External HDD enclousers

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rjshenal

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Hello All fine folks

Can someone out there fill me in on external HDD enclosures, good and bad. I've just noticed them on reading forums etc.

I'm thinking of getting another HDD and using it for backing up files. I understand that you can connect to your USB port and back up files that way. Do they have a power connector for the HDD? I know nothing about this way of connecting a HDD to a computer.

Can someone, who has had experience, fill me in on the proper way of using this method of backing up?

Seems like a cool way of taking a HDD and connecting it to other computers.

Thanks for your response.

rjshenal
 
If you want, you can just get an external hard drive already put together. Maxtor is a biggy amongst the bunch. You may also want to take a look at Freecom, Seagate, or Iomega.

Now, I believe you want to buy an case for an external hard drive. You may want to take a look at this tutorial.

With the case shown in the tutorial, you get:

main enclosure unit ... the power adaptor, standard computer power cable, pack of securing screws, driver mini cd-rom for non plug & play OS, USB 2.0 cable, warranty & manual

Now, on to your questions:

- External hard drives are a great way to store/backup data, although you may run in to some issues depending on specifically what you want to do with the system. I recommend visiting this page and reading the second to last entry, by japman (labeled with "Accepted Answer"). This entry contains information on what to look out for when purchasing a unit.

- Yes, the case should come with a "power connector."

- You should be able to plug it in (the USB cable and power cable), go to My Computer, and be able to drag and drop files to and from the drive. (Windows XP will automatically recognize the drive)

I hope this helps!


Technel
 
While 3.5" form factor drivers require an external power supply, 2.5" & 1.8" form factor drives (used in laptops) are capable of being powered through USB or Firewire. So if you are looking for something light and easy to carry around that won't hog your outlets, this may be a good option.

Laptop drives are limited in size though (currently 100GB) and you pay the extra cost per GB for the portability, that's for sure. (A good deal on a 40GB might be around $90)
 
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