Which External HDD ?

[800XL]

I'm after a cheapish USB HDD.
Ideally i'd like one where I can bolt the case to the side of my metal (filing cabinet) desk.

My Internal drives are ATA,,,, do I need to use an ATA for external ?

Size - I suppose the bigger the better,,,, depending on price. I rekkon I ought to get a decent make/size for around £50.

Any recommendations on make/model that might suit ?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Acer Aspire T120 - XP Pro - SP3 - 2Gb

cheers folks

[staffsMike]

I'd go for western digital. I have a passport and it's a very good drive. They go up to 320GB but £50 will probably get you 250GB. Bigger 3.5" based ones are cheaper but require their own power supply. But why would you want an external drive that you can bolt to the outside.

Why not just get an internal drive?

[s3ds]

I have only tried to run externals as internal once ( long time ago when 160 gb was massive )
but the drives i had got to hot and failed
Now i turn an external on when i need it and turn it off when not in use

i use these
http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=736216
or
http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=701597

i use a lot of WD drives but will also use seagate

[800XL]

cheers Mike,
I want the External one to be separate from the system - so bolted to the side of my desk.

~~~~~~~~~
My original HDD is a WD item (40gb), that I use as an internal slave now, mainly to keep my CD collection on. A decent & popular make.

~~~~~~~~~
You mention 'power supply' - is it a case of size that determines whether a power supply is needed ?
I'd prefer it (unless someone tells me different) if it was USB driven.

What's the pro's & con's please ?

[s3ds]

no 2.5" drives can draw power from the USB 3.5" need an external power sorce

[800XL]

s3ds:
thanks - they both look nice machines,,,,,
As you have these - would either of them bolt onto the side of my desk ?

[800XL]

I think both my internal items are 3.5 ones.
I hadn't considered a 2.5 item.
Does their physical size make any difference to the memory size ?

[staffsMike]

You only really get 320GB drives in 2.5" (laptop drives), but I think you can get 500GB now or soon.

They are slower drives, fine for back up's etc.. but you probably won't want to be running anything off them.

Their main advantage is being portable and USB powered. 3.5" drives are big, heavy and have a power supply so can't be moved easily (not bad for your situation).

[s3ds]

not realy suitable for bolting but a small shelf and some doulble sided sticky pads would do the job

[800XL]

Thanks both.
It looks like a 3.5 item then,,,, & i'll have to put up with the PSU.

Have been trying to send SCAN an 'e' for prices on these, aswell as mice & modems,,,, but can't seem to find a direct address for enquiries - any ideas please ?

[TheReaFireblade]

A standard internal 3.5" drive of your choice, in an external enclosure of your choice, would be (/is) my preference

[800XL]

TRF:
Thanks - someone, somewhere else, also said that,,,,, but dosn't it end up more expensive doing that ?

I suppose it would be easier to fix to my desk,,,,, and I assume that the case comes with USB socket to HDD connector ?!

[TheReaFireblade]

TRF: Thanks - someone, somewhere else, also said that,,,,, but dosn't it end up more expensive doing that?

Yeah... it might work out slightly more expensive - depending on the drive and enclosure you go for... but the pros (see below) would outweigh the con (any added price) IMO
I much prefer being able to choose whatever make/model hard drive and enclosure I want... and using a separate enclosure also allows you to swap out the hard drive quickly and easily, if/when it fills up.

... I assume that the case comes with USB socket to HDD connector ?!

Yup. All external enclosures include everything required.
You just connect the hard drive to the connector inside the enclosure, then connect the enclosure to your PC via a standard USB cable (usually included with the enclosure).

Speaking of USB: It may add a little more again to the cost, but if your PC has an eSATA connection, it would be worth buying an enclosure with an eSATA connection as well.
The speed of files copied over eSATA, can be quite astonishing compared to USB 2.0 speeds


If you want to tell me your maximum budget, I should be able to provide you with a couple of suitable options (hard drives/enclosures).
If you'd prefer to do it yourself... Amazon have a great selection of enclosures, and there are some good ones on Ebay too.
But I'm offering, because I have a text document saved, in which I have details of a number of external enclosures - including standard USB 2.0, USB 2.0 + eSATA - and a few which have both connections and accept either IDE or SATA drives... which can be handy if you have a spare IDE drive knocking about

[800XL]

Thanks again TRF:

ACER ASPIRE T120 - XP Pro - SP3 - 2Gb RAM

As a disabled person, using a home machine - i really don't have a budget,,, but I need to keep things going.

Some time ago I replaced my original WD 40Gb drive with a Seagate 120Gb (both ATA). The WD is now a slave.

Is my machine likely to have eSATA connection ? Where would I find it/what's it look like ? Can I add one ?

In my circumstances I can't always afford the best of things, but whatever I buy has to do the job, & last reasonably well. I was hoping to pick up a 4/500Gb item for about £50,,,,, but a few quid won't necesserily but me off.

I like the idea of swapping drives about later, as i'd probably want to use the new one as my main drive & the 120gb as the external one.

Any further help/information really would be appreciated.


Another thought - am I limited to HDD (mem) size with my m/board [VIA KT400 A] ?


cheers

[peterb]

Akasa make a quite neat range of external enclosures, one can take SATA or IDE drives and present either as a USB interface, or if you use a SATA drive, it will present an ESATA interface as well. It costs around £20 from Scan, including the PSU.

That gives max flexibility for the drive itself - you can choose whatever size fits your requirement and budget.

This is one - but look at the Scan page for the Asaka range.

http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=616032

[800XL]

Thanks Peterb for the link to scan. I am a customer of theirs.

After following the link & reading their article on Drives, I checked mine, & my existing are PATA items - in that they have the 40 pin connectors.

Can I still use eSATA as an external ? I have seen a PCI card that gives a SATA socket (not sure if it was eSATA),,,, I have also seen an adapter,,,,, but it's no good my thinking along these lines if they only adapt the connection pins & not the actual data flow etc.

More technical help needed please.