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    External hard drive question(s)

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by KonstantinDK, Aug 23, 2009.

  1. KonstantinDK

    KonstantinDK Notebook Evangelist

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    They should make a sticky about it...
    I'm thinking of buyng one like this http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digit...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1251055942&sr=8-1
    But have few questions.
    1) I will be able to back up all of my laptop's HDD on the Passport (Including OS and programms) and then restore it on a new computer, right?
    2) Can I use it for RAID or smth?
    3) Now, which brand should I buy. Should I go with classic WD or try the fancy Lacie? But I don't really want to loose my data... I'd like it also to be USB-powered...
    4) These external HDDs are like regular HDDs, except they are external and in the box? Are they genarally less reliable? Cause you move them more and they don't have a fan to cool them, etc?
     
    KonstantinDK, Aug 23, 2009
    #1
  2. qhn

    qhn Notebook User

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    Go with a size of your current drive , then clone it for later restore of the current system (OS and everything). You can't use an external USB drive for Raid configuration. Other than that, they are good for back up data files. And they can last quite a long time.

    cheers ...
     
    qhn, Aug 23, 2009
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  3. bassflow

    bassflow Notebook Evangelist

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    Use eSATA. USB is slow, slow, slow.
     
    bassflow, Aug 23, 2009
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  4. TevashSzat

    TevashSzat Notebook Deity

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    Most external hard drives do have a fan to cool them down.

    I actually high recommend getting a eSATA external hard drive. That means that you'll have to use a power plug but eSATA gives you alot more speed while transferring large files. The HDD speed will become the bottleneck rather than USB
     
    TevashSzat, Aug 23, 2009
    #4