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This is a short tut for those that have never done it before..I recently bought a 120 gig HDD for the laptop and partitioned it installed XP and put library on it with no space left!! So I will USB again like with 3.5 !!! This shows how to USB a lappie HDD.

USB is handy but is finicky and requires certain plugin procedures. For example a HDD must be powered first before plugging in the USB.

The pics show a hub which can power certain things like a USB WIFI antenna but others must be plugged directly into comp.

A HDD adapter for ide sata and 2.5 HDD.

And the the mess with a wireless mouse, USB WIFI antenna (hooked up as I type) and hooked to a  second laptop HDD for a total of 200 gig HDD space. The comp has to booted with the hub then HDD plugged in. Notice on this adapter which way it is plugged into the HDD. Also the plug nearest the HDD has to be used to supply power and plugged directly into the laptop.

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Add to the above, all external USB is Hot swap.

but with win2k, you have to manually close the USB connection to avoid problems rather than just powering down a unit! You can do that with XP, but I highly recommend against it!

Also, USB doesn't work for SOME IDE components, such as burners for using SOME programs.

Actually the only problem it causes is Microsoft nagging you with an error message....

Mine quit doing that.  I'm not sure but suspect the newer drives park the heads when not reading or writing. I have lost a lot of drives using USB though. I like the externals with lights that indicate what their status is. It's same as a flash drive, never pull if the light is blinking.. Another thing is dont leave the power on to the drive all night after turning the computer off..

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Oh you don't want to just yank the cable on a hard drive, to be sure. But flash drives and other non-spinning appliances have no such problems, and the nagging warning is still there in Win2K.

Just picked up a WD Mybook (320gig) external hd. Nice feature it has is it powers on when you power on the puter and powers off when you power off the puter.

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I just got a Toshiba 320g external 2.5" drive. Very small (less than a half-pound), and powered by USB. Much better than my old aluminum 3.5" Fantom Drive. Now I just have to hope it's durable.

The last one I got was a slim line.  The computer seems to recognize it quicker. I think it will last longer (I've had this one 6 months) but it sure puts vibrations into the table.

One thing I like about the lappie drive is the size and easier to carry in the bag. Also it doesnt need a power supply. Does anybody know what the largest capacity is availible in lappie drives now?

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The biggest I've seen is 320g.

Dont believe you guy's.
I have had a 500 for 6 months.
The YUK is so far behind the USA
It's been there.

500g 2.5" drive? What brand and where can I get one? I've looked all over online and the only 500g drives were 3.5".

First, I don't think the 500GB, 2.5" SATA drives are shipping yet. I have seen as big as 360GB.  

Karyoker, no wonder you are losing drives when used in that configuration. Do yourself a favor and get yourself and casing for that 2.5" drive. I used to work for disk drive companies and I can tell you that Electric Static Discharge (ESD) can kill your drive. It only need to happen once. That can happen just from handling your drive, unless yourself is fully grounded.

You don't have to feel the discharge for the drive to either die or the chips to degrade so you get a slow death. The case does more than protect physically, it shields the drives from ESD. Bare drives will die, sooner or later, no matter how careful you are. If you enclose it, you will get a much longer life out of the drive. BTW, the drive company will not honor the warranty if the drive dies from ESD.

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Thanks Eben but I know that. I have replaced many components with wrist ground straps and actually made ckt boards. The ones I lost were 3.5 enclosed drives It seems they only last about a year.

Actually I was sitting here wondering what plastic case I could put these in for I have the same thoughts. The 2.5 dont seem to generate much heat at all.

I did find a ide/sata 250 for $120. Then I would just put it in the laptop. Is the 360 avail in ide/sata or is there an adapter?

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Be a little cautious of SATA.
They are fast... but run hot.