cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Another Hard Drive Question

artmo
Aspiring Champion
Posts: 19,524
Thanks: 421
Registered: ‎12-08-2007

Another Hard Drive Question

I have read the other running thread on external hard drives but my query is a little different.  I want to buy a 500GB external hard drive and want one powered via the USB. Found a WD and a Samsung that both look good.  My query is this:  one is an IDE and the other a SATA.  Can someone please explain the difference to me?  I want to use the drive to back-up my desktop PC and laptop.
11 REPLIES 11
shutter
Community Veteran
Posts: 22,206
Thanks: 3,769
Fixes: 65
Registered: ‎06-11-2007

Re: Another Hard Drive Question

wiki says  SATA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_ATA
wiki says IDE
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallel_ATA
Apart from that, the connections are very different, and cannot be interchanged, unless a caddy or similar conversion unit is used...
pierre_pierre
Grafter
Posts: 19,757
Thanks: 3
Registered: ‎30-07-2007

Re: Another Hard Drive Question

will this one do?  http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?moduleno=261046&C=email-newsletter&U=10P01-2-A68JK&T=385945  takes its power from the USB,  500GB Seagate External Portable Drive
only £69.99 - on sale until 26/01/2010
VileReynard
Hero
Posts: 12,616
Thanks: 582
Fixes: 20
Registered: ‎01-09-2007

Re: Another Hard Drive Question

Possibly?
Quote
Frequently Asked Questions
Q- Is this component compatible with windows 7 - John S B Heron
Answer- Yes the product does support that.
Q- Can this drive be formatted to FAT32 if wanted to - andy
Answer- Yes the product can be formatted to FAT32 if required
Q- Hi Can I use this portable 500GB Seagate External Portable Drive. With Windows 7 64 Bit. Thanks Austin - Austin Byrne
Answer- Yes the product does support that.
Q- A single USB port provides both data and power lines. Only 1 USB port is required to use a 2.5 inch drive. - Tammy Croft
Answer- This is correct in most cases, however certain computers don't have sufficient power output on the USB connector so a second one is needed, this is included.

Q- will this drive works as an extension to a media player and not a PC ? - J MULDOON
Answer- Yes the product does support that.
Q- Does it work on a Mac OSX 10.6 - Paul
Answer- Yes the product does support that.
Q- Will this device work with usb 1.1? Thanks - Simon
Answer- Yes the product does support that.

Q- seeing as this is USB powered is it likely to require the use of two USB ports (one for data the other for power) - sheila
Answer- yes that is correct

"In The Beginning Was The Word, And The Word Was Aardvark."

artmo
Aspiring Champion
Posts: 19,524
Thanks: 421
Registered: ‎12-08-2007

Re: Another Hard Drive Question

Two interesting articles Shutter.  Thanks. Smiley  Think I'll order the WD one I was looking at.
shutter
Community Veteran
Posts: 22,206
Thanks: 3,769
Fixes: 65
Registered: ‎06-11-2007

Re: Another Hard Drive Question

I have one of these,
http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=48965
and find it has been very useful for getting stuff off a "non bootable" laptop drive, to transfer to the new drive,
It has adapters for both IDE and SATA, and also if using a very large drive, that may need extra power, it has an adapter to plug in the mains, and power it, so not drawing too much from the usb socket.
It also means you can use the "duff" drives as external HDD on any laptop.....
artmo
Aspiring Champion
Posts: 19,524
Thanks: 421
Registered: ‎12-08-2007

Re: Another Hard Drive Question

Something else to consider.  Thanks. Smiley
7up
Community Veteran
Posts: 15,824
Thanks: 1,579
Fixes: 17
Registered: ‎01-08-2007

Re: Another Hard Drive Question

Quote from: artmo
My query is this:  one is an IDE and the other a SATA.  Can someone please explain the difference to me?

As far as I'm aware it doesn't make any difference when plugging in via USB. The computer and OS will still work with it.
I need a new signature... i'm bored of the old one!
artmo
Aspiring Champion
Posts: 19,524
Thanks: 421
Registered: ‎12-08-2007

Re: Another Hard Drive Question

Treated myself to a HD yesterday. Smiley It's a WD My Passport Essential 500GB.  Looks good and so small.  Now to get used to using it.  The user manual is on line and runs into over 50 pages so I won't be printing that off Sad
pierre_pierre
Grafter
Posts: 19,757
Thanks: 3
Registered: ‎30-07-2007

Re: Another Hard Drive Question

just plug it into your USB, let win sort it out, then you will find it as a new drive, say E on the file explorer, treat it the same as a DVD drive
7up
Community Veteran
Posts: 15,824
Thanks: 1,579
Fixes: 17
Registered: ‎01-08-2007

Re: Another Hard Drive Question

Quote from: artmo
The user manual is on line and runs into over 50 pages so I won't be printing that off Sad

Freecycle a laser printer - they nearly always come with toner left in them and they run for thousands of pages Wink
I got a colour one last year from someone. Completely dead. Opened it up, put in some ram (which someone had obviously nicked while it was in an office) and hey presto "IT'S ALIVE". 4 colour toner cartridges still in there, printed TONS of stuff with it since and its still going strong. Oh yeah it has a duplexer too for double sided  Shocked I couldn't believe my luck  Cool
Quote from: pierre_pierre
treat it the same as a DVD drive

No! DVD's are read only. You just treat it the same as a normal hard drive or thumb drive. Just remember to safely stop the device before unplugging it so that any cached data isn't lost.
I need a new signature... i'm bored of the old one!
artmo
Aspiring Champion
Posts: 19,524
Thanks: 421
Registered: ‎12-08-2007

Re: Another Hard Drive Question

Thanks Okrzynska.  It really is plug-and-play so I don't think I'll need to print the manual off.  Great little device.  Thanks also for the clarification on DVDs.