Validating an external drive?

[Kaitlyn2004]

As many surely know, buying drives and storage off Amazon can come with risks of counterfeit. On Windows, there are tools like CrystalDiskMark and CrystalDiskInfo to help test the speed, see model information, look at hours/data written, etc..

Are there tools/process on Macs to help validate authenticity of these cards/devices?

 

[rm5]

DriveDx for drive health, etc. - there are numerous speed tests available, Blackmagic Disk Speed Test is a popular choice.

 

[Kaitlyn2004]

DriveDx for drive health, etc. - there are numerous speed tests available, Blackmagic Disk Speed Test is a popular choice.

I happened to discover each of those since posting haha. Too bad drivedx isn’t free… it seems there isn’t as much freeware for macOS? And more command-line stuff which is OKAY but definitely not preferred…

I know at least with memory cards, and on windows, they would report like 128gb despite having like MB of space instead. Are there tools that validate the disk that way? I believe h2testw was used for memory cards not sure if it’s also good for SSDs and the like.


all initial signs point to real and as-expected but also going through the process is a good learning experience for macOS

 

[Fishrrman]

What type, size, and manufacturer are you interested in?

After buying a couple of Samsung t7 "shield" drives -- which are OK -- I found one I like considerably more:
Crucial X9. Tiny, fast, runs cool.

 

[rm5]

What type, size, and manufacturer are you interested in?

After buying a couple of Samsung t7 "shield" drives -- which are OK -- I found one I like considerably more:
Crucial X9. Tiny, fast, runs cool.

I bought a T7 Shield in August, and it didn't work over USB-C! Ended up returning it and getting a much cheaper "plain" NVMe plus an enclosure.