Portable Hard Drives advice please ??

[Guest]

due to all my problems lately am going to buy a portable hard drive ?? I believe thats right ?? for storing my stuff on.
Any ideas whats not or what is a good one thanks .

[Margaret in Burton]

Val

Remember the one I told you about on one of your previous threads?

Same as the one I've got.

It's called an external hard drive.

[Margaret in Burton]

This is the one I've got, it's brilliant.

Amazon.com: Adaptec 2.5 inch USB 2.0 Hard Drive Enclosure Kit converts 2.5 inch internal ATA hard d ( 2188700 ): Electronics

We got mine off ebay I think but it is available elsewhere.

[Margaret in Burton]

Maybe mines not available anymore I have been googling. :(

If you put External Hard Drive into ebay there are loads to choose from.

[Guest]

is that it ??? it looks very small ?? how much does it hold Margaret

[Margaret in Burton]

It holds 75 GB Val.

I've only used 2.49 GB so far and I've got loads on it. All of my photos, all of my certs (only about 400 of them )

Loads of other documents and files and my family tree maker file.

It measures 5 inches by 3 inches by half an inch.

It doesn't use a power cable works directly off the USB port and will connect to two computers at the same time. It has a sort of split lead.

Best thing I ever bought, well OH bought me. ;)

[lorry53]

I have a LaCie mobile external hard drive and have been very happy with it. I don't think my model is available any more, but I'd recommend it as a make.

[Grimsqueaker]

How about this Val..

Freecom Mobile Drive XXS 160GB USB 2.0 Portable Drive (31255)

[Guest]

thanks very much Margaret sounds good to me, thanks to you too Lorry shall have a nosey

[Guest]

Grimsqueaker just had a look that looks good too I am a bit in the dark about how they work so am going to have a good read on them thanks everybody

[Margaret N]

Val,

I have got WD Elements portable Hard Drive 160GB Plug and Play USB 2.0. I cannot remember how much it cost but it was reasonable and I got it from Curry's. PCW and Maplins sell it together with many other good makes.

To use it I just plugged it in to my computer and it sits on top of my tower and you can remove it easily to plug into your laptop.

I then back up by just going to Document or Pictures etc in the start menu and when the drop down menu comes up I click on 'Send To' and you will see the words in my case WD it all happens. People say buy the biggest that you can afford, so its up to you.
Good Luck, keep us posted.

[Guest]

thanks Margaret I am also going to by a portable Broadband thingy as I did miss not being online now and then whie on holiday, sounds awful doesnt it ???but its only for the evenings .

[Guy]

I have four of five external hard drives of different capacities and sizes.
There is nothing to choose between any of them the all perform perfectly with a variety of computers.
The best advice I would give is choose an external or portable drive by the physical size if you want to post it somewhere (one of mine has been to Australia and back) or capacity.
Cheers
Guy

[Guest]

thats good to know Guy makes it easier to choose thanks

[Night Owl]

thanks Margaret I am also going to by a portable Broadband thingy as I did miss not being online now and then whie on holiday, sounds awful doesnt it ???but its only for the evenings .

I think its called a dongle

We have a WD Elements portable hard drive as well. I know PC World aren't your favourites at the moment Val but when I bought it (in fact I bought 2 because my son needed one at uni) I found what I wanted at PC World on line. I then went into the shop to ask some questions about it and was going to buy them there but they were £15 more expensive. The man there was very helpful and honoured the online price.

[TrevorFranklin]

This is the one I've got, it's brilliant.

Amazon.com: Adaptec 2.5 inch USB 2.0 Hard Drive Enclosure Kit converts 2.5 inch internal ATA hard d ( 2188700 ): Electronics

We got mine off ebay I think but it is available elsewhere.

Val
The enclosure that Margaret is talking about will hold a 2.5" laptop hard drive
So, that is why it is so small
It depends on the type of enclosure you buy, as there are two types of laptop hard drive
IDE or SATA
This refers to the connectors on the end of the drive that the enclosure will use.
An IDE would allow you to use the slightly older version of hard drives, with a capicity of up to about 80GB on average
A SATA is the newer version of drives and you can get these at about 200GB

I use two enclosures, one for my Genealogy stuff (IDE at 60GB)
One for all of my college teaching work (SATA 200GB)

Ebay is where I bought both the enclosures and the drives.
They are much more 'portable' than the larger external hard drives you see advertised, as they are as small as, for us 'oldies' a cigarette case.

Trev

[Guest]

oh blimey Trevor now I am more confused, I just want it for backing up my Family tree photos certs and stuff I have a brand new laptop and pc so presume the newst type is for me ???
Thanks Jackie but I cant bring ,myself to shop there ever agan for anything I really cant.

[Guy]

Makes no difference to you Val, both types connect through the usb connection.
The differences are internal.
Cheers
Guy

[TrevorFranklin]

oh blimey Trevor now I am more confused, I just want it for backing up my Family tree photos certs and stuff I have a brand new laptop and pc so presume the newst type is for me ???
Thanks Jackie but I cant bring ,myself to shop there ever agan for anything I really cant.

Basically all I was saying was if you were looking to purchase an 'enclosure'
Make sure that the drive that you purchase with it is the same 'type'

This is an 'enclosure' on Ebay (IDE type) which will cost, inc postage £5.98
An IDE type hard drive that will fit in it for £25.98

The 'enclosure' uses a lead that plugs into your USB slot
So for approx £32, you have an external hard drive that will easily store as much as you will ever want and will be small enough to slip in your pocket.


Trev

[Guest]

okay and thanks again