I think I've got it now

What I had:

(C:) SAMSUNG 980 SSD 500GB      PCle 3.0x4, NVMe M.2 2280   10.21   7.22

(D:) ST1000DM010-2EP102 Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200RPM SATA HDD

(E:)  CD/DVD optical drive SATA

(F:) Crucial MX500 1TB 3D NAND SATA 2.5 Inch Internal SSD  9.2020

(S:) ADATA Swordfish 1TB 3D NAND PCIe Gen3x4 NVMe M.2 2280 Read  9.2020

(with S:) QNINE NVME PCIe Adapter, M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD M Key to PCI Express 3.0 x2 Expansion Card with Low Profile Bracket for PC Desktop

I proceeded to add a 2TB Crucial SATA Internal SSD, used Macrium to clone the existing F: drive (the main data drive) to it, then Disk Management to expand the volume to make the entire 2TB accessible.  Then I changed the drive letter so the 2TB is now the F: drive.  

The power cable in the 2.5" slot had two inputs, but not two data cables, so I ordered one.  That arrived today, and I installed it without any issues.  

What I have now:

(C:) SAMSUNG 980 SSD 500GB      PCle 3.0x4, NVMe M.2 2280   10.21   7.22

(D:) ST1000DM010-2EP102 Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200RPM SATA HDD

(E:)  CD/DVD optical drive SATA

(F:) Crucial MX500 2TB 3D NAND SATA 2.5 Inch Internal SSD  9.2020

(G:) Crucial MX500 1TB 3D NAND SATA 2.5 Inch Internal SSD  9.2020

Missing:

(S:) ADATA Swordfish 1TB 3D NAND PCIe Gen3x4 NVMe M.2 2280 Read  9.2020

What I learned:  on the motherboard there are four SATA ports.  If there are fewer than four SATA drives, the NVME PCIe adapter will allow a stick SSD to use one of the ports.  When I added the fourth SATA, there was no more room for the adapter.  

Now the D: drive will be an onboard backup for everything on F: except the photos, which will go on G:.  There will continue to be multiple external backups, one of which will remain offsite.

One source of info, from Reddit, and another one, this one from Dell, Quote: "It has 4 sata ports (one blue two black one white).  If you have an optional ODD, then there are three left for HDD/SSD.  If no ODD, then 4 HDD/SSD max.

"note the white sata port is reserved for optional odd, but there is nothing stopping you from giving up odd and using the port for hdd/ssd.  as far as mobo is concerned, it does not matter whether it is odd or ssd.

"its 2.5 bay can accommodate two 2.5 hdd/ssd"

One-man Geek Squad

Parts taken from our PCs.  The two at left came from a 2011 XPS in hopes that they might work with the current XPS.  The CPU cooler would likely have been fine if the X-shaped holder next to it would have fit in the motherboard.  The "hockey puck" CPU "cooler" at top center needed to be upgraded so I could Handbrake a bunch of DVD home video to MP4 format.  Bottom right is a sound card dated 2007 that I tried using, and after it failed, I never took the thing out, until now.  And if I ever need to re-install the empty 3.5" hard drive brace at top right, I'll be surprised.

The CPU cooler/fan arrived today, and with the prior research and due diligence, was installed without a hitch.  CPU temp went from 75C to the 50's at once, and now is comfortably hovering in the low 40's.

The 2TB SATA SSD arrived this morning, and after the CPU cooler/fan got installed, I used Macrium so it would mirror the soon-to-be-replaced 1TB SATA SSD.  Then used Disk Management to change the drive letter and replaced the 1TB drive with the 2TB drive.  Tomorrow a part will arrive so I can re-install the 1TB drive for other storage.  Also scheduled to arrive is a "be quiet!" brand 92MM fan to replace the 80MM fan presently in place.  

Is that enough upgrading?  Is that enough expense for now?

 

A better day

About a month ago, I was learning how to use Handbrake to convert video files on a DVD to something that could be viewed standalone.  Today, I picked up some more family videos that had been transferred from 8MM videotape to DVD, and ran one of them through Handbrake.  Here's what happened:

Some time later today, before seeing the responses, I figured out a way that would work.  The initial screen "Source Selection" presents three choices:  Folder (Batch Scan), File (Open video file(s)) and E:\DVD Video Recording.  I'd been using Folder and File without success, and so looked into DVD, which is where the answer was.  It shows the full time on the DVD under Title at left, but allows you to select a Range of consecutive Chapters which add up to the Duration time at far right.  

Now to hope that the DVD drive holds up through all the discs to be processed.  

A sad, sad day

Not that I think anyone else is going to see this, but I'm writing this just for me.  This was the day it happened, this was the day I had been afraid would come, and it hurts now.  It isn't going to be the same going forward.  Preserve your memories; they're all that's left to you.

Nice while it lasted

There was a brief period before I retired when I began collecting Social Security, while at the same time continuing to work.  All legal and above-board, for I had reached the age where I could collect an unreduced benefit.  I just wanted to start the one before letting go of the other, to make sure it was up and running properly for a month or two, and only then packing it in.

Normally, my ceiling for impulse purchases was pretty low, left over from when I didn't have a job or any other consistent source of income.  After being given my unconditional release in 2008, there was severance and for a while, there was unemployment insurance, but after a couple of years without full-time employment, I felt as though I couldn't afford to spend a nickel more than absolutely necessary.  

But I got a job and saved my money, and eventually I understood that it was time to go.  It was really nice, though, those months of double-dipping.  I remember a steak dinner for PG's birthday, including appetizer and dessert, and I just handed over the Visa and tipped generously without a second thought for the cost.  That will no longer be the case.  No more lawn service; in spring I take over that job once more.  Always have been careful with money, and especially so now, since there won't be any more employment income.  Maybe I'll find a steak marked down for quick sale and grill it at home for her next birthday.

You can observe a lot...

Just another old movie on TCM, Johnny Angel, not a classic no matter what the channel says.  One scene with George Raft and Claire Trevor together at a table, I realized that there were sharp dark shadows on Raft's face, but in Trevor's shots, the shadows were softer and greyer.  Not the first time it's been done, I'm sure, but it's the first time I ever noticed it.  

A good, quiet day

PG is feeling much better now.  She's finished with the temporary meds that upset her stomach, so her appetite has returned.  With her pain meds, she feels like getting out of the house again.  

That's what we did today.  Bought bird seed at WBU, then a stop at Whole Foods with the intent to pick up some buttermilk (for baking) and a can of Bianco DiNapoli tomatoes for pizza sauce.  They had the former but not the latter. and that's the second straight time they've been sold out when I shopped there.  

The manager at WBU doesn't look like a businessman, but he is, remembering customer names and pulling up their prior purchases.  

At Whole Foods, it's possible to pay simply by holding my right hand above a sensor and having it scan my palm.  Some places, I have to insert the card into a machine; at others, like WBU, I can tap the card on the machine, and now a few stores can receive payment information from a card that is in an app on my phone.  Whole Foods dispenses with displaying a card at all.  No need to bother with cash or a check ever again.  Except I make a point of paying cash at the small local sub shop to save them the card charges.

Cold, windy, snow-covered.  Remembering that in just a few weeks, they'll be in the past and there will be wildflowers along the road again.    Probably numerous rabbits in the yard, too.  

Budget tightening:  going to drop the lawn care services we used last year.  Researching liquid weed-and-feed and will pull the mower out of mothballs.  Might need to get it tuned up first.