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Going to college.. should I bring it?

post #1 of 17
8/20/07 at 12:21am
Thread Starter 
It, meaning my external hard drive. I currently have a WD, 200 GB external hard drive that stores my back up files of my mac, my movies/tv shows, and install files for my mac. Basically, its where I keep all the excess stuff off my mac's internal drive so I'd have room for dual boot with XP. Now, currently, I'm at near 75% full on my external drive, all critical stuff (to me). However, I'm going to college within this week. I'm packing right now and I'm not sure if I should bring my external hard drive or not. I am living 35 miles away from home, so I'm not too far away.

Any ideas? I'm mostly concerned about security and such. Though, nothing on the drive is sensitive information like credit card info or such, just all the files I've collected and hate to lose it and such.

Thanks.
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post #2 of 17
8/20/07 at 12:48am
so are you worried about theft? if so you'll have to either 1) really trust your roommate 2) figure out a way to lock your hard drive when you are not there

If neither of these are going to happen I'd leave it at home.
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post #3 of 17
8/20/07 at 1:53am
Thread Starter 
I guess I'm worried about theft... but I guess I'm mostly worried about damage. Leaving it at a dorm room and then when you have random parties or such.. i dunno.
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post #4 of 17
8/20/07 at 2:42am
leave it @ home. if you ever need something can always go home for weekend/holiday and transfer some stuff to your internal. option #2 would be some kind of online storage for stuff you might need....or burn stuff to dvds..if you lose/break dvd its not such a big deal.
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post #5 of 17
8/20/07 at 8:59am
Since you are only 35 mi from home, I assume that you will go home often (he says as a parent of 2 in college...). Therefore you can back up your files whenever you go home and have the backup "off site" but nearby in case your computer gets damaged or stolen. Of course if you find yourself needing your external drive often, you can go home for dinner one night and retrieve it.

I'm sure that your random parties would never be wild enough for anything to get damaged...
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post #6 of 17
8/20/07 at 11:55am
You could also use remote control software for your computer. If you have broadband internet connection at home you can simply call home and tell them to turn the computer on so you can access it remotely.

This way, you will have access to important files either by having a shortcut made to your computer or e-mail files to yourself. Make sure you set up the connection securely.

You can try www.logmein.com.

Just a thought. And of course, backup, backup, backup!!!!!
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post #7 of 17
8/20/07 at 12:50pm
make sure you get a lock for your notebook and investing in some type of lojack software is also a good idea.......theft in college dorms are terrible, luckily I never got anything stolen but looking back on it a lot of people did.
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post #8 of 17
8/20/07 at 3:17pm
i wouldn't take it either until you meet your room mate and see how crazy college life is going to be lol, also once you get settled you might decide you can bring it your dorm...
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post #9 of 17
8/20/07 at 6:50pm
my school (according to google maps) is 30.5 mi away from my house and i am a commuter. the trip takes all of about an hour each way (on a train)... you can afford to leave most of your stuff @ home and at least on friday nights go home for the weekend.
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post #10 of 17
8/22/07 at 9:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kakarot View Post
I guess I'm worried about theft... but I guess I'm mostly worried about damage. Leaving it at a dorm room and then when you have random parties or such.. i dunno.
I'd be worried about why this kid is going to college, myself...
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post #11 of 17
8/22/07 at 9:53am
Quote:
Originally Posted by olyteddy View Post
I'd be worried about why this kid is going to college, myself...
from your post I would swear you've never been to college
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post #12 of 17
8/22/07 at 4:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mitcity22 View Post
from your post I would swear you've never been to college
Random dorm parties are part of college life. To the OP: I brought my external drive so I could back up classwork and personal files that accumulated during my stay at the dorms. I had no fear of it being stolen, but that's because all of my suitemates were close friends.
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post #13 of 17
8/23/07 at 12:18am
random parties- beer splashing around, music cranked up, cups and ping pongs littered all over the floor, anonymous guests passed out on your bed... ie going to shower during a quiet weekday night and returning to a scene like this

is a myth. unless you live in a popular frat house, they are do not happen at "random." spontaneous gatherings with your friends- now that's an entirely different situation and if you are concerned about your close friends or roommate being petty thieves, I say you may have more to worry about in any case.
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post #14 of 17
8/23/07 at 9:41am
Buy a second external hard-drive and then back up all the most important stuff onto it, and then take the other HD with you to college. Hard-drives are so cheap these days. You can get one cheaper by buying a normal IDE HD and putting it inside a caddy.
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post #15 of 17
8/23/07 at 10:53am

College parties?

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post #16 of 17
8/23/07 at 1:43pm
Get a lock, thats what I did. And I used it to watch movies on the weekend. Havng that drive there saved mt life

As for the wild parties, someone above said it, but its not really all 'spontanous.'

Make a rule for your room, no hosting parties. And even if one fool does, lock your room. Use a Kensington lock to lock your laptop and external. I did this and they both made it back alive.
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post #17 of 17
8/24/07 at 3:13pm
id say leave it at home, your personal information in 2 places beats the hell out of them being in the same room, theft, fire, water dmg, douche bag drunk buddies you let around yer comp/hard drive


i have a 60 gig laptop external i havent filled and i have that in my desk
i used to keep it at my moms house

soulsaver
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