Buying a new hard drive

[GT40FIED]

I've decided to buy a new USB hard drive. I figure I wanted something hot-swappable and since I don't plan on having my computer for a whole lot longer I don't wanna crack it open. Not to mention the OEM 80GB unit is completely maxed out. Since I've never bought a new hard drive, I've got no idea what to do. I figure I'll have to format it but, as I understand it, external HDDs can't be on all the time since they're not cooled by the tower's fan. Bah...I don't know. Any ideas and/or brand recommendations?

[Wren57]

Had a maxtor but it crapped out on me... got a Western Digital 200GB 8mb cache raptor/caviar drive and couldn't be happier. And I'm not sure about the turning it off thing, mine turns on/off with the computer so I don't worry about it.

[GT40FIED]

I like the WD stuff...but it seems pretty damn expensive. I was floored when I stopped by a Best Buy to get a game and checked out their hard drives. They were charging close to $200 for 160GB INTERNAL drives. I figured I was gonna steer clear of Maxtor and probably LaCie...all the super cheap stuff. So maybe WD or Seagate.

[GT40FIED]

Ok...new idea. What if I just bought one of those external HDD enclosures and and internal drive. Seems like it would be cheaper per GB.

[Mischief]

Originally posted by GT40FIED
Ok...new idea. What if I just bought one of those external HDD enclosures and and internal drive. Seems like it would be cheaper per GB. that's what I have.. at least half of it.. I have a 200GB WD SATA drive and I'm planning on getting a external enclosure.. just make sure the external enclosure supports your HDD (SATA, IDE) and you have firewire or usb 2.0 to use with it

[Robert]

www.tigerdirect.com

Not sure if I'm late on this one.

I bought a 250GB + case for $110. You can build your own unit. Some come with case fans some dont. I dont use a fan do to the noise and in reality its probably fine for most uses without a fan.

[GT40FIED]

Damn...that's not bad. I was looking at CDW and Newegg but this site looks quite a bit cheaper. Thanks Rob.

Now riddle me this guys...After my new external DVD burner, I'm fresh out of USB ports. I really don't want to use a hub since I've heard all kinds of nightmares about stuff not working right with USB hubs. However, I'm using my ethernet connection on my cable modem and it has a USB connection as well. I seem to remember someone telling me that I could plug a USB device into the modem and it would work just like being plugged into the PC...only via the ethernet cable. The only problem I see is that the port on the modem is not the slim connection you'd plug into the PC side...it's the more boxy port that's usually on the device side. Any thoughts?

My computer does actually have a free port, but for some reason it won't accept any plugs. It's on the front and seems to be at an angle or something. I can only fit one USB connector in that area. Fucking sucks.

[Wren57]

Yo dude I picked up brand new Seagate Baraccuda 7200.7 and 7200.8 hard drives (200gb each) but fixed my old hard drives so I don't need them any more... if you need a HD hit me up and I'll sell em to ya cheap.

As for more USB ports, get an internal IDE card with USB ports... they are fairly cheap and can handle more USB devices than you'd ever have...

[Robert]

GT you can pick up a powered USB hub for $20. I dont know that USB devices like to be chained like firewire devices do.

Either get the PCI USB card, or get the hub. USB hard drives are rather basic when it comes to installing things.

[GT40FIED]

I figure I'll just swap the DVD burner and HDD out as needed since I won't likely be using both at the same time. USB stuff runs into a lot problems with hubs. Almost every USB device I've ever bought has had something in the instructions that reads something like "if using a USB hub and connectivity problems occur, unplug and plug directly into computer". I don't think the modem idea will work. I can't for the life of me find a male-B to male-B USB cable (type B being the boxy type rather than the slim type A).

[Robert]

I have had no problems with hubs. I use a laptop, and 12 USB devices. 3 hubs and no problems.