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External HDD's...

post #1 of 12
7/19/04 at 10:45am
Thread Starter 
I am gonna be gettin a laptop at the end of the summer and want to get an external hard drive to use with it, the problem I am facing is that the laptop I want only has one firewire output, and 3 USB2... and I have my iPod that will use the firewire.

I dont have USB2 on this computer...

So I am looking for an external HDD, about 150gb, that has both firewire and USB2 connectivity... Has anyone come across one?

Failing that, how much is a USB2 to firewire converter going to set me back?

Thanks for ya help.
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post #2 of 12
7/19/04 at 11:25am
ur missing the point here. USB2 to firewire would be a worthless converter because you will already be operating at the slower usb2 speed.

You should go for a firewire to 2firewire converter so you can attach both at once. I have a usb2 external drive and it is slower than my internal 5400rpm drive, meaning usb 2 is slow. I would suggest ebaying a "external 3.5" enclosure" or something to that effect to get an enclosure cheap. Then ebay a 150gb hard drive, of whatever specs you want.
When you find the enclosure on ebay, just make sure it says firewire capable, since i would not suggest wasting money to go with the dual capability since you will only be using one at a time anyway.

something similar to
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....4&type=product
that should be what ur looking for, maybe not from bestbuy tho since it seems a little pricey.
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post #3 of 12
7/19/04 at 11:43am
Thread Starter 
No, youre missing the point... I dont have USB2 on this computer, so moving all the data off this computer onto a hard drive via USB1 would take forever... So having firewire capability is a must.

I didn't want to use a firewire splitter, as I will be using both the hard drive and the iPod at the same time, i wont be storing the music on my computer, just on my iPod, and the external hard drive will be used as a primary storage location, so both will probably be being accessed at the same time... so dont want to lose speed with using a splitter.
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post #4 of 12
7/19/04 at 1:33pm
You wont lose speed, as there is no "SPLITTER" for firewire, it is a chained connection.

I have a small external (2.5" HD) from www.basoncomputer.com that has both USB and Firewire. I also have one that is just firewire and has a spare firewire port (2 total) so you can plug the ipod into the HD. It works fine, I've done it myself.

However, note that the laptop likely has an UNPOWERED firewire port, thereby you will need to power it... the external drive from Bason that I got came with a PS/2 power tap (I think the photos in my sig below show it, near the end of the pictures). Or you can get the optional ($15?) little wall brick to power the external drive - this may even be enough to charge your iPod when it's connected (I think).

-myrkat
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post #5 of 12
7/19/04 at 2:52pm
Thread Starter 
Hmm, I never even considered the fact they would be unpowered... Looks like I will have to go shopping and see what there is. Space is key, I need it to be 150gb at least.. So long as I can connect my iPod and the hdd, I dont mind having Firewire.. Since I dont have USB2 on this computer...
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post #6 of 12
7/19/04 at 4:30pm
Thread Starter 
I decided to go with this:

http://www.storagedepot.co.uk/produc...=72&q=&type=39

And then get a 160gb Seagate...

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/s...html?SG-B72160

Will give me the space I need at a reasonable price.
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post #7 of 12
7/21/04 at 8:52pm
i just bought this

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...145-745&depa=1

external 3.5" drive enclosuer. I had an extra drive laying around so it owrked out nicely. With Firewire it's very fast. Might be cheaper than an 'all in one' external HDD
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post #8 of 12
7/21/04 at 8:53pm
just saw your post -- looks good.
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post #9 of 12
7/22/04 at 4:34am
Thread Starter 
That one looks pretty sweet - I changed my choice to an "IcyBox" - they look pretty cool too.
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post #10 of 12
7/22/04 at 4:35am
Thread Starter 
The Icybox has better connections for what I want - its got USB2 for use with the laptop, and some other connector you can plug right into the tower... let me see if I can find the link...

http://www.short-media.com/review.php?r=250

That's the one.
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post #11 of 12
7/23/04 at 1:44pm
Heh, after SEVEN (7) external enclosures, I finally broke down and bought THIS SWEET MOTHER for my storage and temp. backup needs.

I've already ordered the first two 250GB quiet drives (didn't want to go w/ the 300's) so I'll have my 0.5TB storage to move all my multimedia stuff onto.

-myrkat
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post #12 of 12
7/23/04 at 2:59pm
Thread Starter 
Very sweet... I will need something that mad eventually... I can work up to it though
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