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Help in choosing external HD

Discussion in 'PC Hardware' started by Nitmast, 2008/11/06.

  1. 2008/11/06
    Nitmast

    Nitmast Inactive Thread Starter

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    I would like to get an external HD to keep my music and pictures and to back up my computers. After looking around I have some ideas of what I like but making it work is a whole other thing.

    My home network contains one old desktop PC that is connected to a wireless router via Ethernet cable and a newer laptop that I do the majority of my work on. I was hoping to get an external HD that could just connect to the wireless router so that all computers could access it directly.

    The problem I am running into is that I like the extra safety of a mirrored drive but it is hard to find one that has both mirrored drive and ethernet connectivity. I really like Western Digital's My Book Mirror Edition because I have had good experience with them in the past and they are more energy efficient and quiet than most but they do not have one that does both mirror and connect via ethernet.

    The other caveat is that I need to buy whatever it is from Best Buy due to their current financing offer.

    So, is there a way I can make a USB connected HD part of my wireless system? Is Maxtor a reliable brand (they have one that does the mirroring and has ethernet)? Are there things I am not fully considering?

    Thanks in advance for taking the time to help me!

    Kirsten
     
  2. 2008/11/06
    Steve R Jones

    Steve R Jones SuperGeek Staff

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    You can connect it to one of the pc's and share it out on the network...Can also back it up to one of the pc's.

    You can probably get more drive space for the money by getting a regular drive and putting in an external case.
     

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  4. 2008/11/07
    Nitmast

    Nitmast Inactive Thread Starter

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    I had not thought of the option of getting a case for an internal drive and making it external. I will go shopping for cases and see what my options are.

    Thanks again for your help!
     
  5. 2008/11/10
    MitchellCooley Lifetime Subscription

    MitchellCooley Inactive

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    Gee, I learned something here. I have an old 20GB IDE drive and wanted to use it externally so I was going to buy a USB to IDE cable. I didn't know I could just buy an external case for it.

    Thanks Steve.

    Mitch
     
  6. 2008/11/12
    Eric Robinson

    Eric Robinson Inactive

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    Not to discount the idea of sharing a drive on a network attached computer, but the computer has to be turned on and booted each time the user wants to access the remote drive. Additionally the drive has no intelligence regarding automatic real time data backup as opposed to the product earlier mentioned:
    Maybe you would consider this network attached storage solution:
    Hewlett Packard Media Vault MV2120
    $299.00
    Features & Specifications:
    Backup, remote access, streaming, sharing

    * Back up and share data and media across your home network; automatically back up important files 24 x 7
    * Add protection: back up the media vault's contents to an external hard disk and store in a separate location
    * Remotely access files and applications from any Internet-connected PC
    * Stream media files to your home entertainment center or PCs on your network
    * Share photos and files with friends and colleagues by creating a photo Web site on the media vault; you can also give visitors permission to add their own files

    Data protection and more

    * Safeguard your data with the RAID 1 capability
    * Expand your storage to 500GB via an internal hard-drive bay and two USB 2.0 ports
    from: Best Buy
    http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9025048&st=Media+Vault&lp=1&type=product&cp=1&id=1218009784743
     
  7. 2008/11/15
    stevela48

    stevela48 Inactive

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    You said you had an older PC attached to a router. Assuming the router has more than one RJ45 connection, I would suggest a NAS. You can find refurbished NetGear SC101 on eBay for $20-$30 to utilize IDE drives. I use four of them for 8 drives on a gigabit switch on my home network. If you want to use newer, faster drives with 32mb cache (SATA), consider a D-Link DNS-323 - about $120-$150.

    The beauty of a NAS is that the host computer does not have to be turned on.

    One caveat - these systems use proprietary drive formats.....:(

    Cheers!
     

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