External drive: Need recs.

[tom p.]

Guys, I need to move 10GB or so of MP3s from my laptop`s hard drive. I don`t really know too much about these devices and the related jargon. I don`t need a second hard drive. I just want a drive where I can store stuff (MP3s, JPEGs, etc.) and keep it in a closet when not in use.



Thanks.

[TigerMike]

Tom,



You need a small external HD. Something like this would be perfect, and not too costly. Newegg.com - INOi Portable 40GB 2.5" External Hard Drive - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822173050)



Or for a really small one....Newegg.com - Fantom Titanium Mini 80GB 2.5" External Hard Drive - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822154630)

[tom p.]

Mike, thanks. Are those well-respected names? I`m not familiar with either.



Also, are these lil` pups powered via the USB?



:)

[BlackElantraGT]

I know you specified that you wanted an external drive and maybe you have an older laptop that only has a CD burner, but have you thought about burning it onto DVD? 3 single layer blank DVD discs will be able to hold your 10 gb worth of pics and musics. Plus I would think the chances of your discs going bad within a few years time after being stored in a closet is less than that of a hard drive. If that hard drive doesn`t boot in a few years time, you`re screwed unless you send that in to do a data recovery (which will cost you more money than the external hard drive alone most likely).



If your laptop doesn`t have a DVD burner, you could network your laptop to another desktop with a DVD burner. Then transfer the files to the desktop, and burn what you need archived.



It`s a much cheaper alternative to do it this way when you`re only looking to store 10 gb of data.

[imported_Frugle]

holy crap... you`re living on a 10GB drive? I have 100GB in my macbook pro, 80 in an external case, and just had to pick up another 100 because i didn`t have enough..



I just bought a maxtor 100GB external drive on clearance at Staples for 50 bucks... really great find I think... go look at clearance racks.

[tom p.]

holy crap... you`re living on a 10GB drive? I have 100GB in my macbook pro, 80 in an external case, and just had to pick up another 100 because i didn`t have enough..







No, my drive is 40GB. I need to get 10GB++ worth of junk off the machine.



Black, I think my wife`s laptop might be able to burn DVDs. I`ll have to figure out how I might transfer from my machine to hers. thanks for the suggestion.

[BlackElantraGT]

No, my drive is 40GB. I need to get 10GB++ worth of junk off the machine.



Black, I think my wife`s laptop might be able to burn DVDs. I`ll have to figure out how I might transfer from my machine to hers. thanks for the suggestion.



I`ve never tried this, but I believe you can connect to her computer by connecting the two laptops end to end via an ethernet cable. I believe this is an ad-hoc network, but computer experts feel free to correct me if I`m wrong.



Or if you have a wired or wireless router, you may create a network easily that way. In your control panel, just run "Network Setup Wizard" and follow the instructions.

[Eliot Ness]

Tom, is there a reason why you don`t want to install another hard drive? It`s pretty convenient and fast having a second drive to store stuff like that on. You could also just put in a larger hard drive. You can just clone your current HD over to the new larger drive and be all set.



You can get an 80G drive for under $50 shipped:



Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar SE 80GB 3.5" IDE Ultra ATA100 Hard Drive - OEM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144122)



Just a thought......

[imported_Frugle]

well....



in order to connect computers, If you want to do it through eithernet, you will need a cross-over eithernet cable. can be bought or made.



To do it over wireless internet.. don`t. To insanely slow to transfer 10GB of data.



To do it over firewire - I only know how to do this with apple computers (booting one computer as an external drive) so I can`t help you there..



I think best bet would be to get an external drive... DVDs are a pain to keep up with...

[tom p.]

well....



in order to connect computers, If you want to do it through eithernet, you will need a cross-over eithernet cable. can be bought or made.



To do it over wireless internet.. don`t. To insanely slow to transfer 10GB of data.



To do it over firewire - I only know how to do this with apple computers (booting one computer as an external drive) so I can`t help you there..



I think best bet would be to get an external drive... DVDs are a pain to keep up with...



Here`s what I am working with:



Her machine does appear to have a writer. It`s called Matsu````a (Panasonic) UJDA765 DVD/CDRW. The machine has a program called Sonic RECORD NOW!



I am pretty certain I do have a cross over ethernet cable.



I`ll need to buy some burnable DVDs.





Alternate: Perhaps I could connect both of the laptops, via ethernet, to our router and transfer the files that way.





Do I need to fool around with MS Print and File Sharing?





Thanks.

[TortoiseAWD]

tom,



Before you go buy any DVDs, I think I have some bad news . . . the writer you mention is CD-burner/DVD-ROM combo. It will burn CDs, but only read DVDs. Here`s a link from a quick Google search; if this is the writer in the notebook, I don`t think the DVD route will work out for you: Panasonic / Matsu````a UJDA-765 24X24X24X8X DVD-ROM/CD-RW ultra Slim Line Notebook Drive (UJDA765) (http://www.netcomdirect.com/pamauj24dvul.html)



Tort

[imported_Yal]

You can`t burn DVD`s on that machine. You can only burn CD`s.

You had the right idea to begin with and that is to get an external HD. Look for Maxtor externals on clearance like someone above mentioned :) Newegg is a great online resource to buy from!

[DETAILKING]

I would stay away from Maxtor externals. I went through 2 of them over a 3 yr period. They just don`t last and I think that is true for most external drives. If you are using them to swap files this may not be a big deal, but if you are using them to store important files, it could be a very big deal.



If you are going to go external, stick with a brand like LACIE. They are pretty good, a lot of video editors use them to swap footage on. If you just need to transfer files from your laptop to another computer just get a 2-3gig pen drive and do it piece meal.

[gnahc79]

If you`re looking to do just a one time transfer (seems like it) you can just get a USB flash drive, 4.0GB can work with just a few `trips`:



Buy.com - Corsair 4GB Flash Voyager USB Flash Drive - CMFUSB2.0-4GB (http://www.buy.com/prod/corsair-4gb-flash-voyager-usb-flash-drive/q/loc/101/203258636.html)



The cheapest way is to use the crossover cable, share your mp3 directory and access it from the desktop.

[LouisanaJeeper]

get an external USB 2.0 ENCLOSURE. seperately buy a name brand desktop HDD in the 20-40GB range (seagate, western digital, etc). (get both from newegg) install the HDD in the enclosure and make 2 partitions on it. backup your stuff on the first partition. (and the second partition if you want). make a backup copy (norton Ghost) of the HDD and burn that on a CD. store the CD for backup.



external HDD`s are pretty reliable, they just are not that great for running 24/7 because they have poor cooling which kills HDD`s