Good 2.5" external hard drive?
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I'm looking for a good 2.5" external hard drive--any recommendations? Ideally, I'd like to get a pocket-size USB 2.0 drive that draws power from the USB port. I'm going to use the drive to back up my desktop machine, so I'm looking for a 320 - 500 GB drive. I've looked at several drives, but I keep coming across user comments that Vista won't recognize them, and some complaints about drives needing more power than the USB port can provide. Anybody having a good experience on Vista with a pocket-size USB 2.0 hard drive that powers from the USB port? Thanks.
David Veeneman www.veeneman.com
My external drive has to be plugged into the wall for power but runs fine on Vista. I cannot say how well the USB powered models will work but personally I don't think it is a good idea to draw power from USB in any great amount.
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My external drive has to be plugged into the wall for power but runs fine on Vista. I cannot say how well the USB powered models will work but personally I don't think it is a good idea to draw power from USB in any great amount.
Need software developed? Offering C# development all over the United States, ERL GLOBAL, Inc is the only call you will have to make.
If you don't ask questions the answers won't stand in your way.
Most of this sig is for Google, not ego.Ennis Ray Lynch, Jr. wrote:
I don't think it is a good idea to draw power from USB in any great amount
Agreed, its a bad idea to grab USB power for a hard drive.
John
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I'm looking for a good 2.5" external hard drive--any recommendations? Ideally, I'd like to get a pocket-size USB 2.0 drive that draws power from the USB port. I'm going to use the drive to back up my desktop machine, so I'm looking for a 320 - 500 GB drive. I've looked at several drives, but I keep coming across user comments that Vista won't recognize them, and some complaints about drives needing more power than the USB port can provide. Anybody having a good experience on Vista with a pocket-size USB 2.0 hard drive that powers from the USB port? Thanks.
David Veeneman www.veeneman.com
I've got a Seagate 160GB just for backup and transport, but will go bigger when I start working more at home. I want all my work and personal stuff on external drives, and just OS and apps on my laptop. Vista and the USB are both happy.
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Ennis Ray Lynch, Jr. wrote:
I don't think it is a good idea to draw power from USB in any great amount
Agreed, its a bad idea to grab USB power for a hard drive.
John
John M. Drescher wrote:
Agreed, its a bad idea to grab USB power for a hard drive.
Do you have any rationale for that? If a hard drive works on 0.5W, why not just power it from USB? Certainly my little Lacie drive has been happy with every USB port I've shown it.
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John M. Drescher wrote:
Agreed, its a bad idea to grab USB power for a hard drive.
Do you have any rationale for that? If a hard drive works on 0.5W, why not just power it from USB? Certainly my little Lacie drive has been happy with every USB port I've shown it.
Many do not work on just 0.5W and although they connect fine the first time I have had users complain about dropped connections and other problems when they are fed from the usb port.
John
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Western Digital's My Passport line of products[^]. Have one, love it.
I have one too, and I like it. However, many reviews point out that during power on it draws more than nominal maximum USB current. So you have to (a) live with a very short USB cable (included) and may encounter machiens where it simply refuses to work. (Laptops are most likely)
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I'm looking for a good 2.5" external hard drive--any recommendations? Ideally, I'd like to get a pocket-size USB 2.0 drive that draws power from the USB port. I'm going to use the drive to back up my desktop machine, so I'm looking for a 320 - 500 GB drive. I've looked at several drives, but I keep coming across user comments that Vista won't recognize them, and some complaints about drives needing more power than the USB port can provide. Anybody having a good experience on Vista with a pocket-size USB 2.0 hard drive that powers from the USB port? Thanks.
David Veeneman www.veeneman.com
David Veeneman wrote:
...and some complaints about drives needing more power than the USB port can provide.
A USB cable with three plugs might solve this. The end that has two plugs connects to the desktop: one is for data and power, and the other is solely for power.
"Love people and use things, not love things and use people." - Unknown
"The brick walls are there for a reason...to stop the people who don't want it badly enough." - Randy Pausch
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David Veeneman wrote:
...and some complaints about drives needing more power than the USB port can provide.
A USB cable with three plugs might solve this. The end that has two plugs connects to the desktop: one is for data and power, and the other is solely for power.
"Love people and use things, not love things and use people." - Unknown
"The brick walls are there for a reason...to stop the people who don't want it badly enough." - Randy Pausch
On wall power at least. Apparently some laptops don't provide the max power permitted by spec when running on battery. AFAIK alot of 'won't work on my laptop' problems are related to this, and it may be a limit over the entire bus not to a single port.
Today's lesson is brought to you by the word "niggardly". Remember kids, don't attribute to racism what can be explained by Scandinavian language roots. -- Robert Royall
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I'm looking for a good 2.5" external hard drive--any recommendations? Ideally, I'd like to get a pocket-size USB 2.0 drive that draws power from the USB port. I'm going to use the drive to back up my desktop machine, so I'm looking for a 320 - 500 GB drive. I've looked at several drives, but I keep coming across user comments that Vista won't recognize them, and some complaints about drives needing more power than the USB port can provide. Anybody having a good experience on Vista with a pocket-size USB 2.0 hard drive that powers from the USB port? Thanks.
David Veeneman www.veeneman.com
A friend has one of these and likes it: http://oyendigital.com/hard-drives/store/UN2-54-320-SSA.html[^]
Best wishes, Hans
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I'm looking for a good 2.5" external hard drive--any recommendations? Ideally, I'd like to get a pocket-size USB 2.0 drive that draws power from the USB port. I'm going to use the drive to back up my desktop machine, so I'm looking for a 320 - 500 GB drive. I've looked at several drives, but I keep coming across user comments that Vista won't recognize them, and some complaints about drives needing more power than the USB port can provide. Anybody having a good experience on Vista with a pocket-size USB 2.0 hard drive that powers from the USB port? Thanks.
David Veeneman www.veeneman.com
We've just received a pair of 320GB Buffalo Ministation[^] drives and they seem to work fine on a single port, provided you use the (fairly short) USB cable supplied with the device. If you use a longer cable you may need a second cable for power, though (discovered that last night when I plugged one into an extender).
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