External Hard Drives

[neilo]

anyone know the cheapest place to purchase these ?

[nathan_silly]

What type- firewire, USB 1/2, PCMCIA, SCSI?

The Freecom requires a expensive cable (rip-off at £45) so look for one that takes a standard cable.

www.scan.co.uk have several types.

[neilo]

im guessing it will have to be usb 1 ....I dont have firewire

[nathan_silly]

USB 1 is very slow- too slow for external HD's and external RW's.

Is it for a desktop PC or laptop?

Desktop- buy a Firewire PCI card.

Laptop- buy a PCMCIA USB2 or Firewire card.

[neilo]

its a desk top
how much is a card ?

[nathan_silly]

About £15-£20 for a PCI firewire card.

Read this thread..

http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=70468&highlight=firewire

[neilo]

thanks very much for your help

[The Beekeeper]

I am also interested in > 20Gb external drives in USB to easily back up info to other machines, I saw one in PCWorld the other day for £200, any others I should know about.

[nathan_silly]

Here..

http://www.laptopshop.co.uk/usb-firewire/index.htm

The 3.5" external firewire box looks useful- just add the biggest drive you can afford.

Also 3.5" USB version as well.

[Epithet]

£200 for 20gb seems v. exspensive to me.

Go for firewire or USB2. I find this site very useful.

http://www.span.com/products/index.php

Not the cheapest but an excellent choice. Will match any drive to any external enclosure.

Good luck

Epithet

[nathan_silly]

Cheers for that link Epithet, I've been looking for a dual firecase case- for a CD writer and DVD-ROM.

Although ideally a triple case would be even better (also fit a HD as well)

[kennydies]

I bought a maxtor 250GB external hard drive from Dabs for £250.

Well worth the purchase, is firewaire or USB 2.0

[neilo]

do all computer hve a slot for a firewire card...before I go spending money on the drive and card

[nathan_silly]

Open the case up..

http://web6.scan.co.uk/Products/Info.asp?WPID=54954

The PCI slots are the white ones.

What make/model is your mobo?

[neilo]

laffs I knew that was the answer Im at work was just gonna order the stuff so I cant check My comp..its a dell dimension 4100 not sure of motherboard

[Eee-Tee]

I'm also wondering about increasing my hard drive, but i've been advised to go for internal, as opposed to USB/firewire. As my PC is only a year old, i guess it doesn't matter either way.
But i was wondering if you could clarify a few things Re: internal drives.

Looking at Dabs.com, in the search window, you have the choice of:
1) Enclosure- prob internal

2)Capacity-either 60, 80 or 120, not sure yet

3) Seek Time- not sure about this

4)Spindle speed- i've been advised that as its for digital video, 7200rpm is good?

5)Interface- not sure about this, either

6)Make- Western Digital, seagate & Maxtor come highly commended?

Have you any comments on this
Could anyone explain the imoportance of Seek time, and what value i should get.
What about the interface? Will any fit into my PC, or do i need a paricular type?

Thanx in advance

[neilo]

ok I have the external and card Im considering doin a clean install of XP and my C drive any advice or anything I should be wary of ?

[Mark Grant]

Originally posted by The Beekeeper
I am also interested in > 20Gb external drives in USB to easily back up info to other machines, I saw one in PCWorld the other day for £200, any others I should know about.

Hello Beekeeper

Have a look here (http://www.compgeeks.com/details.asp?invtid=ME-320U2) or the cases section here (http://www.compgeeks.com/products.asp?cat=CAS) , scroll down to drive cases.

The same products are available in UK, more expensive of course. lost the link to a cheap UK supplier, was about £50 for an empty case I think, just put any old IDE drive in the case, format it and away you go.

The ones with the oxford 911 chipset are considered to be good, such as this one (http://www.compgeeks.com/details.asp?invtid=ME-320U2F). Costs a bit more.

If you find a cheap UK supply, could you post a link, as I could do with a few decent firewire enclosures,

Thanks,


Mark.

[ReTrO]

Has anyone used the relatively cheap USB 2.0 to IDE cables that are now available?

I'm looking to get one as a temporary measure to backup a PC beofre it gets wiped ready for a new install, and later for handy portable storage.

Maplin have one for £30 but I can't order anything off their site for some reason, something odd with my PC, works elsewhere.

Cheers

[monkeynuts]

I have just got the USB2 - IDE cable adaptor and works a treat. i looked at the new maxtor usb2 and firewire drives and thought they were a lot of money, with this u can stick whatever drive u like on end DVD-RW old HDDs etc and use with minimal fuss.

Windows XP automatically picks up the drive so no software is needed, although it comes with everything needed for Win 95/98 etc...

Got it from Ebuyer, where they also have the cheaper USB1 version

Word of warning, order a USB2 extension cable as it only comes with ~25cm lead, which means i can only just plug it into the back of my laptop, let alone a desktop!

Oh, it also requires mains power for its power supply (similar size to laptop PS) so if you are short of plugs!

Hope this helps

Sam

[ReTrO]

I'll have one attached to a 160Gb Seagate jobbie in a weeks time. Just need to wait on my USB card to arrive then so it works at a sensible speed... :(

I've got one on order that does 5 USB 2.0 and 2 IEEE1394. :)

[Line_Man]

maxtor have a new range of external drives, they are apparently quite good

[ReTrO]

Doubt thay can match 160Gb for £130 though. :grin:

[FoxyMulder]

I have an Advent 1700Megahertz CPU plenty of memory but it's USB 1 compatible only so i bought a USB2 adapator, ok reason i did that was cos i bought a 160 gigabyte external hard drive, cost me £165 quid but i thought it good value.

Now problem is i fitted the USB2 Hub in computer and it just goes haywire the CPU starts working at 100%, obviously there's some problem and i only wish i knew wot cos it's better to transfer using USB2 than 1, anyone have any idea's why my CPU goes nuts when i install this USB2 Hub ?

My external hard drive is a Maxtor and i like it, great value for money from Dabs.

[Line_Man]

I am surprised by the price of hdd's and how much they have fallen in the last few months. Computers are so much cheaper these days!

[Line_Man]

Originally posted by FoxyMulder
I have an Advent 1700Megahertz CPU plenty of memory but it's USB 1 compatible only so i bought a USB2 adapator, ok reason i did that was cos i bought a 160 gigabyte external hard drive, cost me £165 quid but i thought it good value.

Now problem is i fitted the USB2 Hub in computer and it just goes haywire the CPU starts working at 100%, obviously there's some problem and i only wish i knew wot cos it's better to transer using USB2 than 1.

My external hard drive is a Maxtor and i like it, great value for money from Dabs.
Why not pay me some money and you could of saved loads. I could of put a 160gb hdd internal, they cost about £80, have faster rpm and read/write and better overall performance. I would of fitted for £60 so total = £140, £25 saving better performance and takes up less desk space.

[337GUS]

I use several Maxtor USB and Firewire externals and they are very good. Not that expensive realy 120GB for £130 and they do come with Retrospect backup software and the ability to just push the front button and backup your PC then take it offsite for safety.

Had a problem with a VIA USB 2 card and an AMD PC - turned out to be VIA drivers - make sure the latest USB and 4 in 1 drivers are loaded. If PC Intel based then just make sure the card has the latest drivers from the makers website.

Alternative if the Maxtor is Firewire as well, get a firewire card.

[spamboy]

I picked a usb2, aluminium external case from one of the computer fairs off tottenham court road a few weeks ago for £30. There were a fair selection, including firewire. If anyone is interested next time I go down there I'll get details off the traders so you can mail order them. I look for ages for one at a decent price mail order.

SB