Ray's hard drive is nearly full so we're thinking of an external one to put his pictures and many videos onto..any suggestions, pitfalls, advantages etc..thank you, all you computer bods ;D
Manics - they are all pretty much the same and these days as cheap as you like for massive storage.
One main difference is between USB powered ones that do not need a power supply and those that are powered from the mains. Perhaps if you are just going to leave it attached to the PC i'd go for a mains powered one - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Seagate-500GB-FreeAgent-External-Drive/dp/B001EASPVQ/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1263289444&sr=1-6 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Seagate-500GB-FreeAgent-External-Drive/dp/B001EASPVQ/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1263289444&sr=1-6)
If you want to move your data around then just go for a USB powered one.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Western-Digital-Elements-500GB-Portable/dp/B002COI612/ref=dp_cp_ob_ce_title_0 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Western-Digital-Elements-500GB-Portable/dp/B002COI612/ref=dp_cp_ob_ce_title_0)
If you know anyone who does PCs I would add another drive to the PC and then get a portable one to back everything up..
I think they're great, I have a Maxtor, it has 2 USB ports just plug it in and away you go, no power supply or anything and dead easy to use.
My PC died over Xmas, just before the monthly back up was done and OH has been unable to recover the two previous back ups from tehir CDs! Very inconvenient and frustrating.
I have a PC fixer friend who is going to fix me up with a casing so I can extract the hard disks from the PC and run them as externals on my daughter's notebook until I get a new PC. I'm told I'll need extra memory on the notebook in order to get maximum benefit and just generally speed up responses. I have no idea whether the casing will be independently powered or USB but can let you know when mine is done.
It's a must. (I think we've all had a PC die on us at some point!) OH has a Maxtor. No problems - except remembering to use it to back up your files! (I've now got an Apple Mac, which backs up automatically.)
Go for the biggest you can afford - twice the capacity costs a lot less than twice the price.
Quote from: BarriedaleNick on January 12, 2010, 09:49:24
Perhaps if you are just going to leave it attached to the PC i'd go for a mains powered one - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Seagate-500GB-FreeAgent-External-Drive/dp/B001EASPVQ/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1263289444&sr=1-6 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Seagate-500GB-FreeAgent-External-Drive/dp/B001EASPVQ/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1263289444&sr=1-6)
Nick, do you have much experience of the above HD? The reason I ask is because we've been using those at our company for quite some time but seem to be returning them with faults on average, every three months or so. I can't fault Seagate's return policy - and they now have a dedicated data recovery department but really, that's not the issue is it? lol. I just wondered, as I know you're in IT, what sort of feedback you (or anyone else working in IT) might have on them.
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i bought a seagate one from maplin just after christmas and i am really pelased with it so far 500gb for £50 p and p free im not the most computer literate but it was dead easy to use, i particularly wanted it for storing my photos and songs etc
great ideas, folks..Barriedale, last time the only 'friend' who knew what they were doing with computers got their hands on his computer, he screwed it up so he's not getting it ;D
we'll have a look at a few :)
Father Christmas bought me a 500 gig USB powered Lacie, it's brilliant! The USB pocket hard drives are so handy
Quote from: SamLouise on January 12, 2010, 11:28:36
Nick, do you have much experience of the above HD? The reason I ask is because we've been using those at our company for quite some time but seem to be returning them with faults on average, every three months or so. I can't fault Seagate's return policy - and they now have a dedicated data recovery department but really, that's not the issue is it? lol. I just wondered, as I know you're in IT, what sort of feedback you (or anyone else working in IT) might have on them.
Ive not had many probs with any of external drives here but we dont actually use that many - we use a variety - some Seagate (not that actual model but it was the nearest I could find) and some Western Digital but only for the techies here. Only when they are dropped does it cause an issue!!!
I too am in the same position; full PC hard drive, looking at externals or portables as a solution to the storage problem. In fact I have been looking for ages and not really found anything i liked, so finding this thread has been usefull.
I did come across this portable drive http://www.amazon.co.uk/External-including-Software-assembled-supported/dp/B001I0DUPI/ref=wl_itt_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I79HBA277MJ79&colid=36IIYW7NUEH5W (http://www.amazon.co.uk/External-including-Software-assembled-supported/dp/B001I0DUPI/ref=wl_itt_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I79HBA277MJ79&colid=36IIYW7NUEH5W) and liked the look of it, both the size, style and features, including a one touch backup facilty. I was wondering if anyone had experience of these drives. it gets a good rating on the site.
Thanks
He's bought an external from Maplins, 1,000 megabytes , plug in which suits him, seagate for 69.88, seems to work well ;D
Hi
this is a variation on the above suggestions, its called a docking station , you find an old computer and take the old hard drive out and put it in the docking station . It is that simple. no nuts and bolts, no complicated set ups , just push the hard drive in , the good thing about it if you can find more old hard drives just swap them over, just like changing a light bulb ,the docking station connects to the computer via a USB cable.. put this into google ....SATA Hard Drive USB Docking Station......about £30 from maplins I got mine off ebay
hope this opens other options ;)
I got my wife a USB 250gb hard drive last year. It is pocket size and cost £70 from Amazon. Well worth it. Much cheaper than a new PC too.
Still not yet decided whether to get on and of so what. Annoying hing is that i now need on and havent got one.
Been having problems with my desktop PC of late and decided to do a 'reset' to reinstall windows (XP btw). Tried the 'non destructive' (preserves data) option but it didnt work very well so realised i had to do a 'destructive' reset (format the HDD). This means copying or removing for safe keeping 20-30 GB of data (mostly photos and music) before i can get the PC back working properly again. A slow and painfull process when all you have is a 4gb flash drive to transfer the data to another computer (and back again). An external hdd would make the job so much easier.
Idiot me!