You have two problems (three if you count MP3’s).
Foobar2000 has a replay gain scanner system that can scan your files and add a replay gain tag to them which a music player can use to normalize the loudness.
Audacious allows you to open a folder and play all files inside and has replay gain support.
I have had more than decent success with Orico devices.
Here is one that suits your needs:
https://oricotechs.com/products/orico-2-5-inch-type-c-6gbps-aluminum-sata-hdd-ssd-enclosure
It’s likely been set up as a Windows software raid array which I believe you have to do some janky work arounds to get them recognized.
Linux is seeing it as an unformated JBOD.
Your best bet would be to use Windows to move everything off the drives then wipe & re-set it up under Linux.
It’s not a true hibernation state hence my statement “Fast boot is a bastardized version of hibernation”.
It’s a hybrid sleep/hibernate system that causes more problems than it should.
Not all hardware works with it, it causes problems with updates and some software does not play nicely with it.
I know of a number of business IT departments that disable it company wide as it is a considerable source of problems.
If you are dual booting make sure that windows fast boot is disabled.
Fast boot is a bastardized version of hibernation which can keep hardware “in use” by windows if any other OS tries to use the hardware.
One of the common issues is ethernet & wifi not working or not connecting.
The issues with Nvidia GPU’s has been blown up way to much in the last few years in my opinion.
The potential problems you “might” face are:
For most major distros now a days you either select the Nvidia option when installing (like Manjaro) or install the drivers afterwards (Ubuntu based) and be off to the races.
Set up and use Timeshift, make a backup before installing updates and you can roll back if there is an issue.
From what I understand about distrowatch is that their “ranking” system is based on how many people (or bots) visit a distros page.
From what I understand about the windows 10 install is you have to remove the internet connection to get the option.
Rather than play the “will this product work on Linux” game I bought an enclosure and made my own. I got an Orico enclosure and put a large HDD into it.
Most enclosures are OS agnostic (but check anyway) and you can put quite large drives in them.
I wouldn’t consider it a backup solution, I use Timeshift for that.
It’s more of a file syncing software like Syncthing.
I have it set up to one way sync certain folders on my computer to an external USB HDD that I can disconnect and take with me if I have to evacuate.
Have you had a look at “Lucky Backup”?
Logitech does not support Linux.
Most of the current compatibility of Logitech devices comes from, Linux devs reverse engineering their software, USB standards or from default programing stored in the device.
About 25 years for me.
For most people it’s a better option to use a local print shop for the odd times that they need something printed.
More options for printing too.
Have you tried running the laptop down until it shuts off then charging it?
It’s not so much both computers being able to access it.
From what I have experienced Timeshift tends to lock a drive when it is doing a backup.
If computer 1 is doing a backup and computer 2 tries to start it’s backup it may fail without you noticing.
Giving each computer their own partition on the drive should alleviate the problem.
A partition for each one the drive should work alright, but it may turn to custard if they both try to access the drive at the same time.
I have an LTS kernel as a backup in case something doesn’t work with my main kernel.
Just recently I had an issue where my main kernel had a bug where snap’s can’t start up, so I just restarted into the LTS kernel to use it then restarted back into my main kernel.
Hannah Montana Linux
Most of those are updates to the flatpack base software not the actual display drivers.
It is unlikely to cause any issues updating them.