintain our own lab that is up to date with the latest reference machines and calibrated measurement tools for our testers to bring you the right results.

For any testing required where we don’t have the necessary in-house skill or equipment, such as for batteries, we use an external expert lab.

The post How we test cloud backup appeared first on ÌÇÐÄVlog.

Sometimes the simple life seems so attractive, but it’s rarely found in the fast-changing world of personal computing. But the arrival of fast, reliable internet via the NBN can make a minimalist PC life possible, and even desirable.Ìý

By shifting everything to the cloud, including storage and apps, you can do away with managing multiple local storage drives and say goodbye to backing up your data. It’ll likely take a load off your PC too. That’s the dream anyway, and here’s how it could work for you.

The basics

You don’t have to switch to a Chromebook to get a lot of the advantages of running a lightweight cloud-based computer. You can do it with your Windows PC by dropping desktop apps and storage and replacing them with cloud-based equivalents.

Thanks to cloud storage, cloud syncing, cloud apps and streaming services, you can create a standard, personal ecosystem across all your devices, including using the same software and file storage method. And if your local storage drive dies, all your important stuff is already saved to the cloud.

Admittedly, this full-on cloud approach won’t work for professionals such as designers or video editors who access and save large amounts of data regularly. But for home and even business users whose day-to-day digital life doesn’t go far beyond browsing, office suites, organisation apps and media, it can be a very viable alternative.

Cloud storage and productivity suites

For general file storage, consider a cloud service that has both syncing and offline use.

• Syncing generally means each time you edit a synced file, the changes are saved in real time to the cloud storage file. If done right, it’s not much different to editing files that are saved on your computer.
• Offline use means you can download files for when you don’t have an internet connection, but they’re automatically backed up when you’re online again.

When these features work together, a locally stored file you alter while offline will automatically update in the cloud and on other devices the next time you’re connected.

Combined with the rest of this minimalist strategy, you might be surprised at how little storage you need for files that aren’t media or heavy software.

Google One

Google One storage – via its Drive application – is free to use, but limited to 15GB (gigabytes), including Gmail inbox storage. Paid plans start at $2.49 per month for 100GB and range to 10TB (terabytes) for $62.49 per month. And there are discounts if you pay by the year.

Google’s office suite is free to use for anyone with a Google account, works across all major operating systems, and automatically saves to and syncs with your Google cloud storage.

Its real-time syncing is excellent. For example, if you have a Google Docs document open on two devices, you can edit the document on one and see the changes happen in real time on the other. You can also save Google Suite files for offline use on PC, iPhone and iPad, and videos, images, and PDFs on Android.

However, for most non-Google files, it’s just a regular cloud storage service with no real-time syncing.

Microsoft 365

Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365) offers online storage and syncing via OneDrive as well as Microsoft’s Office suite of apps, which work across all major operating systems. It’s a good option for anyone who uses the Microsoft Office suite regularly and wants a good syncing experience.

The Personal plan is $99 per year or $10 per month and comes with 1TB of storage for one person. The Family plan is $129 per year (or $13/month) for up to six people, each of whom get 1TB each, for a total of 6TB.

Syncing and offline storage works with any file saved to your OneDrive folder, which appears as a regular section in your PC’s Windows Explorer app, alongside This PC and Network. The benefit of OneDrive is that any file you edit is automatically synced across all devices.

Other cloud storage services such as Dropbox and Box, among many others, can also automatically save files to the cloud. But they don’t sync quite as effectively – if at all – and not all support offline file access.

Video and music

For movies and TV, freeing yourself from the huge local storage demands of video means using Netflix, Stan, Disney Plus, or any one of the other numerous video streaming platforms for movies and TV. You can also rent or purchase content from iTunes or Google Play, then easily stream them to your TV.

For music, you can sign up to Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube Music, among others, or use radio apps such as iHeartRadio.

These apps can cast their content to media devices such as (some) smart TVs, set top boxes, Chromecasts and smart speakers, either via computer or mobile device.

Photos

You can save photos manually or automatically from your phone to cloud storage services such as Google One, OneDrive or Dropbox, and similar.

Also consider using Google Photos, which has unlimited, free storage and syncing for photos and videos, along with good organisation and search tools.Ìý

But unless you have an eligible Google Pixel phone, unlimited storage limits or reduces photos to 16 megapixels (which is still large) and videos to 1080p (full HD).

Apple’s iCloud is another paid option and is not just for Apple users (though that’s where it works best) – there’s iCloud for Windows too.Ìý

iCloud includes:

• iCloud Drive storage 
• 5GB free or pay monthly fees of $1.49 for 50GB, $4.49 for 200GB and $14.99 for 2TB 
• storage of photos and videos
• multi-device sync 
• various applications in the cloud including office apps for Mac and Windows users with real-time collaboration
• an optional family sharing plan that covers six members.

Cloud drawbacks

Cloud and streaming services can’t do everything, and the things they can do often don’t compare favourably to the alternatives.

Running apps and software

Most apps and software won’t run from cloud storage – they need to be installed locally. This includes many office suites, media players, editing software, games, and just about anything else.

But in the unlikely event your storage drive dies, it probably won’t take too long to download all those apps and games again if you have a fast, reliable internet connection (this means NBN, forget all this if you’re still just on ADSL).

It’s slower than restoring from backup software, but it saves you the hassle and cost of performing regular backups just to hold onto your programs.

And if all your important files are stored online, then your software is all you need to worry about reinstalling.

Movies, TV and music

Streamed video and music don’t have the same quality as good physical media. The same usually goes for digital media you’ve purchased and downloaded.

Even if you can stream a movie in 4K resolution, the sound and image quality won’t beat a Blu-ray if you have a good TV and sound system.

Compressed music files such as MP3s also can’t live up to the rich sound you get from a high quality CD or other physical media format.

Ongoing cost

On their own, subscription services are relatively affordable. But multi-service costs can quickly add up.

Paying $99 per year for Microsoft 365 is much more expensive over the long term than a one-off payment of $199 for Office Home & Student 2019 (or using the free LibreOffice suite).Ìý

But the added cost gets you the all-important 1TB of OneDrive cloud storage and syncing, more apps such as Outlook and OneNote, and ensures you always have the latest Office features.

Given its popularity, $14 per month for a standard Netflix plan might not sound like much to many people. But if you also sign up to other services such as Stan, Disney Plus, Binge, Amazon Prime Video, and YouTube Premium, among others, the overall cost adds up quickly.

Spotify Premium costs $12 per month for a single user to access millions of songs, which is a similar price to other music streaming services. But if you only have a small set of albums or songs you listen to, you’ll save money by just buying those albums and downloading or transferring them to your devices.

Add together an office suite or cloud storage subscription, one or more video services, and a music service, then you can easily spend close to $600 per year or more.

But before you’re turned off by the cost, try to figure out how much you currently spend per year on media. Blu-rays can be $20 or more a pop. A new TV series on DVD can cost $30 or more per season. New digital movie rentals are generally $6 or more. Music albums can be upwards of $20 each. And if you pay for Foxtel, a Movies HD plan is $69 per month ($828/year).

A few well-placed online subscriptions might not work out too badly by comparison, especially considering you can access your content and personal files from almost anywhere with minimal upkeep.

Privacy

Every time you create an account on a new service, you share private information. Some services, such as Google, will track your every move, online and in the real world, as long as you stay signed in.

Familiarise yourself with the terms and conditions and privacy policy of any service before you sign up, even to a free account. It’s up to you to decide if you think it’s worth it.

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On this page:

• Our expert testers
• How we choose what we test
• Testing

• pocket-sized portable hard drive, SSD (solid-state drive), USB stick, or a thumbnail-sized memory card 
• desktop hard drive
• NAS (network-attached storage) drive.

There are many similarities in the way we test these forms of storage, but also key differences in our testing methods across categories to take into account their special features.Ìý

This article explains how we look at each category and the approaches we take to test and assess them.

Our expert testers

Storage is one of the most important parts of any computer system, and is often the hub of a whole range of other technologies. These include scanning, networking, display screens, accessories and lounge room media players; as well as all kinds of software, from operating systems to productivity programs, backup, cloud services and more.

Our expert computer testers have extensive experience working with a wide range of consumer-level computer-related technologies. This is important because it’s not just about how the computer works by itself, but how it works with other devices and fits into your overall home technology ecosystem.

How we choose what we test

More than any other category of household product, computer technology is constantly updating and evolving, and that goes for storage as well. Storage drives are on a constant journey to become faster, smarter and higher capacity, while at the same time becoming cheaper.Ìý

Improvements to computer models (especially laptop computers) come so thick and fast that it can be just a few short months before newer and better models hit the market. External storage, on the other hand, can outlive your computer and migrate from one computer to another, so it’s important to choose the right type of device up-front.

We start by doing extensive market research to find the right models to compare and we aim to include models in each category from across all the major brands, where possible. This includes talking directly with manufacturers to find out which models will still be available on retail shelves by the time testing is completed and the results published.

We also try to establish a level playing field for testing across a category, though the variation in the range of options available can make this a real challenge – there are often several models of a particular storage drive available, varying in capacity and price and sometimes in features and even colour options.

Despite these limitations, the models we test should give you a good indication of how a particular model family rates against current competitors, including the advantages and disadvantages of its overall design and any special features and inclusions.

We look to include the most up-to-date and popular models available in the big name retail outlets, and buy them off the shelf or online just as you would. This way you can be sure that what we test is the same as what you can buy, and that our results should be what you can expect for yourself.

Testing

Some specifics of how we test vary depending on the type of storage device, but all testing includes comparisons of performance and ease of use.

Performance

This is tested by transferring sets of data to and from each storage device multiple times. We time the transfers, noting both the read and write speeds to measure the drive’s performance, averaging the speeds for a final figure.Ìý

We use separate sets made up of large and small files. This is important because a set of larger files can transfer significantly quicker than an equally-sized set of much smaller files. This is due to the overhead in processing huge numbers of individual files.Ìý

This means we can give you real-world data transfer speed (throughput) results that are much closer to what you are likely to achieve in normal daily usage, rather than the often highly optimistic figures listed on the packaging, or which are achieved using software that simply produces a theoretical benchmark.

Ease of use

We also compare the ease of use of each storage drive and any software supplied, taking into account the time to get set up, intuitiveness of the user interface, and how easy it is to do common tasks with the software.

Power consumption

We measure power consumption for all devices in active use and on standby, calculating an annual cost based on an average use scenario applicable for that category using current rates.

Scores

We apply the following interpretation to the scores achieved in our tests. When we describe a result as “excellent” or “poor”, it usually relates directly to a numerical score in that range.

• 0–24: Very poor
• 25–45: Poor
• 46–54: Borderline
• 55–69: OK
• 70–79: Good
• 80–89: Very good
• 90–100: Excellent

The post How we test external computer storage appeared first on ÌÇÐÄVlog.

Photo finder and backup

Picture Keeper Pro is a USB backup stick with additional software to keep track of all of your digital files protected and safe on one device. The setup is pretty straight forward with the inevitable update required as soon as you plug the drive into your computer. It works just as well on the Mac or PC, with a similar set of menus and features on offer. Other devices allow you to connect to your iPhone or Android phone for physical backup from your smartphone storage.

Once the updates have been carried out and you restart your computer, plug the Picture Keeper Pro into your USB port, click what files you’d like to backup and press ‘Start back up’. Though the marketing focuses on photos, Picture Keeper Pro also finds and backs up documents and content such as text files, videos, music and emails.

Once you select the file types, as well as which folders and online areas you want Picture Keeper Pro to seek out your stuff, just sit back and let it do its thing. The program claims that it skips duplicates and we found that during testing it proved to avoid duplicate files that were placed in different folders.

The time taken for the initial backup depends on how much content you have and where you have your content stored. If you select all your photos and videos as well as music and documents then be prepared for quite a wait. Also, depending on how far you want Picture Keep Pro to search, you may find that the 64GB drive quickly fills up.

The applications calculates when the drive will be full and suggests another drive be inserted, but you can’t just put in any USB drive, you need to buy another Picture Keeper Pro USB stick. This can make a very large backup a very expensive procedure with a 500GB drive also available.

Getting to know everything about you

How useful Picture Keep Pro is to you will depend on how well you keep track of your digital life. If you are the sort of person who takes photos on your phone and posts them Facebook and Instagram, before saving the images to your PC or Mac and emailing to family and friends, you may find that your images are strewn all over the place. As a result, Picture Keeper Pro could be a boon to help you keep track of your digital life. However this versatility does come at a cost to your privacy, as you must give permission for the program to access your folders and applications in order to complete a backup.

The recent ability to also backup photos from a Google Photos account means giving even more access to your details which for some users is a cause for concern. Basically, if you click on “No” for all the windows that pop up asking for access, you will get little more than the standard Windows or Mac photo backup service. If you decide to accept all the requests for access then Picture Keeper Pro scans your entire computer or mobile device to find all your photos, wherever they may be.

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We put both devices through their paces courtesy of Seagate and found they could be a very useful addition to anybody’s desk, if you have the right connection ports.

Barracuda Fast SSD

The palm-sized Barracuda Fast SSD has the advantage of a USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C port (rated at double the speed of the standard USB-C port). It’s formatted as exFAT, so it’s compatible with Windows and Mac PCs and includes software tools for backup and sync. It’s a small but swift and very handy pocket drive that comes in three capacities: 500GB ($169); 1TB ($289) and 2TB ($599).

FireCuda Gaming Dock

Want the convenience of connecting all your devices to your computer with just one cable? The FireCuda Gaming Dock gives you that, plus a big hard drive (HDD) and the option of super-fast solid-state storage as well.Ìý

It has a built-in 4TB desktop hard drive (3.5″) for plenty of capacity for data storage and archiving games, but it’s the SSD expansion slot that makes it extra special. This slot takes an optional solid-state storage add-on – a PCIe Gen3 NVMe M.2 SSD card, available in various capacities.

To use the dock, you must plug it in using its large power brick, and then connect it to a laptop with a Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) connection. It won’t work optimally on a laptop that doesn’t have Thunderbolt 3. The Thunderbolt 3 connection will allow power, display, USB, Ethernet, and audio signals to pass through the dock from the laptop.Ìý

Single plug and play

A monitor, ethernet cable, USB mouse and keyboard, speakers or headset, and a microphone, can all be connected to the dock permanently, so when you need to use your laptop as a desktop computer, you can just plug in the USB-C cable and all the peripherals that are attached to the dock will be available.Ìý

The interface for a monitor is DisplayPort (1.4); there are five USB 3.1 (Gen2) ports (three on the rear and two in the front), as well as two USB-C Thunderbolt 3 ports, one of which is needed as the main connection to your laptop. Gigabit ethernet is on the rear, while audio jacks are on the front.

High performance

Seagate, being a storage company, sells this dock with a 4TB hard drive built in. This means that the dock is not only useful as a connection point for peripherals, but also as external storage. In testing we found it was able to read at 274MBps (megabytes per second), and write at 259MBps. These are fast figures for a hard drive. Of course, once it is full of data it will slow down a bit, as all hard drives do.Ìý

If performance is your thing (and it likely will be if you buy this dock), you can install an NVMe-based (not SATA) SSD into the M.2 slot in the dock. The NVMe drive needs to be of the 2280 size, which refers to it being 22mm wide and 80mm long. Note that though you can also buy 2230-sized drives, they aren’t supported by this dock due to the mounting screw.

An LED is illuminated via the removable cover on the right side of the dock (viewed from the front) and pulses slowly by default. Seagate Toolkit software gives you control over the colours and light patterns created by the LED, though our experience of this was limited in our hands-on trial.Ìý

Toolkit also allows you to backup and restore data using the dock’s hard drive as the backup space, and there is also a Mirror setting, which allows you to duplicate the contents of a designated folder on your laptop to the hard drive, which is very handy.

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