Better local/cloud management for big data sets

Proper maintenance of hybrid SSHD drives

Solid-state hybrid drives combine solid-state and spinning-platter technologies in one hardware package. Here’s what you should know about caring for these devices.

Plus: Getting full access to folders and files stuck in Read-Only mode, and all labeled Gmail messages suddenly disappear.

Conflicting advice on SSHD maintenance

Solid-state/hybrid drives (SSHDs) use a modestly sized solid-state hard drive as a kind of speedy front end to a larger spinning-platter drive. Software makes the two act as one. The concept is a drive that’s faster than a conventional drive but less expensive than an all solid-state drive.

But conventional drives and SSDs have some incompatible maintenance requirements that need to be considered.

For example, spinning-platter drives use regular defragging to maintain good speed and operational efficiency. SSDs, on the other hand, can actually be harmed by defragging; these drives require a different kind of maintenance called TRIM. (For more info, see “What maintenance do solid-state drives require?” in the Feb. 9 LangaList Plus.

So hybrid-drives users face a dilemma: what drive-maintenance techniques should be used to keep SSHDs healthy and operating well?

That was reader Bob Biegon’s question.

• Fred, in your Feb. 9 column, you discussed Windows’ awareness of SSDs and TRIM. But my question is about hybrid SSHDs.

  “When I execute the command fsutil behavior query DisableDeleteNotify discussed in that article, I see the expected DisableDeleteNotify = 0 on my Win7 Pro SSHD system. That seems to tell me that the OS is aware of the SSHD. But this might be an incorrect assumption.

  “Is there a special, manual tuning feature I should use with a SSHD drive, so I get the added performance benefits of these drives?

  “Other than a seat-of-the-pants assessment, how do we know that the SSHD drive is being fully utilized by Win7 and Win10?”

There’s a way to get an answer, but it might take a little digging.

That’s because some hybrid drives use a solid-state add-on as a sort of giant cache — larger but not conceptually different from the firmware caches that conventional hard drives have had, almost from the beginning. If the solid state portion of an SSHD is indeed this kind of large write-through cache, then the drive can usually be defragged without harm.

However, if the solid-state portion is large enough to be considered a drive in its own right, or if the drivers treat the solid-state portion as if it were a drive unto itself, then the rules might flip; you should not defrag.

Bob’s results from the fsutil behavior query DisableDeleteNotify test suggest that his drive is the latter type — seen by Windows as a full-on SSD, even though it’s actually a hybrid. But how can he know if that’s really the correct approach?

Alas, I know of no universal way for an end user to independently verify the best maintenance approach for any given hybrid drive. The best approach is to follow the manufacturer’s advice.

Bob doesn’t specify what brand of hybrid SSD he’s using, but — to pick a random example — the online “HP-PCs – Seagate Solid State Hybrid Drive FAQ” page states: “It is not necessary, nor is it recommended to run a disk defragmenter. Disk defragmentation is not necessary, and using a disk defragmenter temporarily slows the performance of the computer.”

That’s a refreshingly clear and unambiguous recommendation for users of HP/Seagate SSHDs.

All SSHD users should visit the support site for their specific brand and model of drive to see what’s recommended. If you can’t find a recommendation, use the support site’s contact links and ask them directly: The manufacturer should know how the drive is set up and what the correct maintenance should be.

Another reason to follow the manufacturer’s recommendations: you’ll help preserve your drive’s warranty, in case something goes wrong.

Can’t change files stuck in Read-only mode

Mark Heilman has a frustrating issue with file permissions.

• “Hi Fred! I have a problem that’s stumped me. I recently bought a new Toshiba laptop with Win10 Home installed. It has a ton of memory and HD space.

  “However, I can’t remove the Read-only attribute from some files. I select a Folder’s Properties option, uncheck the Read-only box, and then click OK. Windows asks whether I want to remove the attribute just for the folder or all files within the folder. I select all subfolders and files. Windows seems to complete the change, but when I check again, the files are still marked as read-only — the Read-only box is checked.

  “Any suggestions?”

It sounds like something else has logical ownership of the files and is overriding your changes.

To regain full ownership of the folders that are giving you trouble, try the steps in the May 21, 2015, LangaList Plus column, “Windows 8 upgrade error locks user’s files” — the info also applies to Win10.

There also are some Registry hacks that add a convenient Take ownership option to File Explorer’s right-click context menus (see Figure 1). If you have a lot of ownership problems, adding such a hack can save time.

You’ll find numerous examples of that Registry hack, including:

• How to add ‘Take Ownership’ to context menu in Windows 10″ – TenForums article
• “Add ‘Take ownership’ to context menu of files, folders, and drives in Windows 7” – SevenForums article
• “Take ownership of files and folders in Windows 7” – GoHacking article

Gmail issue causes apparent loss of many emails

Peter Hanrahan had one of those awful experiences where saved files (emails, in this case) suddenly go missing.

• “I have used Gmail labels for many months for saving my Windows Secrets emails. Today I went to the labels and found that none of the articles were there! Then I discovered that none of my saved emails were saved, under any of the labels I’d set up for them.

  “Can you explain the loss of my valuable information?”

I suspect this is a problem related to your specific account, rather than a widespread issue with Gmail.

I say this because an online search shows that there have been few user questions of this sort since around 2012/2013. Also, I make extensive use of Gmail labels and sorting — and I’ve never had batches of mail suddenly vanish. So, again, whatever’s going on probably isn’t a general Gmail issue.

Several things can affect the way stored Gmail messages appear — or disappear!

For example, I have two Google accounts, and if I forget which one I’m in, it sometimes appears that my mail and calendar have emptied. But it’s just that I’m in the wrong account. So, when something like this happens, make sure you’re signed in to the correct account.

Also, if you’re using Google’s optional two-factor authentication and/or password-protected syncing, make sure you’re fully signed in. Otherwise, you won’t have full access to your mail or calendars.

It’s also possible that something — an errant click, a software error, etc. — deleted your mail. But the Gmail trash is automatically emptied only about once a month. Any mail there should still be recoverable. (It can be permanently deleted sooner, but that requires getting past extra, manual, “Are you sure?” prompts, so accidental deletion is unlikely.)

If neither of the above helps, and if you’re using generic, free Gmail, you can obtain assistance from the Gmail Help Center or in the Gmail Help Forum.

On the other hand, if you’re using Gmail via a hosted Google domain, there’s both the Google Domains Help and live help, available by phone, chat or email (chat/email help is available 24/7).

By the way: If you’re using Gmail for any non-casual purpose, I strongly recommend upgrading to a hosted Google domain. It’s cheap — currently U.S. $1 a month — and it gives you a private domain (e.g., yourname.com or, in this case, hanrahan.com). You’re email looks and acts just like Gmail, but your account includes 24/7 support, interoperability with Google Drive and Google Sites, and other features. (For details, see the Google Domains site.) For a buck a month, I think it’s a bargain.

If or when you recover your lost emails, verify that you’re using Gmail labels properly by checking the related help page. With proper use of labels, any Gmail that you archive (info) should be easily retrieved.

Finally, you might want to consider downloading (technically, exporting) copies of your most important Gmail folders and storing them locally, offline. A Google blog page tells how.

That way, you should never lose any Gmail again!

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Better local/cloud management for big data sets

Local file placeholders, once a feature of OneDrive, will soon be added to Dropbox.

But first, a Windows Secrets reader warns of a possible upsurge of phone-support scams.

Hello: I’m calling because your PC needs fixing

Windows Secrets reader Bob Carpenter sent in a note that he’s recently received several calls from bogus support companies, and he wants to warn fellow readers.

The calls follow a familiar pattern. You get a cold-call from a “support person” who states that your computer has problems that need to be fixed immediately. In many cases, the callers don’t say how they know the computer needs to be fixed. But in the most egregious instances, the caller might say that the computer reported issues or infections to Microsoft, and the company — or a partner support company — is calling to make the repairs.

Bob, a retired computer technician, confessed that he once fell for this pitch. The bogus technician, who claimed to be from Microsoft Support, not only took control of the system, he changed the password, locking Bob out of his own machine. Fortunately, the PC did not have any critical data, so Bob simply formatted the drive and reinstalled Windows.

The bottom line: As we’ve noted several times, Microsoft does not track failures and infections on PCs and then warn users that their systems are in need of repair. Users have to call the company first.

I assume most Windows Secrets users know this. But I also assume that our readers help many Windows users who are not as well informed. Make them aware that there appears to be a new round of fake support calls coming from cyber thieves. Thanks much, Bob.

Dropbox to make cloud storage more flexible

I’ve been a long-time Dropbox user; along with OneDrive, Box, iCloud, and Google Drive. I primary rely on Dropbox because it’s easily the most flexible of the major cloud-storage services.

But Dropbox has a deficiency shared by most of its competitors — specifically, the issue of managing subsets of large data collections stored locally and online. I currently have over 600GBs of digital images stored in a 1TB Dropbox account. But I typically download and edit my new RAW images on a notebook computer using Adobe Lightroom. The notebook has a 500GB drive for everything: the operating system, Office, Photoshop, numerous other applications, and most of my personal files.

Currently, the solution for managing those thousands of images is to use two top-level folders. One contains the past two or three years of photos, while the other has everything else, going back over 15 years. Using Dropbox’s selective-sync option, I can keep the “Recents” folder locally and in the cloud, and the “Archived” folder just in the cloud (and on two local backup systems, each with a 2TB drive). But moving images from the former to the latter is a pain. And if I want to retrieve an Archived image, I have to look for it via my browser or in the local backups — an often slow and tedious process.

Dropbox’s selective-synch option works, but its settings are relatively hard to find at first. You must open the Dropbox applet, click the gear (tool) icon, and click Preferences. Then, under the Account section, click Selective Sync.

Fortunately, Dropbox will reportedly make it easier to view and manage cloud-only files. In a blog post and video demo, the company touted its “revolutionary new” Project Infinite, which will support placeholder files on a local drive. These virtual files will take up almost no space on the drive, but if you click one or more in the local Dropbox folder, they’ll immediately download and open (assuming you’re connected to the Net). You’ll also be able to right-click a cloud-only file or folder and have it saved locally for access offline. What the demo didn’t show is how to quickly make a local file cloud-only. We’ll have to wait and see.

None of this is truly new, of course. Windows 8 users might recall that OneDrive supported both local and placeholder files. But for reasons no one outside Microsoft understands, the feature was dropped with Windows 10. Currently, OneDrive works much like Dropbox — including its own version of selective synching (see Figure 1).

With both products, selective synching applies only to folders. If you deselect a folder for synching, it disappears from the local Dropbox or OneDrive folder.

Google Drive supports local and virtual files, but the setup can be somewhat confusing. By default, documents created with Google apps are stored only in the cloud. To work with them offline, you download the Google Drive app and then enable offline editing from within Chrome, as detailed in a Google help site.

But here’s where it gets confusing: When online, you can manage and edit Google documents from Google Drive. Clicking a Sheets doc, for example, opens Chrome and then the Sheets app. On the other hand, if you’re offline, those same files can’t be edited, though you can still reorganize, delete, or rename them.

To edit Google documents when offline, you must have the Chrome browser open and be signed in to a Google account before you go offline. Then, when you’re disconnected from the Net, you can click Google Drive within Chrome and open Google files.

Non-Google files (Word, Excel, and so forth) can be stored in Google Drive and managed in the same way as you do with other cloud services. And as with Dropbox and OneDrive, Google Drive lets you selectively sync folders, as show in Figure 2.

The options available with cloud services are constantly evolving — integration with Office 365 is one example. And most of the cloud-storage providers offer business editions that expand sharing, collaboration, and security. Now might be a good time to do your own evaluation of what cloud services you need and who best fits your needs.

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