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#11
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What's a good external HDD to buy these days?
"Ant" wrote in message
m... | On 10/4/2009 7:19 PM PT, iws typed: | | | What's a good external HDD to get these days for Windows (2000 SP4 (9x | | might be needed though) to the latest), Mac OS X (10.2+ to latest), and | | Linux? It will mainly be for storage/backups and carrying between places | | with multiple computers so I'd like it to be light and small. It doesn't | | need the bundled softwares and backup feature (will do it manually with | | Explorer, Finder, etc.). It would be nice to not to carry its annoying | | power adapter (have seen a tiny one that doesn't use one and use power | | from USB connections, but was told this is not good). | | | | Any good ones (on sales) from | | http://www.salescircular.com/ca/computer/hdiskp.shtml (local retail | stores)? | | I have an earlier version of this Buffalo Mini | http://www.frys.com/product/5987934?...H:MAIN_RSLT_PG | and really like it. Not sure of its OS compatibility but certainly works on | XP/Vista and doesn't require an AC adapter. | | Wow, $59.99 sale vs. regular $104.99. Probably all gone by now though That $59.95 price is suspect - here in Phoenix, the 500 GB version is on sale for $89.95 and it was available in the Fry's store I was in on Saturday. | ("Cannot connect to the store." for store locations right now). OS | support said "Windows Vista®, Windows®XP, Windows®2000, MacOS® X 10.4 or | later". | | I am not sure if I want this one since USB power usage from what I read. It has not been a problem for me and I've used it with various desktops of various vintage, a laptop and a netbook. | I will probably get one with AC adapter. As you've found out, that's a real nuisance if you want real portability. | -- | "The Hunam Tiger ant has been known to consume an entire meal before the | picnic guest arrive." --12th century Tang Dynasty proverb. | /\___/\ | / /\ /\ \ Phil/Ant @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site) | | |o o| | Ant's Quality Foraged Links (AQFL): http://aqfl.net | \ _ / Nuke ANT from e-mail address: NT | ( ) or | Ant is currently not listening to any songs on his home computer. |
#12
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What's a good external HDD to buy these days?
Ant wrote:
On 10/4/2009 8:25 PM PT, Arno typed: Anyways, maybe your money would be better spend on a USB Flash drive. They are typically in the 0.1A power class and whould work on practically every USB port. Thanks Arno. Aren't Flash drives really expensive and limited with disk sizes (only have seen 64 GB and really expensive)? Not that expensive anymore, but 64GB is about the largest at the moment. How much data do you actually want to lug around? Arno |
#13
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What's a good external HDD to buy these days?
Ant wrote
Rod Speed wrote Got any examples online? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...ion+hard+drive Those arent a great idea with little kids and cats around tho or for technoklutzes. None for me, Arent you a cripple or something like that ? Yep, a virgin and never had a date (even blind type) either and probably will never get one. Oh well. So the docking station wouldnt be a problem ? Probably not because you seem to be able to manage the drive bays fine. Yeah, nothing like those 2.5" external drives portability wise. Yeah, still need to think about the USB power issue that you and others mentioned. It isnt a problem with those 2.5" external drives that have two USB cables. The most you might need is a couple of short USB cables with thin plugs when you have very close USB ports and thicker plugs on the cables that come with the drive. However, I have never ran into that issue before though even with five years old PCs. Its mainly a problem with laptops, not desktops. |
#14
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What's a good external HDD to buy these days?
In comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage Arno wrote:
Ant wrote: On 10/4/2009 8:25 PM PT, Arno typed: Anyways, maybe your money would be better spend on a USB Flash drive. They are typically in the 0.1A power class and whould work on practically every USB port. Thanks Arno. Aren't Flash drives really expensive and limited with disk sizes (only have seen 64 GB and really expensive)? Not that expensive anymore, but 64GB is about the largest at the moment. How much data do you actually want to lug around? A lot like 500 GB. 64 GB is small. -- "Applied mathematics will always need pure mathematics, just as anteaters will always need ants." --Paul Halmos /\___/\ / /\ /\ \ Ant @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site) | |o o| | Ant's Quality Foraged Links (AQFL): http://aqfl.net \ _ / Please nuke ANT if replying by e-mail. ( ) |
#15
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What's a good external HDD to buy these days?
So the docking station wouldnt be a problem ?
Probably not because you seem to be able to manage the drive bays fine. Should be OK if it is like iPods, PDAs, etc. Do these docking stations require drivers? I want to be compatible with many OS like Linux, Mac OS X, Windows, etc. Yeah, nothing like those 2.5" external drives portability wise. Yeah, still need to think about the USB power issue that you and others mentioned. It isnt a problem with those 2.5" external drives that have two USB cables. The most you might need is a couple of short USB cables with thin plugs when you have very close USB ports and thicker plugs on the cables that come with the drive. Ah two. I will keep that in mind. It will suck for netbooks that have limited/low numbers of USB connections. Are hubs a no no for drives that use two USB cables since hub coneects to the same port? However, I have never ran into that issue before though even with five years old PCs. Its mainly a problem with laptops, not desktops. Ah, that's why. So this can even if laptops are plugged in too? -- "Applied mathematics will always need pure mathematics, just as anteaters will always need ants." --Paul Halmos /\___/\ / /\ /\ \ Ant @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site) | |o o| | Ant's Quality Foraged Links (AQFL): http://aqfl.net \ _ / Please nuke ANT if replying by e-mail. ( ) |
#16
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What's a good external HDD to buy these days?
Anyways, maybe your money would be better spend on a USB Flash drive. They are typically in the 0.1A power class and whould work on practically every USB port. Arno I think Flash drives go bad a little easier. -- Ed Light Better World News TV Channel: http://realnews.com Bring the Troops Home: http://bringthemhomenow.org http://antiwar.com Iraq Veterans Against the War: http://ivaw.org http://couragetoresist.org Send spam to the FTC at Thanks, robots. |
#17
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What's a good external HDD to buy these days?
Ant wrote
Do these docking stations require drivers? Nope. I want to be compatible with many OS like Linux, Mac OS X, Windows, etc. Anything that can handle USB drives can handle them fine, they just appear to be a USB drive where you can change the physical drive effortlessly. Yeah, nothing like those 2.5" external drives portability wise. Yeah, still need to think about the USB power issue that you and others mentioned. It isnt a problem with those 2.5" external drives that have two USB cables. The most you might need is a couple of short USB cables with thin plugs when you have very close USB ports and thicker plugs on the cables that come with the drive. Ah two. I will keep that in mind. It will suck for netbooks that have limited/low numbers of USB connections. Yeah, but I cant think of any with just one. Are hubs a no no for drives that use two USB cables since hub coneects to the same port? Nope, its fine, the second one only uses the power pins, not the data pins. Corse the hub is just about as big as the external power wart. However, I have never ran into that issue before though even with five years old PCs. Its mainly a problem with laptops, not desktops. Ah, that's why. So this can even if laptops are plugged in too? Yes, works fine. |
#18
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What's a good external HDD to buy these days?
On 10/5/2009 5:19 PM PT, Ed Light typed:
Anyways, maybe your money would be better spend on a USB Flash drive. They are typically in the 0.1A power class and whould work on practically every USB port. Arno I think Flash drives go bad a little easier. Because of the number of writes? -- "Your parents were killed by ants?" --Idle Hands movie /\___/\ / /\ /\ \ Phil/Ant @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site) | |o o| | Ant's Quality Foraged Links (AQFL): http://aqfl.net \ _ / Nuke ANT from e-mail address: NT ( ) or Ant is currently not listening to any songs on his home computer. |
#19
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What's a good external HDD to buy these days?
On 10/5/2009 7:59 PM PT, Rod Speed typed:
Yeah, nothing like those 2.5" external drives portability wise. Yeah, still need to think about the USB power issue that you and others mentioned. It isnt a problem with those 2.5" external drives that have two USB cables. The most you might need is a couple of short USB cables with thin plugs when you have very close USB ports and thicker plugs on the cables that come with the drive. Ah two. I will keep that in mind. It will suck for netbooks that have limited/low numbers of USB connections. Yeah, but I cant think of any with just one. Are hubs a no no for drives that use two USB cables since hub coneects to the same port? Nope, its fine, the second one only uses the power pins, not the data pins. Corse the hub is just about as big as the external power wart. Do these external 2.5" HDDs also have ESATA support and dual USB too, or are those only found in those big enclosures and docking stations? I am trying to which one is better. -- "Each of us needs to withdraw from the cares which will not withdraw from us. We need hours of aimless wandering or spates of time sitting on park benches, observing the mysterious world of ants and the canopy of treetops." --Maya Angelou (b. 1928) American writer and entertainer /\___/\ / /\ /\ \ Phil/Ant @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site) | |o o| | Ant's Quality Foraged Links (AQFL): http://aqfl.net \ _ / Nuke ANT from e-mail address: NT ( ) or Ant is currently not listening to any songs on his home computer. |
#20
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What's a good external HDD to buy these days?
In article ,
Ant wrote: : Do these docking stations :require drivers? I want to be compatible with many OS like Linux, Mac :OS X, Windows, etc. No problem there. They use the same USB mass storage driver that USB flash memory devices use. You do lose the ability to perform SMART queries on the drive, because there is no established method to pass those commands through the USB interface. For that to work, you would need a docking station with an eSATA interface and use that to connect to your PC. -- Bob Nichols AT comcast.net I am "RNichols42" |
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