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now dont jump to an answer
listen to my particular situation first
i need about 50 gigs of storage now, could possibly increase to 75-100 over a few years (not likely)
how about a USB ext drive?
i would guess they are more reliable than a drive with moving parts, probably last forever, (barring magnetic accidents and the like.
probably slower to transfer data but that would be an infrequent process.
theres a nice iomega usb 320 gb drive on amazon for about $60. what do you think?
theres also an icotgate but i heard they are overpriced and very unreliable
(i will probably have to leave the cr for a few hours soon)
theres a nice iomega usb 320 gb drive on amazon for about $60. what do you think?
That is what I have.
see if you can get one from the “sale” websites. Someone told me ben’s bargins is run by a frum Yid (I don’t know if that is true or not).
Hi, again.
External drives are usually the exact same drive as the one you install in your computer, except they are enclosed in a case.
They have the same spinning platters and read/write heads and have the same potential for failure.
There is something called a “solid state drive” sold, which actually has no (I think) moving parts.
These drives have smaller capacities than the traditional type does, and may cost a bit more, too.
They are sometimes used to store system data (so the PC starts faster), while application data is stored on a traditional HD.
I don’t know if they are sold as external drives, but there are kits that you can create your own from if they aren’t.
You can also possibly use a USB memory key. I think some pretty high capacity ones are sold nowadays, but I don’t remember specifics about size and price.
I don’t know how reliable one type of storage is over the other. I have heard of USB memory devices failing – they’re not infalible.
First, usb is a communication and power protocol. It can be used in many ways. Its just a cable style with power that runs through it.
Now,
USB key drives use highly advanced flash memory. There is only so much you can pack on to a little card.
A USB external drive is just that. A hard drive that connects to your computer with a USB cable. That is, it doesn’t need to be plugged into the wall for power like say an old printer. The electrical power to the drive as well as its communication comes from the cable to the computer.
I’ll try to clear things up a bit.
“USB drive”, “USB memory key”, “Thumb Drive”, “Flash Drive” and other terms usually refer to solid-state small hardware devices with capacity from 1 or 2 GB up to 256 GB.
The 256GB one is quite expensive – nearly $800.00 on buy.com
The 320GB Iomega is a hard drive in an external case. It can be plugged into your PC’s USB port.
Some of these external HDs are reasonably small and intended to be caried about – the can fit in a pocket.
Larger ones can be carried, but they are a bit bigger, and usually will sit on your desk or shelf. Think of a really thick paperback book, like a dictionary.
“how come then “usb drives” come in capacities lower than “external drives”? i havent seen any over 500 GB“
“USB drive” will refer to a solid-state flash memory device. You will pay quite a bit more per MB for one of these than for an external HD enclosed in a case.
Moderator-80-
I’m afraid that’s not correct.
As popularly used the terms mean:
“usb drive” – a small solid-state flash memory device.
“external drive” – a standard hard drive, enclosed in a case. Can be connected to a PC via USB cable or (sometimes) to a network via a router port.
External drives may or may not require an additional power source – most draw what they need from the USB cable.
Popa thinks that a usb drive refers to the hole in your computer that you put the printer cable into.
That is much different than an external drive which is a hard drive that you attach to your computer through the USB drive.
Moderator-80-
Correct.
In fairness, the device is listed on Amazon as “Iomega eGo Portable – Hard drive – 320 GB – external – SuperSpeed USB”; it explicitly states that it’s a HD, the USB is clearly just the connection.
so when this iomega 320 is called a “usb drive” that is not really consistent with the generally accepted usage of “usb drive”
it should better be called an “external drive”
It’s an external drive that connects to your computer through USB.
Technically speaking, a thumb (or flash) drive is the same thing, except that in most cases, they are differentiated in two ways:
1. They are smaller and plug directly into the computer (as opposed to being connected through a cable)
2. They are solid state and generally have smaller capacities.
The Wolf
Moderator-80-
You’re right – I was looking at a different item.
The key word on the listing is “hard drive”.
Just a FYI – those that use a notebook-sized HD (2.5″, I think) will be the ultra-portable type; the ones that use a desktop-sized HD (3.5″) will be a bit bigger.
“Iomega Prestige 320 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive”
Iomega = brand/manufacturer
Prestige = model name
320 GB = storage capacity
USB 2.0 = the protocol by which it communicates and connects to your computer
Portable External Hard Drive = description.
This drive is probably a drive with spinning platters, just like the one in your computer (only smaller).
The Wolf
The term “USB Drive” doesn’t specify what type of media the data is actually stored on, it only specifies what interface it uses.
Most external drives are just desktop or laptop drives that are installed in an external enclosure. The ones that use desktop drives generally require external power and those that are made with laptop drives generally are powered through USB.
Moderator-80-
I’ve seen a lot of 1 TB (1,024 gigs 1 TB) for just a bit more then the Iomega you described. Personally, I’d rather spend a drop more and get a lot more space. I remember when I bought a 250GB external drive, I thought it was so large until everyone backed up their computers on to it, and we all have lots of mp3 files. Just recently I read in a tech journal that cloud computing is the wave of the future. Rather then have a physical device, we’d be storing data on computers somewhere out there (hence, in the clouds). For instance, lots of companies use storage at Amazon.com for their cloud storage. I have an account with Microsoft’s Windows Live that gives you 25GB free storage, good for backing up documents and photos.
I remember when I bought a 250GB external drive, I thought it was so large until everyone backed up their computers on to it, and we all have lots of mp3 files.
I remember paying $300 for a 10GB hard drive. I actually bought 4 of them for a RAID array because it was such a good price. (I was using a Promise Ultra with the FastTrack firmware hack.)
Costco is having a sale on a 2TB Seagate external drive this month. $99 with the coupon which members would have received in Feb. coupon book. That sounds like a very good deal to me. Ideally, I’d prefer a networked drive since our computers are in different parts of the house, but at the minimum I should be able to set it up as a shared drive, perhaps putting the USB into the router?
You can turn it into a shared drive by attaching it to any computer that is hooked up to a network. I’d recommend a desktop over laptop because they stay attached to the network. Just remember, the computer that the hard drive is connected to will have to be on in order for any other computers to access the drive. I prefer cloud storage….not limited to just one network.
You could also get a large network storage drive. They are slightly more expensive but have a number of advantages in terms of warranty and reliability.
I found a good one on newegg.com
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136346
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